Chunky Potato Soup w/Ham

We love soup around here and homemade soup is even better. I love potato soup, but what would make potato soup even better??? Hmmmmm.....let me see....oh ham! Not spam, Ham! Potato and ham is such a great combination, especially in soup! I made a ham for New Years’ Day and needed something to do with the left-overs so I pulled this recipe out and wondered why it was in hiding. I have so many recipes, I forget about what I have. This is an oldie but a goodie. I created this recipe by pulling together the best of many potato soup recipes. Again, I’ve done all of the work for you to bring you the best potato and ham recipe you will ever find! I’m not kidding. We just had a bowl of this soup for dinner and my husband was going on and on about how flavorful this soup is. I think you should take his recommendation and give this soup a try. Let’s get started:

Ingredients:

3-4 large potatoes (I used red)

1 medium onion

4 cups chicken broth

3 Tablespoons butter

2 1/2 cups milk

3 Tablespoons flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup swiss cheese

2 cups diced ham

2 large carrots, thinly sliced

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley

Instructions:

Sautee’ onion, garlic, celery and carrots until onion is clear.

Add potatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, simmer 15-20 minutes or until veggies are tender. Lightly mash. I used the back of a soup ladle to just mash the potatoes a bit.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt butter, then stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil. Continuing cooking and stirring for about 2 minutes or until the mixture is thick. Pour milk into potato mixture. Add ham. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add parsley, salt and pepper. Turn heat off and stir in cheese. Garnish with fresh parsley. This is so hearty and delicious! Enjoy now and left overs later.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

I made mini bundt cakes this time, but I usually make one large one. Cute, right?

I just realized that in one of my first blogs I was bragging about the best pound cake recipe and promised to give it to you later and I never did. So sorry about that. Do you want to guess where I got the best pound cake recipe in the world from??? You probably guessed it right.....my Daddy.  Where else would I get it? He’s the best baker I know.  I’ve tried pound cakes with butter flavoring, sour cream, but Daddy’s pound cake with cream cheese is seriously the best pound cake you’ll ever taste! It is perfectly sweet and moist with the perfect outside crust. Make this one and you can toss your other recipes. I did. Since I realized I hadn’t blogged about this recipe yet, it gave me the perfect excuse to make a pound cake and cupcakes! I’m always looking for a reason to make or eat a cupcake! They really are the best little perfect size treats, aren’t they? Your little individual cake or piece of heaven as I like to think. I could go on and on, but I’ll give you the recipe first. Cupcakes are great, but make them out of pound cake and they are over the top delish! Here’s what you need to make the best pound cake:

Ingredients:

3 sticks margarine at room temperature (I’ve substituted for butter when it was all I had)

1 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature

6 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups sugar

3 cups sifted flour

pinch salt

Directions:

Cream margarine, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.

This is just the butter, cream cheese and sugar creamed

Add salt and vanilla; beat well. Add eggs one at a time. Stir in flour slowly.

Now I'm just showing off my pretty new blender. This is the final batter. The batter is quite delicious too.

Spoon batter into cupcake tins or a bundt pan. Make sure both are sprayed well. Bake at 325 degrees for 1.5 hours (for one cake).

Fill up the cupcake tins all the way. Pound cake doesn't rise as much as normal cakes and you want full size cupcakes.

This recipe also makes 2 dozen of the best cupcakes ever! If you are cooking cupcakes, bake for 28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

If you made cupcakes, like I did, you'll want to ice those babies. This is a delicious and easy chocolate icing recipe. The Pioneer Woman taught me how to make this. She and I have such fun cooking together. Okay, here's what you need to make the icing.

Ingredients for icing:

• 2 sticks Butter, Softened
• 4 cups Powdered Sugar
• 3/4 cups Cocoa Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/3 cup Heavy Cream (more To Taste)

The icing batter was yummy too. I love batter!

Directions:

  In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter until totally soft and smooth. Sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa, and salt, then add gradually to the mixer, scraping the sides as you go. (When combined, mixture will be very thick/crumbly.) Drizzle in cream and whip on high until smooth, scraping the sides as you go.

Now ice those yummy treats and make them even yummier!

Don't they look beautiful??

