Split Pea Soup

I am now going to share with you my mother's recipe for split pea soup. She got it from my grandmother. You and I are not going to tell anyone that Grandma got it from the back of a bag of green split peas, then tweaked it, are we? Now you know where I got my recipe stealing, er, borrowing, skills from. That is what has been passed down to me from generation to generation.

Green Split Pea Soup with Ham
1 lb. of green split peas (use yellow if you have been watching movies you shouldn't have been. If you still can't deal, look on the back of a package of lentils, and tweak that)
8 cups of water
1 meaty ham bone
1 cup of chopped ham
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 carrots, scraped and chopped
a pinch of salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
Wash, sort, and drain split peas. Combine all ingredients in a large pot with lid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for about 1 hour or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Before serving, remove ham from the bone. Cut ham off bone, and dice. Add to the soup and serve.

When you go to a restaurant, you get a cup this as the soup of the day sometimes with your meal. A full bowl of this is a meal in itself. Sometimes it is hard to think of soup as a meal. If that is a problem for you, think of it as ham and pea stew. Now you can serve it as a meal, no?

Ham and Green Bean Casserole

I don't know about you, but I have way too much ham left over from Christmas. I do not like pineapple or glaze on my ham. About one hour into cooking I pour a can of soda pop over it to keep it moist. My mom believed in using ginger ale, which is really good. One year I was having company, forgot to buy ginger ale, so I had to use Pepsi instead. It was different, but in a good way. This year I chose to go with the Pepsi again. It was good. Still, there are only so many ham sandwiches three people can eat (mom can't eat ham). This is where pea soup, fried rice, and ham and green been casserole come in.

Ham and Green Bean Casserole

1 cup of ham (I have lots of ham leftover, so I was a little more generous in the ham department.)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
2 cans of cut green beans, drained
1 cup of shredded cheese (I usually use cheddar, but yesterday I used Kraft's Mexican blend, and it was good)

Spray a microwave safe dish with cooking spray. Put ham, soup, and green beans in dish. Mix well to combine. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Pour cheese over the beans and ham. Microwave for one more minute. Serve with rice.

Did I forget to mention it was an easy recipe, and could be done in the microwave? Woops!

You Would Think This Was a Joke, But No, it is Not

Today my husband had to go to the dentist to get a bridge put back into his mouth. It fell out while he was eating an egg salad sandwich I had prepared for him. Yes, I removed the shells. Yes, I mashed the eggs. The problem may have been that the eggs were "hard"boiled. My husband is a sweetie who insists that the bridge must have already been loose. But you know I believe in full disclosure. You are reading a food blog written by a woman whose egg salad can crack a bridge. What does that say about the both of us? Please vote on my Christmas Cookie poll.

Merry Christmas

"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.'" John 6:35

What does this verse have to do with Christmas? Everything. This is why Jesus was born: to become our very sustenance.
What does this have to do with food? I can offer no one anything better on Christmas, than the sustenance God provided for us on Christmas day. No recipe from me required. God bless you all. Merry Christmas!

Crock pot Beef Stew

Captain Obvious Cook is going to post a recipe on my site again today, since we know you all know how to make beef stew in a crock pot, but it is what's cooking today.
Beef Stew
3lbs of london broil, cut into cubes(any cut of meat is fine, but cut it into cubes yourself.)
4 carrots, peeled and cut
4 potatoes, scrubbed and cut into cubes
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 cup of hot water
1 bottle of beer
2 bioloun cubes
4 tablespoons of flour
salt, pepper, and paprika to taste

Spray crock pot with cooking spray. Add meat. Add flour and mix. Add onion and garlic and mix. Add carrots and potatoes, and mix. Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste, and mix. Place the boulion cubes at the bottom of the crock pot. Pour the beer and hot water over the ingredients in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours.

