A day late!! Week 3 - Soup!

Kerry here, with my surprisingly successful soup recipe!  This is an adaption of one I found on food.com.

Use Up That Hambone Soup

1 ham bone with visible meat (if you're worried there's not enough, add some more slices from the ham to the pot)

1 medium onion, diced

1-2 stalks celery, diced (1 if a smaller bone, 2 if larger)

1 tsp. pepper

4 potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces

1 stick butter

1/2 c. flour

2 c. half and half

2 cloves crushed garlic

2 bay leaves

2 tsp. chopped cilantro

Salt to taste

In a large stockpot, combine the first four ingredients.  Add enough water to just cover the hambone.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the meat can be easily shredded from the bone with a fork.  Remove bone and any extra pieces of meat from the pot.  Shred ham, discarding any fat and the bone.  Return the meat to the pot.  Add the potatoes, bring back up to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Be careful to not let the butter brown.  Add flour, whisking constantly until fully combined.  Increase heat to medium high, then gradually add half and half.  Be sure to continually whisk while you are adding the half and half, being careful not to scorch the mixture.  Once you have a creamy, bubbly, thick mixture that clings to your whisk, remove the pot from heat.  

Once the potatoes are fork-tender, gradually stir in the cream mixture, stirring constantly until thoroughly mixed.  At this point, stir in the garlic, bay leaves, cilantro, and salt.  Simmer for another 15 minutes.  If the soup is thicker than you prefer, you can thin it with milk.  Remove bay leaves before serving.  We had the soup with a loaf of fresh baked bread and a simple salad.  It was great on a snowy evening!

Yes, I know I still owe posts for a throw pillow craft and for homemade Oxy Clean.  It'll get done before the end of the month, I promise!  

Week 2-Chinese

This may be a shorter/more abrupt post than usual, since I (Kerry) am an involuntary lefty for the evening.  Don't grab the handle of a cast-iron skillet that had just come out of a 350 degree oven, kids.

For our Chinese cooking challenge, my twin nieces who don't want to be named came over to help cook/eat with us.  We started out with egg drop soup.

It was pretty easy, and really tasty!  I was told to be prepared to make it again.  Here's your ingredients:

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• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
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• Pour 3 1/4 c. of the broth into a saucepan.  Add the ginger, chives, and salt, and bring it to a rolling boil.  In a small bowl, stir together the remaining broth and the cornstarch until smooth, and hold on to for later.  In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolk with a fork.  Use the fork to drizzle a small amount of egg at a time into the boiling broth.  The eggs will cook immediately (and it's kinda cool to watch!).  Once all of the egg has been added, slowly stir in the cornstarch mixture until the soup is the desired thickness.
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• Our main course was a beef and broccoli stir fry with jasmine rice.  We actually prepared the meat marinade before we started the soup, so it had plenty of time to sit while we ate.  My nieces were really helpful during this part-they handled all the chopping, measuring, and mixing for me, so all I had to do was take pictures.  
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• For the stir fry, you'll need a 1lb. flank steak.  Cut it into thin strips (hint-this is easier to do if the meat is partially frozen).  For the marinade, you'll need 2 T. of red wine or dry sherry, 2 T. of soy sauce, 1 t. of minced ginger, and one green onion.  Chop the green onion into small pieces.  Mix all of these ingredients together and marinate the steak slices in it for at least 20 minutes.
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• While it's marinating, you could assemble the remaining ingredients.  Slice 2 red bell peppers into thin strips, and chop up about a half pound (or 2 decent size heads) of broccoli.  You'll also need 1 clove of garlic, 1/2 c. of beef broth, 1 T. of cornstarch mixed with 2 T. of water, 1 tsp. of sugar, and 4 T. of oil for stir frying.  
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• When you're ready to begin, heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and briefly stir-fry it until it is fragrant, which will happen quickly.  Then add the meat (I dumped in the marinade with it), browning it quickly, then stir fry it until almost cooked through.  Push the meat to the side and add the broccoli, as well as more oil if needed.  Stir fry it for a couple of minutes, then add the peppers.  Stir fry a bit more, until the peppers are starting to become tender, then add the broth and the cornstarch/water mixture.  Turn up the heat and stir until the sauce has thickened.  Serve hot over rice or noodles.  The rice I used was Mahatma brand Jasmine rice.  I just followed the instructions on the bag, and it was that awesome combination of fluffy and sticky.
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• I know I also mentioned earlier that I was going to do a test run on an Oxy Clean recipe-I currently have a couple of items soaking for the test, so I'll post about it in a day or so, once I can get it washed.  So be on the lookout for that, a wild rice chowder recipe for the upcoming week's challenge, and a quick and cheap way to update your throw pillows! 
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• PS-I'm having issues uploading the rest of the pictures I had wanted to use, so until I can get it fixed, imagine shots of blond girls slicing meat and cutting up green onions, and a final shot of a tasty bowl of stir fry.     
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A little something to tide you over...

Today will be a big day, blog-wise!  I'll be testing a homemade Oxy-Clean recipe on chocolate milk, and preparing our Chinese recipes for the 52 Week challenge.  I'll have pictures!  And nieces as assistants!

However, in the meantime, I have a small recipe for basil crostini.  I made it because I had a third of a loaf of bread leftover from dinner earlier in the week, and also because I wanted a lighter, less bready version of garlic bread to go with our spaghetti that we had yesterday.  Sorry, no pics this time-they were gone by the time it occurred to me to get them.

