Christmas Ham & Split Pea Soup

My mother was always known for her Christmas morning brunch. Over the years (and, surely, she did this for fifty of them), they became legendary. She would put on a better spread than a lot of local restaurants. Honestly, I don't know how she did it. She was in her mid-eighties when she hosted her last. I'm thirty years younger than she was, and a big party always lays me low.

When she passed away, what will be three years next month, the family asked me if I was going to take over the brunch. No, I thought the brunch should end with her. No one could do it the way that she did. So, I started a new tradition with a Christmas Eve luncheon that featured a spiral ham from our Honey Baked Ham Store. It is the one time of the year when I will welcome being 29th in line (yep) to pick up a ham. The lunch was delicious. I served it with Brandy Mashed Sweet Potatoes, a delicious broccoli cheese casserole, garden salad, and a dessert that my mother used to make at Christmas time called Chocolate Mint Freeze. The best part of all of this, though, was having that wonderful ham bone left over to use for soup.

I never thought that I much cared for pea soup until I made this recipe with a Honey Baked Ham bone (and, no, this is not a sponsored post, I just love their ham), but I find this soup so good that it's hard to stop eating it. Now that the weather has taken a cold turn I'll be making a lot of soup. What a great way to greet winter!

Christmas Ham & Split Pea Soup

1 1/2 pounds Honey Baked ham bone

2 cups dried split peas, rinsed and picked over

1 quart cold water

1-1/2 quarts homemade chicken stock

1 cup onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

2 bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a large stock pot, simmer the ham bone, peas, onions, celery, carrots, bay leaves, basil, marjoram, thyme, and black pepper in water and chicken stock for 60 minutes. Remove ham bone and let it cool. Bring soup back to a simmer and cook on low, stirring occasionally, for an additional 60 minutes. Remove ham from ham bone, dice, and add to soup. Heat through. Remove bay leaves and serve.

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