Ham Bone Soup

 I've never been a fan of split pea soup so what else do you do with a ham bone?  I searched and found this https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/ham-bone-soup/

Just a couple of tweaks.  One difference is that I cooked on low for like 10-12 hours but I'm sharing on my blog because my nephew and a couple of others have asked for the recipe and I can never remember what blog I found it on.

And, she does mention it but something I learned from another recipe where the beans would NOT soften is you REALLY need to make sure NOT to add tomatoes until the beans are cooked.

This soup freezes well and has a nice rich flavor.  Everyone who I've shared it with, loved it.

What you'll need:

1 onion peeled and chopped (I used a purple onion)

3 carrots washed, quartered and sliced (I leave the peel on for extra nutrients)

1 ham bone

20 oz bag of dried bean soup mix.  I honestly think it was called multibean soup or something like that.

8 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 t dried thyme

1 T minced garlic

3 cups of diced ham, my ham bone had meat on it too so I think I only added a cup?

15 oz can petite diced tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Rinse beans thoroughly and set aside seasoning packet for later.  I didn't get a seasoning pack the last time I made it and it was fine.

Place everything except diced ham, tomatoes and seasoning packet in crockpot.  Cook on low for 8-12 hours.  

Remove ham bone from the slow cooker.  Chop up any ham that is falling off the bone, stir in diced ham, tomatoes, seasoning packet, salt and pepper.  

Cover and cook for an additional 20 minutes to heat through.

Alivia

Sometimes a little girl just needs a bunch of Barbie cakes:)  This was quite a few years ago but I had the photos saved in my drafts but Barbie cakes are probably the easiest cake you'll ever make if you have the pans for the skirts.  Order the Barbie bodies from Amazon (no legs, just a peg) and use a star tip to frost on the skirt.  Smiles, smiles everywhere!

Mocha

Should be called MMMMMMMMMMMMMMocha:)  Quarantine called for desperate measures, homemade mocha  KIDDING..Kinda but it was a yummy and EASY thing to figure out and a real money saver IF I had been drinking these once a day from my favorite coffee shop.

So, here's what I used.

1 1/2 C hot coffee (I use a dark roast.  I also tried this with cold coffee since I prefer cold drinks and that is a HARD no.  Mix it hot, let it sit 10 minutes and pour over ice if cold is your thing.)
1/2-1 T Whipping Cream
1 T Baking Cocoa
1-2 T Creamer (you decide how sweet you want it)

 Put all the ingredients into something that you can shake.  In my case, a fancier mason jar.  Shake, shake, shake!

 Pour into your favorite coffee mug and put $5 in your savings account:)

Hockey Cupcakes

I found these in my drafts too.  I made these for Max's high school hockey team.

Print out a copy of the school logo

Put waxed paper over the logo

Melt some chocolate melts in your team color, pour melted chocolate into a squeeze bottle that you get at Michael's (think ketchup bottle at a restaurant) and squirt chocolate to cover the logo.  Chill, peel gently and stick onto cupcake before serving.  Don't put these in until you're ready to serve or they can melt and break.

How I got the striped look with icing?  Take a throw away piping bag that has a star tip on the end.  Take a wooden skewer and run food coloring up the side of the bag in a line.  Three lines around the bag.  Fill with frosting.

Start squeezing frosting on cupcake in a clockwise pattern finishing in the center.  Top with chocolate logo.  Impress your friends:)

Chicken Dijon...or as the Kjome kids know it...Chicken in Cream Sauce;)

Because my kids don't like mustard I didn't tell them that dish that they both love contains it.  Got this from one of my hockey moms and it has been in the regular rotation since.  Serves great over rice or pasta or wanna be healthy?  Throw it over your favorite veg!

What you'll need:

4 Skinless Chicken Breasts

2 T Butter

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Dijon Style Mustard

Sauce

2 T Butter

1 medium Onion chopped (you can leave these out)

1/2 C Mushrooms chopped (you can leave these out)

1 C Cream or Milk (I used half and half or if I'm feeling sassy, heavy cream)

2 T Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper

I double the above because my family really loves the sauce

Melt 2 T Butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat (you don't have to use cast iron, but I was going for one pot cooking)

 Rough chop mushrooms and onions

 Season chicken and put into melted butter, cook for 3-4 minutes

 Flip chicken and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes

Remove chicken from pan and put to the side.  See that it's raw in the middle?  That's ok, you're going to finish cooking in the oven. 

 Throw last 2 T butter in pan and melt with juices over medium heat

 Toss in the onions and mushrooms and cook for about 3-4 minutes until softened and the mushrooms are browning up.

 Mix in the cream (or half and half or milk...just don't use fat free here, it will taste ok but it will have a curdled look which isn't very appetizing)

 Cook for a few minutes on low heat until it starts to thicken.  Turn off heat and mix in lemon juice.  Taste to see if you need any seasoning.

 Generously spread Dijon mustard on chicken breasts.  I don't know what "generous" is but this is what it looks like to me;)  You can cut chicken into chunks or halves if you want for easier serving.

Put back into pan covering with sauce.  Remember I doubled my sauce, if you didn't, you wont have quite as much.  

If you are using a different pan the "real" directions say to put into a sprayed 8x8 pan and cover with sauce.

Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Serve over your favorite and enjoy.  Reheats great for leftovers but doesn't freeze well.

Kjome Hash

My favorite breakfast is some type of hash because you can do an easy fridge clean and it's always yummy!!

You can use packaged hashbrowns but I was out so I cubed a couple of peeled potatoes.

Put potatoes that you seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder and 1/4 chopped onion into a pan with a 1/4 cup water over medium heat.  Cover and cook until water is gone, you'll only need to do this with cubed potatoes, helps them cook through.  Add couple tablespoons of your favorite oil or butter and fry until crispy.  Season to taste.

Throw in the fridge!  In this case it was some chopped peppers, spinach, chopped tomatoes and some left over chopped bacon (sometimes I use ham or steak or chicken..whatever is in the fridge) and diced avocado. Give it a good toss.  If you don't like crunchy peppers, add them when you add the butter to the potatoes so they have time to soften while the potatoes crisp up.  You can also throw in some of your favorite cheese if you want.  Season to taste.

Fry two eggs to your liking.  I like over medium because it makes kind of a sauce for the hash.  Top your hash and squirt your favorite hot sauce and serve!!

Siracha Wontons

Easy Appetizer

One package won ton skins

Two packages Cream Cheese (I use Low Fat)

2-5 Tablespoons Siracha (keep adding until you have the heat you like)

Mix cream cheese and siracha.  Put one tablespoon down middle of won ton skin.

Wet edges with water and fold making a triangle.

Wrap around your finger and seal with a little water.  Fold over triangle top.

Like this

Fry in Crisco or Vegetable oil that is 350 degrees or when you drop one in, it pops right to the top.  Fry until golden brown.  Serve!!