Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

It's kinda funny that I haven't done any food posts on this blog yet! I think that is what most people expect when they see my instagram feed, which is full of pictures of mine and my families food. Food has definitely been a part of my vision for this blog. I've really been wanting to do a crockpot Sunday series, so today is the start! I will share a crockpot recipe on a couple Fridays a month so that you have time to shop for ingredients on Saturday and then you can have a stress free and relaxing Sunday. Obviously, you can use these recipes for any day of the week too!

Since church is a huge part of Sunday for me and my family, it helps me so much to have something cooking in the crockpot so that we can have a nice comforting meal at the end of the day. It's great so come home and have dinner cooking and to have minimal if any additional prep to do. That way we can all relax together, or depending on when your church is, just jump right into the meal! Currently we attend church at 9:00 am, so I even try to get everything prepped in the pot the night before so all I have to do it take the pot out of the fridge and turn it on! That is, if I rememeber to actually prep! If you remember my first post, I am a serious procrastinator!

So, on to the recipe!

Split pea soup is one of my favorite recipes to use leftover ham with or your ham bone. DON'T, for the love of all things, throw away your ham bone people! Take that ham bone off your roast and leave a good amount of meat on it and you can make a delicious batch of soup with it! Call me selfish, but I cringe when I hear people giving their ham bones to their dogs. NO!!!

This soup has been a winner with my whole family. Even my 9 month old gobbled it up! If you can get little ones past the color, your generally golden! With any recipe I post, please adapt to your own tastes! Not a fan of garlic, cut back. Like more carrots, add more! My recipes will usually have lots of garlic!

Crockpot Split Pea Soup

adapted from Favorite Family Recipes

1 lb package of dry split peas, rinsed and sorted

1 onion, chopped

3 potatoes, diced

3 stalks of celery, sliced

5-6 carrots, sliced

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 bay leaf

1 meaty ham bone, or 2 cups of chopped ham 

8 cups of vegetable broth (or chicken broth)

After you wash and sort your peas, add all the ingredients to your crockpot and stir. Set your crockpot to low and let cook for 8 hours. If at 7 hours, it's a little watery for your liking, take off the lid and continue to cook until ready to eat!

Hope you like it! And let me know below or on instagram if you make it for your Crockpot Sunday!

Power

Do any of you give yourself a word or mantra at the beginning of the year? I started doing mantras about 3 years ago because just giving myself a load of resolutions seemed really cliche and kind of meaningless. I love having an uplifting phrase to look to throughout the year. I've been thinking a lot about what I want to use for this year. It came to me while watching a video about trying to change things about ourselves that are so deeply ingrained in us. The person in the video has you chant to yourself, "I have the power to make my own choices." You do this while tapping your head and then while tapping your heart. May sound a little kooky, but I am very drawn to holistic approaches to all aspects of life. This phrase really resonated with me. So much, that I recite it to myself every morning while I meditate. So this is my phrase or mantra for my year, but I'm shortening it to one word.

POWER

YES! Power baby. If I may call upon the 90's hit "I've got the power!" I am taking back my power this year, friends. Postpartum depression has deeply effected the power I have within myself to make my own choices and to control my own emotions. Or, at least that is how it feels. It's hard to feel out of control, sad, anxious, unhappy. I know it's not going to come overnight. It's not going to be easy either, but I have got to get the power back. For me, my family and most importantly my 3 little girls.

We are such powerful creatures. Our bodies have the ability to heal itself, to gain strength, but to also heal others with tight bear hugs. I'll take a bear hug from my husband any day anytime. We have powerful minds that learn and think and somehow create our own opinions amongst the millions that come at us all the time. And we have incredible spirits. We can connect to a kind and loving Heavenly Father. And how amazing is it that we all connect to him differently. The way I hear or feel him is likely not how he will communicate with you. I love that we all have a unique connection with him. We all have the ability to have great power in body, mind and spirit. That is what I'm looking for this year. 

So tell me! What's your word or phrase for 2016? Share in the comments below or over on instagram.