Pigs in a Blanket

Okay, today I am Obvious Cook. We all know the recipe for this. Take one can of Pillsbury crescent dinner rolls, and a package of cocktail wiener franks. Tear bits of dough and wrap them around the franks.* Place on cookie sheet. Cook at temperature on package for the amount of time specified on package. Am I the only one who asked a hostess for this recipe, only to realize that even the kids knew how to make it?
Well, yesterday, the infamous Chicago Tribune (see today's post on other blog), gave me information I didn't know. Yeah, I know I shouldn't promote them, but for your sakes gals and guys, I thought this needed to be shared. And I have promised full disclosure on my sidebar, even if I must credit a talking dog and evil baby!
Brace yourself. You can put the dough covered hot dogs in the freezer while still on the cookie sheet. After they are frozen, put them in a bag until they are ready to use. When you are ready to use them, spread them on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
When I read this, I thought it was great for preparing ahead if you were having company. If you already knew this, go ahead and call me Obvious Cook in the comment section.
Anyone want to know Trib's recipe for Cheesy Olive Bombs, let me know. These are a make ahead appetizer, too.

* Okay Katdish, I know you like specific directions. Here we go. Pop the can of dinner rolls and unroll the dough. Take two triangles of dough and form a square. Cut each square 5 down and two across. Wrap one strip of dough around the center of each cocktail wiener. Is that better?

Please take part in the Christmas Cookie Survey in my Sidebar

Actually, I am not a cookie baker. I could share a Christmas cookie horror story with you, but you may not want to read it before Christmas. If you want me to post it on this, or my other, blog, leave a comment here.

If you too have trouble baking cookies for Santa, go ahead and be creative. Leave something else for him to eat.

Hint #2 Soy Sauce is Good!

I am not a soy sauce conosueirre. I never even had Asian food until I was in college. But I do find that a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce when cooking a beef roast or pork roast in the slow cooker make it wonderful. I like it better than worchestershire sauce, which isn't bad. I do not use it with paprika. No special reason. Never tried it. I can't really imagine the two flavors together. If any of you out their have tried it, let me know. I also like soy sauce in rice and mixed into vegetables. Soy sauce is good.

Fried Rice

About 3 cups of cooked rice, cooled
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of chopped green onions
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup of diced cooked chicken (or beef, or pork, or ham)
1 cup of mixed vegetables (carrots and peas)
1 dash of pepper
2 tablespoons of soy sauce (more if you like it)
salt to taste

Heat the oil over medium to high heat in a large preheated skilled or wok. Add the onions and eggs into the oil, and stir until they are cooked. Stir in chicken, carrots, peas, and pepper. Stir fry for about to minutes or until vegetables are both crispy and tender. Stir in the cooked rice. Add soy sauce and salt. Stir until the soy sauce is mixed evenly.

On July 16, 2008, a lady named Ying Stoller came to the library in the town where I live, and showed a room full of people how to make fried rice. It was awesome. I love fried rice! And lately, I have been trying to stretch leftovers (Don't worry. It is the economy, but we are doing fine. I try to stretch the left overs so that I can donate more canned goods to the food pantry and still stay within our budget. Food pantry clients have escalated, providers have declined, so those of us who can do more need to creatively find ways to do just that. Getting off soap box now, and back into the kitchen). This is a really great recipe to stretch all sorts of leftovers with.
Mrs. Stoller was also selling a book while she was here. It is called Ying's Chinese Cookbook: Authentic But Simple. She shared these recipes with a bunch of strangers for free to promote her book. I feel justified in sharing the same recipe if I do the same and promote her book. Hey, if I am wrong, she can comment and ask me to delete the post. I will if she feels that way, but can't understand why she would. I am going to try to provide a link to her website. Wish me luck.
www.yingskitchen.com

Click here to go to Ying's Kitchen

Hint #1 Paprika is Good

A friend mentioned to me that she thought paprika had no taste. That is because she is buying the wrong paprika. Sweet paprika should taste slightly sweet. It is made from dried red pepper flakes. Lots of people use it to mainly add color to their food, but it also adds flavor. I use Hungarian Paprika that was actually packaged in Hungary. I do not recommend the brands we are familiar with (rhymes with tawrys and tuhcormick). I get no residuals from the sale of actual Hungarian paprika. My dad used to say that a good Hungarian puts paprika in his coffee. He then added that he was not a good Hungarian. Still,you can put it in lots of things. Go ahead. Get creative (but not with the French Toast, Katdish)

Chicken Pot Pie

As seen on the bisquick site, and requested by Katdish.


