I make ham dinner for Christmas.  I buy my ham from Costco, of course.  New years day is when I enjoy split pea & ham soup.  I make split pea soup with leftover ham bone. I follow the recipe that comes with the ham.

Except, I do things little differently.  I put less ham.  I don’t put salt and pepper. Ham is salty already, and I can always add them later.  When it comes to water, I put just enough amount of water to start.  I would add more water as needed.  Starting with less water is much better than starting with too much water – because there is no going back if you end up with thin soup.  You don’t need to think too much about how much water is needed.  You can just eyeball it and add more water as needed.  The soup will tell you how much water is needed. 

To make the soup, you have to be the soup.

Also, I put a few bay leaves that’s not in the recipe.

The soup was amazing good.  I ate half and put the other half in the freezer.