Bread, sliced thinly (ideal would be a baguette or smaller loaf)
4T butter
2t crushed garlic
2t fresh minced basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Up to 1/2 c mozzarella or parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line up slices on a baking sheet.  In microwave safe bowl, melt butter.  Add garlic and basil, mix thoroughly.  Brush mixture onto slices of bread.  Top with cheese-I used approximately 1T per slice, but it's a matter of personal taste.  Bake until bread is toasted and cheese is melted-I think it took 7 or 8 minutes for me.  Very flavorful!  My Dudes made them disappear, and so did I.

Dinner and Donations

Welcome to 2012!  I’m sure Bannon will agree with me when I say that we both wish you all a new year filled with health, happiness, and positivity!  I know I’m aiming for that for myself this year.  Eating better, cutting down on soda (my weakness is a can of Dr. Pepper!), and being more proactive!  That means finishing those lingering craft projects, cleaning and minimizing clutter, and blogging more!  I’m also hoping to read a new book a month-I love to read, but I tend to go back to my old favorites, so this is more about stepping out of my comfort zone.

Anyway, I got started to day on my goals by cleaning out my toiletry and cleaning stockpiles, and donating as much as possible to a local homeless shelter.  I’m taking a bundle this week to the Homeless Families Foundation.  Along with soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc., I’ll be delivering crib sheets and blankets, as well as some kids books and games.  I like that they focus on providing stability to homeless families, but they place a very strong emphasis on giving children stability through educational programs, tutoring, and summer programs.  My little family of three may not be rich, but we are lucky that we can live a comfortable life, and we like to pay that forward.  If you live in the area, please take the time to look at their site, and see if it’s an organization you’d like to help.

I’ve also been spending my free time lately in the kitchen!  I did a guest blog post for my friend Bonnie at The Not So Modern Housewife, discussing the myriad mysteries of fudge-okay, mysterious to me, because that just seems to be how I work.  Please check out Bonnie's blog, and not just for the fudge.  She is an amazing wife, mother, chef, and homemaker, and I seriously want to be like her someday.  I also made birthday cakes from scratch (more on that another day), and I made a New Year’s Day dinner that, to be honest, surprised me by how good it was.  Pork and sauerkraut for people who don’t like sauerkraut, with garlic mashed potatoes and dill green beans.  I think it’s too good not to share, so here it is!

Pork and Sauerkraut for non-kraut lovers

32 oz. undrained sauerkraut

1.5 T sugar

1 12oz beer (something with body, you can go as stout as you like!)

2-3 lb. boneless pork roast

1-2 t. crushed garlic

Kosher salt, pepper, paprika to taste

Place the sauerkraut in a crock pot.  Sprinkle the sugar over it, then add the beer.  Lay the roast on top of the sauerkraut, fatty side up.  Rub the garlic over the surface of the roast, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.  Cook on high heat for 6 hours.  This will give you meat so tender it falls apart.  And, as a non-kraut lover...I surprised myself and ate it.  I rewarded myself with chocolate.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

1 5 lb bag potatoes

1 stick butter, softened

½ block of cream cheese, softened

Milk/half and half, as needed

2t. minced or crushed garlic

½ c. shredded cheddar cheese (fresh grates works best)

Salt and pepper to taste

Note:  peeling potatoes for this recipe is optional.  I usually just cut off the necessary bits and leave the rest.

Wash, peel if desired, and cut potatoes into quarters.  Boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes.  Turn the burner to low, drain the potatoes, then put them back into the pot.  Place the pot onto the low burner, then mash the potatoes with a hand masher.  After mashing, add butter, garlic, and cream cheese.  Mash a bit more, until ingredients are blended.  At this point, if you feel the potatoes need more moisture, add your milk or half and half.  Mix it in gradually until you feel it is the right consistency.  Once your potatoes are to your liking, stir in the cheese, salt, and pepper.  Seriously creamy and flavorful goodness!

For the green beans, I simply steamed them with 1 t. dill (dried, because I forgot to get fresh), salt, and pepper to taste.  Steam them for 8-10 minutes, or until fork-tender, then transfer them to a bowl and add butter.

I suspect this will be made again well before January 1, 2013!

Breakfast Egg Muffins

by Bannon

One of my friends posted this recipe on Facebook a few weeks ago and I happened to have a can of crescent rolls in the fridge so that Sunday I surprised the kids with these.  Both the kids and dh raved about how great they were and they were so simple to make.

Breakfast Egg Muffins

• One can of crescent rolls
• eight eggs
• eight slices of precooked bacon (or bacon bits)
• shredded cheese

 Grease your muffin pan with butter or spray and set the oven for the temperature that is on the crescent roll package.  Separate the crescent triangles, lay one in each of the muffin cups leaving the edges to hang outside for the moment.  Crack an egg into each cup on top of the crescent dough.  Place the bacon on top along with the shredded cheese.  Fold the remainder of the dough on top of the cheese and pop into the oven for 16 minutes.  

 A few tips about these muffins: I gently stretched the triangles to make the dough fit a bit better in the cups.  I also used bacon bits because I had no bacon slices and it worked just fine.  Cooking for 16 minutes didn't completely cook the eggs, the yellow was just a bit soft in the middle.  It was suggested by the family that adding a little salt to each muffin would help with the taste.  They made a great breakfast the next day as well.

This post is linked to Twisted Thursday.