Saturday, November 20, 2010

Fail

What did I cook this week?  Ummmm...grilled cheese, pancakes and a TGIFriday Complete Skillet Meal.  Oh, I guess I didn't cook this week!  The grilled cheese and pancakes sure were yummy though :)  The skillet meal?  It was ok, Maddie and I both ate it so it'll do.  I'm buying another one this week just because it was so easy!

Wait!  I did roast a turkey and bake 4 dozen cookies for Maddie's school's Thanksgiving Feast.  At least I did that much.  I didn't get to eat it, but at least I cooked :)

This week I WILL be cooking so I'll report back later.

Friday, November 12, 2010

I'm Back and I'm Talking about HAM!

I'm back into cooking :)  It's been 10 weeks since my beautiful second daughter (Sadie) was born and I'm finally starting to feel like I'm gaining a little control back in the house.  I'm slowly getting back to planning my meals and doing my weekly grocery shopping.  I even took a peek at a Kroger ad the other day!  WHAT?!?!  I'm glad I looked at that ad because I bought a turkey today for only 39 cents a pound :)  However, I don't plan on cooking that until later in the month...

On today's menu was split pea soup.  I know, it doesn't sound good.  To be honest with you I never had pea soup until I was 29 years old.  I took a trip to Wisconsin to visit my husband's grandmother and she had made a pot of pea soup.  It was for dinner and I was terrified of it.  However, I didn't want to come across as a picky eater so I thought I could just suffer through one meal and be a good little granddaughter-in-law.  Well, with one bite I instantly fell in love.  Who would've thought that pea soup wouldn't taste like peas???  I ate the soup that night for dinner and just about every day for lunch the rest of the week.  I couldn't get enough. 

Two weeks ago Eric ordered me a HoneyBaked Ham.  I ate ham for lunch and dinner for several days and even had some ham with breakfast once.  Then I was all hammed-out and needed to freeze the leftovers.  When I was cutting the meat from the bone I suddenly thought of the pea soup.  I HAD to save the ham bone to make the soup.  Tonight was the night for the soup...and I was not disappointed.  It's one I'll definitely make again.  Sorry guys...I'm not going to share the recipe.  I don't know if it's Grandma's "secret" recipe or something and I don't want to give away a family favorite.  Just in case.  :)

I will share a recipe that I used the ham in that was also a big hit.  I made this one night and had my aunt and uncle over for dinner.  I was surprised that my 2 year old really enjoyed this Cheesy Ham Chowder recipe!

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Cheesy-Ham-Chowder

I made it EXACTLY as the recipe calls for and it was amazing.  This chowder also freezes well so if you make a big batch you can have your freezer stocked for the rest of the year.  Believe me, you're gonna want it again!

Let me know if you try it :)