" But I don't want to eat at Carl's Jr."

Yes, more words a mother loves to hear from her teen. See, in the morning before we left, I had put all the fixings for Split Pea Soup in the crockpot, so we'd have dinner ready when we got home after our busy day at Tae Kwon Do and other running around.

Well, we did alot more running around than planned and hunger hit me! I had to eat right then!! There was no way I was going to make it the 4o minute drive home, I was starved!!

So I suggested we stop at Carl's Jr. to grab a quick bite. You'd think I suggested we stop and eat liver and onions!!! Fast food is suppose to be a treat(a rare one in this household!!) but the teen was less than excited about the idea...."but mom, you promised split pea soup!" he whined!!

A few months back I was again making this dish when the neighbor teen stopped in. We offered him a bowl and he insisted he HATED split pea soup. He knew for a fact he hated it, as they recently had it at his house and there was no way he'd ever eat it again!!

We finally talked him into it, and guess who is always a guest at our house on split pea soup night??

So, here's the recipe that makes split peas more appealing than the local fast food joint, and turns even split pea haters into split pea lovers:

Split Pea Soup

8 cups liquid(I use 4 cups veggie broth&4 cups water.)

2 cups dried split peas

1/2 cup dried barley

1 onion diced

3 carrots sliced

2 bay leaves

I put all of this in the crock pot first thing in the morning on high. About noon I add:

2 tsp salt

2 tsp garlic powder

I add other seasonings depending on my mood, usually thyme and basil

cook until soft and serve with whole wheat rolls(I use a recipe from my bread machine cook book)

It sounds so plain and simple, but I swear, it is always a hit!!