1 (16 oz.) pkg. dried green split peas, rinsed
1 hambone, or 2 meaty hamhocks, or 2 c. diced ham (or turkey sausage, see notes)
3 carrots, peeled & sliced
1 med. onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery plus leaves, chopped
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp. seasoned salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. fresh pepper
1 1/2qts. hot water

Layer ingredients in slow cooker, pour in water. DO NOT STIR. Cover and cook on high 4 to 5 hours or
on low 8 to 10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls off bone. Remove bones and bay leaf. Serve garnished with croutons. Freezes well.

Gail's Notes: I used ham the first time I made it and Don doesn't particularly like ham so the next time I made it, I used almost a pound of turkey smoked sausage, chopped up. Probably only used 1 stalk of celery but I couldn't taste it at all so using 2 is probably fine. When I don't have fresh parsley, I use dried. I usually cook it in the West Bend cooker and put it on 4 or 4 1/2 for about 4 hours. I use 2 cloves of garlic and maybe some more garlic powder sprinkled in so you could use more cloves if you like I think. I didn't use quite the full amount of seasoned salt but I put a sprinkle of Tony's on mine when it was finished!
If you like it smoother, you can use a stick blender to mix it up. To me, the soup is pretty smooth this way but has the chopped up pieces of sausage and carrots in it, which doesn't bother me. I have not tried it using a blender.
This is really easy to do!

2/8/06-more notes: I almost never use the celery because I don't keep it around. This gets thick after it sits for a while with no heat on it. It heats up well for leftovers, might have to add some water to it if you want. And it can be frozen as well. I only use turkey sausage now, just chopped up. I SO love this stuff!