Fast and easy: Split Pea and Ham Soup - what to do with the leftover ham hock

Quick and Easy recipe that keeps the kitchen warm and smells great cooking  on a snowy New England morning.  (And it's bitter cold - so cold in fact that the pipes froze in the downstairs bathroom.)

1 (24oz) bag of organic split green peas. rinsed

1 hearty ham bone or 3 cups diced ham

1 chopped onion

3 ribs celery with leaves - chopped

3 garlic gloves, minced

2 cups sliced carrots

9 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves

Layer ingredients in dutch oven in the order given above, adding the broth last.  Do not stir.  Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours at 300 degrees or lower for 8-10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls off the bone.

Split Pea with Ham Hock before the Broth was added -
split peas are on the very bottom of the dutch oven