How ever you choose to use this pound cake recipe, you'll be pleased. It makes a beautiful large pound cake. I like to use a bundt pan, or it makes awesome cupcakes.  Eat up and enjoy!

Update: David want a little glaze on his personal bundt cake. Turned out pretty, right?

Perfect Beef Stew

 

This is the perfect time of year for soups and stews and this is one delicious beef stew recipe. I’m not exaggerating, you’ll love it! This is a combination of my Daddy’s recipe, my friend, The Pioneer Woman (she told me to add beer, not my Daddy!), and a recipe I found on All Recipes. I believe I have taken the best parts of each of these and created the perfect recipe for you. See, I’m so helpful. I did all the hard work, now you just make this one and thank me later.

 

Let’s get started. Here’s what you need to make awesome beef stew....and don’t drink the beer while you are chopping your veggies.

 

Ingredients:

 

• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 2 pounds Stew Meat
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 can Beer, 12 Ounce Can
• 4 cups Beef Stock (or 4 Cups Water + 4 Beef Bouillon Cubes)
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• 2 teaspoons dried Rosemary
• 2 teaspoons dried Parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 4 whole Carrots, Washed, Unpeeled, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 whole New Potatoes, diced
• 4 stalks celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• Minced Parsley for garnish (optional)

 

Directions:

 

Heat oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cut meat in nice bite size pieces. Flour meat and brown in two batches, setting aside on a plate when brown. 

Add diced onions to the pot.

Yes, throw the onions in there with all the brown bits. Stir, scraping up all the yummy bits, and cook for two or three minutes until softened, then add garlic and cook for another minute.

Pour in beer (don’t drink it) 

The beer fizzes in the pot

and beef stock, then add Worcestershire, tomato paste, paprika, rosemary, parsley, salt, and pepper. Add beef back into the pot. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

The liquid should cook down to a thicker state. If it gets too thick/reduces too much, add additional water (or beef broth) as needed.

Here’s where I do my own little thing that you don’t have to do, but I like to make sure my veggies get really soft so I sauté them a little in a pan and then add to the pot. This step is optional. I’ve bitten into too many crunchy veggies in soup to take this chance anymore. I didn’t pre-cook the potatoes and they were fine. I guess that point might be that they all would have been fine. Maybe I won’t dirty another pan next time.

I think I'll make my carrots chunkier next time too

Leave the skin on and throw these right in the pot

Add carrots and potatoes, then cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes to an hour. If stew gets dry, just add a cup of hot water at a time to replenish the liquid. I never needed to add more liquid. I cooked it another hour plus and it was so perfect. I stirred it quite a few times as it was cooking too. I did check the seasoning and added a little more salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.



It's perfect now, nice thick gravy with soft veggies. The perfect one pot meal!



Serve it up and enjoy. I think this goes best with Jiffy corn muffins. There’s no need to make homemade cornbread, Jiffy makes the best there is!  Sprinkle with minced parsley, if desired. Enjoy!

Gingered Fruit Salad

You might be thinking “what do I need a fruit salad recipe for?” Well let me tell you, you need this one. My cousin brought this to our family Christmas celebration a few years ago and it was delicious. I couldn’t figure out what made the fruit taste so delicious, but now I know, it’s the crystallized ginger. It really wakes up the fruit and makes it taste so much brighter and delicious! I know I ask you to do this a lot, but trust me! The fresh lime juice and ginger really make this fruit taste so much better than you ever thought it could. You could really use any type of fruit, but these make a very pretty salad. I forgot about the pomegranate so my picture doesn’t show it, but it really adds a nice touch. Let’s make it:

Combine 1/4 cup sugar, 2 Tablespoons lime juice, 2 Tablespoons ginger ale and 1 tsp. grated lime zest and reserve.

Mix in a pretty glass bowl:

4 cups cubed fresh pineapple, cubed

3 cups strawberries (quartered)

3 kiwis (peeled, halved lengthwise, sliced)

1 cup raspberries

1 cup blueberries

1 cup pomegranate seeds

1 cup blackberries

3 Tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

Pour lime juice mixture over fruit and toss a bit. Serve cold and enjoy!

This recipe was from my cousin, Karen Jetton, who passed away this year. I've been saving an email from her with this recipe from 2006 so I think she'd probably be happy I finally made it......and that I gave her credit!