My husband issued me a challenge shortly after we were married. I hated paying the price for his favorite soup-in-a-can, Green Pea Soup, by Campbell's. Not the Split Pea, but the one that's creamy smooth. He hates lumpy pea soup! Well, he told me if I could make it "just as good" as the can, he would eat it and I could stop paying a dollar a can (or more). Well, it took me about 8 years, and lots of tries, but I finally got it right. Hey, don't look at me like that, it's not like I was trying for eight years straight. I mean, you can only eat pea soup so often! When I make this now, I usually make a double or triple batch so I can freeze some - it does freeze well. Oh, and no, there is no ham or meat of any kind in this, just some bouillon. I read the can label and saw it contained no meat, unlike the Split Pea Soup. I prefer it this way. By the way, a couple of months ago, I found a foodservice sized can of Green Pea soup at our grocery outlet store, for just over a dollar. At that price, I bought it to have on hand for a quick last-minute meal. My family complained! It was way too salty for their taste now! I guess they're finally weaned. Now if I could just convince the kids that homemade Macaroni & Cheese is better than the Blue Box Stuff.......