This is the last of the freezer meals I am going to do for awhile.  In the last few weeks I have put up

3x Italian Wedding Soup
3x Chicken & Dumplings
3x Beef Red Wine Stew
4x Southwest Chili
2x White Chicken Chili
4x Broccoli Cheese Soup
2x Shepherds Pie
2x Chicken Parm Bake

Plenty to have on hand… All but the last two were Smart Cooker / Instant Pot meals – for someone who swore she didn’t need one, I sure do use it a lot now!

While digging around in the pantry for something else completely, I spied a bag of split green peas and knew I wanted to do a Split Pea Soup – off to Google!

I saw lots of recipes but decided to use these as my base. I wanted a brighter green, more pleasant to look at version than many were so decided to look for green soups – talk about going down a rabbit hole: 

BASIC IP SPLIT PEA SOUPS
https://littlesunnykitchen.com/instant-pot-split-pea-soup

GREEN SOUPS
https://frommybowl.com/green-pea-soup
https://veggiedesserts.com/quick-kale-soup-recipe

I decided to blanch and puree some green peas and curly kale to stir in after cooking – the key here is going to be to blanch the kale but not cook it fully – it goes a dark olive muddy color otherwise.

Then I saw this one and thought – heck yeah… So what follows is a mashup of the above and this:

My store didn’t have any ham bones or hocks but I am the determined sort and I saw some Smoked Turkey Necks – not the same but that will work. 

I decided with everything else I was adding, I wasn’t going to do the traditional mirepoix of carrots, celery and onion.

I don’t drink but I do occasionally cook with alcohol.  The Pub Style recipe calls for 12oz of light beer.  Ummmmm…. Okay…. But what kind?  I asked a very helpful gentleman (another customer) in the beer aisle and my cousin and the verdict was Bud Light.  Okay – done…

▪️Chicken Stock
▪️Light Beer (Bud Light)
▪️Smoked Turkey Necks
▪️Green Split Peas
▪️Russet Potatoes
▪️Garlic
▪️Coarse Sea Salt
▪️Horseradish Mustard

▪️Curly Green Kale
▪️Green Peas
▪️Lemon Juice

▪️Pea/Carrot Mix
▪️Uncured Ham
▪️Greek Yogurt
▪️Pea Shoots

Let’s get to assembling as this is going to be a little different than the straight recipes.  I put my stock, beer, turkey necks, peas, potatoes, garlic, seasonings and mustard into the inner pot.

🌀 Cooked in
@mychefiq 6Q Smart Cooker
Cook 15min on High Pressure + Natural Release

While that is cooking, I stripped the kale and blanched it with the peas for a few minutes then put in the blender with some water, lemon juice and sea salt.  I meant to get some parsley but I forgot. Blended until smooth and set aside.  Rinsed the peas and carrots and chopped up the ham.

Once the Smart Cooker was finished, I took the turkey necks out and used a potato masher to make the rest smooth.  Taste test for seasoning… Don’t burn tongue…. Beautiful!

Removed the meat from the necks and put that back in the pot with the blended kale and peas, the peas and carrots and the chopped ham… It smells soooo good….

I kept the bones – lots of meat left on them and I need to make some more Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth tomorrow so this was perfect.

I am going to freeze them at this point. I will add fresh pea shoots and yogurt when serving – those won’t hold up well to freezing. I got 6 servings to freeze for me, 2 servings to give Sandy and my lunch serving. Whew!

Paired with my last two slices of the gorgeous English Muffin Bread Loaf – this is delicious and would make brilliant croutons! So tasty!