1 2/3 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 cup cut-up cooked chicken
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Total Time: 30 min

1. Heat oven to 400°F. In ungreased 9-inch pie plate, stir vegetables, chicken and soup.
2. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients until blended. Pour into pie plate.
3. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until crust golden brown.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft) Heat oven to 425ºF.


P.S. I made eggs and bacon for breakfast this morning. This is somewhat monumental, because I rarely get up early enough to make breakfast for my husband, and as penance, I won't eat meat at breakfast without him. You know how some websites give you "how to videos"? Well, here is a "how not to video" on egg preparation. The bacon is rather raw. Enjoy!

Spam Quiche

I found this recipe on another site over a year ago, I think it was Cooks.com, except that then it was Seafood Quiche, and it used tuna or crabmeat. If I make it Seafood Quiche, I prefer pink salmon. This is good as a breakfast (spam) or dinner (either). I had posted this before on my other blog, but when lazy, I plan on moving the recipes over hear. Enjoy!

1 can of spam, chopped (tuna, crab meat, leftover ham, or salmon also work, but you must then rename the quiche)
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (American, Mexican, Cheddar, or any combination of what you have in the refrigerator also turn out tasty)
4 oz. cream cheese, cut in cubes
1 whole onion, chopped (it originally called for 1/4 of a cup of onion, but I like onion. Besides, I must change recipes)
2 c. milk
1 c. Bisquick
4 eggs
3/4 tsp. salt

In a lightly greased 10" pie plate put spam, cheeses and onion. Blend milk, Bisquick, eggs and salt together. Pour over spam mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Apple Cake

My cousin Diane gave this recipe to me. She got it from some guy on WGN who calls himself "Mr. Food". At the end of every demo, he says "OOh it's sooooo good!" That is so annoying! I do like this recipe, though. Frost it with Cool Whip, and it is even better!

Diana’s “Apple No Bother Cake” from Mr. Food

2/3 cup of vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 cups of diced and peeled apples
1 ½ cups of Splenda
1 ¾ cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, beat the oil and the eggs until foamy. Stir in the apples and Splenda. In another large bowl mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir in the apple mixture into the flour mixture. Then stir in vanilla. Pour into pan, and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Enjoy!

Chicken Casserole

I posted this in Sherri's comment section a couple of days ago. I think this is the recipe Annie is asking for on Sherri's comment site today.


Chicken Casserole
Four boneless skinless chickenbreasts
1 cup of instant rice
1 cup of water (I usually skip the water because the gravy comes out thin and soupy, but I think some people like it that way. Just not me)
1can of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of beans, drained
Paprika to taste

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Mix water with cream of mushroom soup if you are using the water. Mix in at least one tablespoon of paprika (more is better, but some people like living a paprika deprived life) Mix in rice, and beans. Place chicken breasts on top of mixture. Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. Cover the crockpot. Cook it on low for at least 8 hours.

Make Ahead French Toast

My cyberfriends have encouraged me to start a recipe blog. At first, I felt resistant because I don't think I could do a recipe a day, then I remembered that it was only recently that I started posting daily on my other blog, so here we are.

I got this recipe from a Church cookbook about 14 years ago (yes, before I was married I was buying Church cookbooks). At the time, my mom did all the cooking, but I made note that one day for Sunday breakfasts I may want to start this on a Saturday, then put it in the oven Sunday while I get ready.
I changed the recipe to include Splenda instead of sugar (mom is a diabetic) and vanilla and cinnamon because my husband loves those flavors. So yes, I have changed the recipe and therefore made it mine.


Breakfast
Make Ahead French Toast


1 long thin loaf of French bread
8 large eggs
3 cups of milk
4 tsp. of splenda
¾ tsp of salt
1 Tbsp of vanilla
½ tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces

Spray 9 X 13 X 2 inch pan with cooking spray. Cut bread into 1 inch slices, and arrange in a single layer. Beat eggs, and then add milk, splenda, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon. Beat for about 30 seconds to combine. Evenly pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and no more than 24 hours. Dot with butter and bake 45 to minutes at 350 degrees. French toast should look puffy and light brown.



I usually microwave bacon or sausage to serve with it. Maybe microwave bacon will be my next post....