Ham & Bean Soup

Found this online at about.com & have made it twice now-very tasty & perfect for the leftover ham!

INGREDIENTS:
8 cups water
1 pound Great Northern beans or navy beans
2 cups cubed ham
1 ham bone or ham hock, optional
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon pepper or to taste
various seasoning to taste *my addition
1 bay leaf
1 carrot, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped or sliced thinly
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

PREPARATION:
Bring water and beans to a boil; boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour.
Stir in ham, ham bone or hock, pepper, bay leaf, carrot and celery. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until beans are tender (skim foam from top), about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If soup is too thick, add a little water. Remove ham bone or ham hock (if used) and trim meat from bone. Return meat to soup with tomato sauce and salt; simmer for about 15 minutes (or until ready to serve) Remove bay leaf.

Chocolate Crinkles

Ok, Analise and I are embarking on a month of Christmas cookies and candy. This was our first recipe, and it was AWESOME! Easy and incredibly delicious. These are like little brownie bites.

• 3/4 c. butter, melted
• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 t vanilla extract
• 2 c. flour
• 1 t b aking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 ounces (half a bag or 1 cup, I think) mini semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 c. confectioner's sugar

In a large bowl, mix together the melted butter, cocoa powder and sugar. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Use a large spoon to slowly add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture. Stir in the chips. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Form the dough into 1-inch balls, then roll them in confectioners' sugar. Bake the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet for 10 minutes. Set the baking sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then lightly dust the cookies with the remaining confectioners' sugar. Transfer the cookies directly onto the rack to cool thoroughly. Makes about 4 dozen.

From Family Fun magazine here

Play Doh recipes!

Here's a great link with lots of play doh recipes and ideas.

Perfect Pumpkin Bars

From Allrecipes.com

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture until thoroughly combined.
3. Spread the batter evenly into an ungreased 10x15 inch jellyroll pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven. Cool before frosting.

• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

To make the frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Add confectioners' sugar a little at a time, beating until mixture is smooth. Spread evenly on top of the cooled bars. Cut into squares.

Honey Hoisin Chicken (slow cooker)

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3 T hoisin sauce
• 3 T honey
• 3 T soy sauce
• 2 T dry white wine
• 1 T grated ginger (I used 1 t dried)
• 1 t pepper (this is VERY peppery - i use about half)

Mix sauce ingredients and pour over chicken in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, turning chicken halfway through so it all gets covered in sauce. Just before serving, slice chicken diagonally into strips. Serve over steamed or stir-fried veggies and rice, topped with toasted sesame seeds or chow mein noodles.

Make Ahead Mashed Potato Casserole

These are our favorite for the holidays.

5 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
8 oz sour cream, room temp
1/2 cup milk, warm
1 stick butter, softened
2 tsp onion powder, or garlic powder if you prefer
Salt & Pepper to taste

Add quartered potatoes to large pot of cold water and bring to boil .Cook for 20 min or until tender. Drain and transfer to large bowl. Beat potatoes and then beat in remaining ingredients. Transfer to greased 9x13 pan.

From here you can do either:
1. bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until lightly golden on top & serve immediately.
2. Allow to cool 1/2 hour, cover and refrigerate for later. Then bake for 45min to 1 hour at 350 degrees prior to serving. or
3. Freeze and then defrost in fridge and follow 2.

serves 10-15

Bobby Flay's Cranberry Mango Sauce

1 bag fresh cranberries
2 mangoes, diced
2 cups maple syrup
1/2 cup orange juice
salt and pepper to taste

Combine first four ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 12 minutes. Season to taste. Let cool. Serve at room temperature.

This was so delicious!!

English Muffin Bread

1 1/4 cups water
2 t sugar
1 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
3 cups bread flour
3 Tbs nonfat dry milk
2 tsp yeast

Put ingredients into bread machine in order listed. Especially good to set on the delay timer for warm breakfast bread in the morning!

Makes 1 2lb loaf.

Cornmeal Parmesan Pizza Dough

From the Better Homes and Gardens Best Bread Machine Recipes.

For a 1 1/2 lb machine:
1 cup water
2 T olive oil
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 t salt
1 t yeast

For a 2lb machine
1 1/3 cups water
3 T olive oil
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2/3 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 t salt
1 1/4 t yeast

Use the dough cycle on your bread machine to make the pizza dough. When complete, punch down and allow to rest ofr 10 minutes.

For thin crust:
Divide dough in half. Sprinkle pan with cornmeal. Roll dough into 12-13 (or 13-14inch for 2lb) circle and transfer to prepared pan. Prick with a fork. Do not let dough rise. Bake in a 425 oven for 10-12min or until lightly browned. Add toppings and bake for 10-15min or until edge is golden and toppings are bubbly.

For thick crust (1 1/2lb will make 1, 2lb will make 2):
Grease a 13 or 14 inche pizza pan (13x9 pan for the 2lb) and sprinkle with cornmeal. Pat dough into prepared pan, building up edges. Cover and let rise in warm place for 30-45min or until nearly double. Bake in a 375 oven for 20-25min or until lightly browned. Add toppings and dbake 15-20min more.

Martha's Layered Salad

This was my mom's layered salad recipe that she made for everything. So, I've named it for her, here on the blog!

1 medium head of lettuce, shredded
1 cup coarsely chopped celery
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped small (optional)
1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts
1 10oz package frozen green peas, separated
1 1/2 cups mayo
2T sugar
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
8 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

Arrange the lettuce in the bottom of a large, flat-bottomed salad bowl (consider using a trifle bowl for the best presentation). Add the other veggies in layers - do not stir or toss! Spread the mayo evening over the top and sprinkle with the sugar and the cheese. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Sprinkle with the crumbled bacon just before serving.

I have no idea how many this serves, but its a LOT!