I know it's winter. We should not be shocked if we have a cold day. I think we have been spoiled a lot so far this year. I know that doesn't mean that we won't pay for this calm weather coming up in March.

We have lived here long enough to know that our weather can change in the blink of an eye. It's not even all that unusual to have all of our seasons in one day either. That is one of those great things about living here in the Texas Panhandle.

Right now the weather forecast shows a cold front moving in on Saturday. We will have temperatures in the thirties oh and of course that wind will blow. So when the weather turns to a cold day I like to be prepared.

I like to have a nice comfort meal ready for me to eat. This was actually one of my daughter's favorite meals too. I would tell her I was making it and she would make sure she was home in time for dinner.

Our go-to meal is split pea soup. Yes, I know it's green. Luckily that is my favorite color. But boy does it taste good. I will have my crockpot ready to go with this meal on Saturday.

Ingredients for Split Pea Soup

• package of split peas
• one onion diced
• carrots diced
• celery diced
• ham or ham bone
• 32 oz. chicken broth

The thing I like about this recipe is that you just throw it all in the crockpot. If I have a ham bone left over from Easter or Christmas I just throw that in the slow cooker. Otherwise I buy a package of ham and chop it up.

I then chop up all the veggies.

Then all you have to do is get your crock pot ready. I always use a liner so that the clean up is that much easier.

Start with adding the chicken broth and peas to the crock pot.

Next you go ahead and dump in all the vegetables.

Now your soup is ready for the ham. Oh it is already smelling great.

Add more water to cover all the ingredients and stir.

Now is when you have to be patient. Or heck start this on a day you are walking out the door for work. When you get home it will be smelling even better and ready to eat. You can cook it on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. It just really depends on your schedule.

When the soup is ready you can serve it with crackers. Or grab a loaf of French bread from the store. You can't go wrong. You insides will be warm on a cold day like we are planning for on Saturday.