Potato Ham Soup

This is the epitome of comfort food soup! MMmmmmmm, it was so good. Of course, I made a few modifications, but it was really good! I got this recipe off allrecipes.com and stole the photo from there too, so don't think that I took it- cause I would never stage mine so beautifully. :)

Ingredients:
3 1/2 c. peeled and diced potatoes (I did like 4 1/2, cause I like potatoes!)
1/3 c. diced celery
1/3 c. finely chopped onion
3/4 c. diced cooked ham (I did more cause Joey likes 'da meat')
1/2 c. chopped carrots (my addition)
3/1/4 c. water (I did a lot more, but it was a little too much- I'd probably just cover your veggies)
2 T. chicken bouillon granules
1/2 t. salt, or to taste
1 t. black pepper
Cayenne (mmmm...bad daysh...even though it still wasn't too spicy for Joe, so I'm not in trouble)
5 T. butter
5 T. flour
2 c. milk
2 c. corn (my addition)

Directions:
1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham, carrots and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper. *I put the boullion cubes in when I boiled everything, not afterwards*
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes. *I made more of this mixture because I added more liquid and more veggies*
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. *I also added the frozen corn here.* Serve immediately.

This was delish! I've never made a soup with ham in it and it turned out yummy!

Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

I needed to make these for a family function and asked Emily to find me a recipe, so she did. There was not a single bad comment on recipe (and there were 98+ comments). I enjoyed them very much as did Joe's family. They just needed a little more salt/pepper/seasoning. So I adjusted the recipe accordingly.

Ingredients:
4 russet potatoes, sliced (I used 6 medium sized ones)
1 onion, sliced (I didn't use a large one)
salt and pepper to taste (I used garlic salt and pepper and a little cayenne)
3 tablespoons butter
3 +tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 1 quart casserole dish.
2. Layer 1/2 of the potatoes into bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with generous amounts of garlic salt, pepper and cayenne (not so generous on the cayenne or your spouse might not eat it!) Top with the onion slices, and add the remaining potatoes. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. *NOTE* I thought I used a lot of seasoning, but apparently I didn't because I seasoned them more once they were done cooking.
   
3. In a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in the flour and salt, and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. Stir in milk. Cook until mixture has thickened. (This is REALLY liquid. I thought it was weird, but it did thicken a little, especially once I added the cheese.) Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted, about 30 to 60 seconds. Pour cheese mixture over the potatoes, and cover the dish with aluminum foil.
4. Bake 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven.

The thinner you slice the potatoes, the less time you have to bake them. I sliced them pretty thin and it only baked for an hour. This was really yummy-especially since I had never made anything like it before! You can go here for the recipe reviews and any other variations they might have suggested.

Crash Hot Potatoes

I made my version of these from the Pioneer Woman's website and they were crunchy, yummy, scrumptiously good.

New potatoes (or other small round potatoes)
Olive Oil
Kosher salt
Black Pepper
Rosemary (or desired herbs)
Grated Cheese/Parmesan Cheese (Opt)

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.

On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes. rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.

Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available). ......I also added parmesan on some and shredded cheese on others. Both were yummy. The shredded cheese got kind of crunchy, but I actually liked it. You could also add it 5 minutes before it is done if you just want it to melt.

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Berry Cobbler Cake

Emily has photos of this super yummy, Thanksgiving-winning, cake. So she can exercise admin priviledges and add them. ;)

2 cups fresh or frozen berries (I used the Costco Triple Berry Blend)
1 package yellow cake mix
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup water, divided
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
ice cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Place berries in 9 inch square pan. Combine cake mix and cinnamon in large bowl. Add egg and 1/4 cup water. Blend well. Spoon over berries. Combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in 3/4 cup water and stir until dissolved. Pour over batter and berries. Bake 40-45 minutes until lightly browned. Serve with ice cream.

Spaghetti Pie

This is a yummy change for spaghetti....the "crust" and cottage cheese really make it. This is a doubled-ish recipe as I found it easier to just use a pound of hamburger, a jar of sauce, and more noodles, and then I just freeze one of the "pies" for later. Enjoy!

8 oz dried spaghetti
2 Tbs butter
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced (or garlic seasoning in the sauce)
1 cup chopped onion (1 onion)
1 cup chopped green sweet pepper (optional....I've never had one on hand when making)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Seasonings of choice for sauce (garlic, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, sugar.....)
2 cups low fat cottage cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook spaghetti and drain (I like to break mine into pieces first). Return to pan and stir in butter till melted. Stir in egg and parmesan cheese.

Meanwhile, cook ground beef, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic, seasoning the meat with salt and pepper. Drain fat. Stir in spaghetti sauce and seasonings to taste. Heat through.

Spray two 9-inch pie plates with non-stick coating. Press spaghetti mixture onto bottom and up sides of pie plates, forming a crust. Spread cottage cheese on bottom and up sides of crusts. Spread meat mixture over cottage cheese. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake in a 350 oven for 20-25 minutes or till bubbly.

Bisquick Chicken Pot Pie

Mmmm, good. I like this recipe because it's so stinkin' easy and so fast!! Just mix and bake and voila! You have yummy, warm goodness.

1 c. cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1 2/3 c. frozen veggies, thawed
1 (10 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 c. Bisquick baking mix
1/2 c. milk
1 egg

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Mix chicken, veggies and cream of chicken soup together and spread into bottom of non greased 9-inch round glass pie pan.

3. Mix remaining ingredients (Bisquick, milk and egg) and pour on top of chicken mixture.

4. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until top turns golden brown.

Never Fail Sugar Cookies

I know Sara just posted a sugar cookie recipe, but I just had to post this one too. We went caroling this past week (with Relief Society and Young Women). One of the people we sang to had made these cookies for us. She gave me the recipe on Sunday and I promptly made two batches on Monday. Today our good friends came over and helped us frost and sprinkle them. So fun! And so incredibly delicious and easy.

2 cups sugar
2 cups butter, softened

6 eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla
6 teaspoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons dry vanilla pudding mix (optional--will help cookies stay soft)
7 cups flour


Cream butter and sugar. Add other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Roll 1/4" to 1/2" thick (your preference). Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

Merry Christmas everyone!