Pea and Ham (bacon?) Soup

I am sooo into soups at the moment. Every week, I attempt to make a new type of soup. One of my recent one is a classic Pea and Ham soup. I think there is a version that uses fresh peas, but most pea and ham soup I tasted had green split peas or lentils in it. So in this soup, I used a packet of McKenzies mix soup pack which has barley and a mixture of split peas. Some recipes calls for the use of smoked pork hock but I didn't like the way it makes the soup oily, so I used smoked pork bones instead. Then, I chopped lean bacon into the mixture.

One thing about this soup is that it demands lots of patience. I started preparing the soup at 5pm, and it was properly done probably at around 7:30pm. I left it to simmer more (just taking out a portion for AR and myself) and then we went back for seconds at around 8ish 9pm. That was when the texture was perfect! I probably could have done myself a flavour by using the crock pot or just cooking straight for around 2-3 hours.

This soup freezes very well. I made a huge pot and we enjoyed the soup for at least another 2 more meals.

Pea and Ham (bacon?) Soup (Serves around 8-10) 
1 packet of Mckenzies soup mix (i think it's 250grams?)
2 smoked pork bones
2 ltre of beef stock
around 2 litre of water
lean bacon chopped (around 150 grams)
3-4 stalks of celery
2 red onions chopped
garlic chopped

Soak lentils night before.
Add pork bones for around 2 minutes till slightly brown.Saute onion and garlic till done.  Add lentils and celery. Stir for around 2 minutes. Add beef stock and 1 ltre of the water. Simmer for around 2 hours or so. Stir every 20 minutes. Top it up with water if needed. Add lean bacon bits towards the last 30 minutes. Serve with hot crusty bread.