Potato & Ham Soup...and other odds and ends

Here is the huckleberry jam I made, when we picked huckleberries with Katie, Jared and Garrett. They are sooooooo yummy!!

And some ham, potato soup. The recipe is in the Rawson family cookbook it's so good on those cold, yucky days.

Potato and Ham Soup

1 large onion

2 1/2 Tbsp. butter

1 1/2 Tbsp. Ham Soup Base (or 2 extra "glugs" Worcestershire sauce)

1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

4-5 c. Ham, cubed

1 c. grated carrots

7 c. water

6 medium potatoes

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. onion powder

2 c. cold water

1 c. cornstarch

2-2 1/2 c. sour cream

1/2 tsp. pepper (add last)

Cook potatoes and dice. Finely chop onion. In a large pot, add butter, onion, soup base, worcestershire sauce, carrots and ham and saute until onion is translucent. Add 7 c. water, potatoes, garlic powder, garlic salt, onion powder and bring to a boil. In a separate bowl, mix the 2 c. cold water and cornstarch. Turn heat down. Stir in cornstarch mixture and stir for 3-4 min. until thick. Add sour cream and stir until creamy white. Add pepper.

Twice Baked Potatoes

This recipe comes from thepioneerwoman.com and I have to say these are really good! My honey even ate them as leftovers which is almost unheard of around here and actually my son was even excited to find one in the fridge! Yeah, they're that good. =) If you want to see the full tutorial, go here .

Twice Baked Potatoes
8 Baking Potatoes
1 c. (2 sticks) Butter
1 c. Bacon Bits (She uses Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon with Picnic Bacon. I used it too.)
1 c. Sour Cream
about 1/4 tsp. Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1 c. Cheddar/Jack Cheese, plus additional cheese for topping
Black Pepper, to taste
milk (if necessary)
1 chopped Green Onion, optional (don't use if you're planning on freezing them.)

Wash, then place eight baking potatoes on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour, 15 minutes, making sure they’re sufficiently cooked through.

Slice the sticks of butter into pats. Place them into a large mixing bowl. Add bacon bits and sour cream into the bowl with the butter. Within a few minutes after you remove the baked potatoes from the oven, you need to begin scraping them out. With a sharp serrated knife cut each potato in half lengthwise. Now, with a large spoon, begin scraping out the insides into the bowl. You should leave just a little bit in there for support, but try to remove most of it. Lay the hollowed out potato shells on a cookie sheet. Begin smashing the potatoes with the other ingredients. (You could add a little milk at this point if your mixture is too dry.) Add seasoning salt, cheese, pepper and green onion. Mix them in. Fill shells with filling and top each potato with more grated cheddar/jack cheese. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potato is warmed through.
Or, you could refrigerate them for up to three days until you wanted to serve or you could freeze them in Ziplock bags.

Menu for our week

So last week was a sorta weird week. We had some really different types of recipes. Hopefully the next time it's my turn the recipes will be a little more helpful for everyday use. And maybe a little more kid friendly. Anyway, here you go. I put my commentary in purple, the recipe titles in black and the recipe in white.

Sunday - Hamburgers and tater tots.
Don't forget to season your hamburgers with McCormick Montreal steak seasoning! It makes them super yummy.

Monday - Sweet Potato Soup and Sauteed Mushrooms
5 scallions
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon curry powder
3 cups leftover mashed sweet potatoes
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound mushrooms, thickly sliced

1. Mince the scallions and keep the white and green portions separate.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the broth, scallion whites, 1 clove of the garlic and the curry powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add the sweet potatoes and lemon zest, and stir until well combined. Stir in the Parmesan. For a smooth, cream-style soup, puree the mixture in a blender (or use an immersion blender). Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed (this will depend on how the mashed potatoes were seasoned to begin with).
4. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 3 cloves garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and stir to coat. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and cook until the mushrooms are softened, about 6 minutes.
5. Serve the soup in shallow bowls with some sautéed mushrooms on top. Garnish the mushrooms with some of the minced scallion greens.

Makes 6 servings

We had a leftover sweet potato from Thanksgiving that was growing and needed to be eaten so we made this soup. It was actually really good. I think it was better than the tomato soup I made later in the week.

Strawberries and Creme for dessert!
12-16 (more or less depending on the size) large strawberries
4 oz. cold heavy cream
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2-4 Tbsp. confectioner's sugar (make is as sweet as you like)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
a little vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese and confectioner's sugar with an electric mixer. Add the heavy cream. Continue beating until the mixture thickens. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Place in the fridge for several hours, or overnight.

Oh man this is yummy! Jared just wanted to eat the creme, forget the strawberries! Either way it's delicious!

Tuesday - BBQ Chicken Sandwich

2 cups shredded cooked chicken
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 Tbsp. chopped onion
1 Tbsp. mustard
4 kaiser rolls

In a medium saucepan, combine chicken, barbecue sauce, onion and mustard; cook over mediu heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spoon chicken mixture into rolls and enjoy.

Super simple and really good.

Chocolate-Pecan Truffles

1 pkg. (8 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup whipping cream

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

Place chocolate and cream in small saucepan; cook on low heat until chocolate is completely melted, stirring frequently. Cool slightly.

Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gradually add chocolate mixture, mixing well after each addition; cover. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Shape chocolate mixture into 1-inch balls, using melon baller or teaspoon; roll in pecans. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 1 week. Serve in paper liners.

These were yummy. Just another random Valentine's Day treat I made.

Wednesday - Roasted Tomato Soup, bread and salad.

6 cups (3 pints) cherry tomatoes
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped onion
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream

1. Heat the oven to 400°. On a baking sheet, combine the cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and the salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients to coat evenly and spread them in a single layer. Roast the tomatoes until they are shriveled with brown spots, about 35 to 45 minutes.
2. In a large pot, heat the butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, the broth and the roasted tomatoes, including any liquid on the baking sheet. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes.
3. Using a food processor or blender, puree the soup until it's smooth. Return it to the pot and stir in the cream. Without letting the soup boil, warm it over medium heat, stirring often, until steaming. Add salt and pepper, if necessary.

Our grocery store had a super deal on cherry tomatoes and I this recipe sounded really good so I went ahead and made it. The soup was good but for all that work I would rather just open up a can and enjoy.

Thursday - Salad with pork

Just a salad with pork slices on top. Mmm...salad is good!!!

Friday - Tuna Casserole
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 can tuna
1 cup grated cheese (any kind will do)
1 Tbsp salt and pepper to taste
3 cups cooked pasta (I use egg noodles)
I also add vegetables. I don't know how much but some days I put in peas and carrots other days I put in broccoli.

Combine all ingredients. Pour into a 13 x 9 baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with extra cheese the last 15 minutes of baking.

It's a lot creamier than the tuna casserole recipe in the family cookbook. We like it!

Saturday - Leftovers

Scalloped Potatoes Again

So I was looking at my recipe again for our dinner and I realized this recipe is one that Grandma from Amerigo gave me so I just stuck it in, and it's not really there for everyone. So here is the recipe.

4med. Potatoes(peeled) 1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated cheese 1 sm onion diced(2tbsp dried)
2 cup milk (not enough to cover about 1/2 way in pan) 3 slices melty cheese(fake cheese)
3/4 cup cubed ham green peas (optional)
1pkg Wonder bread cheese powder mix (I measured it 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste

Slice potatoes thin, saute diced onions. Place in a bowl add milk, sour cream, cheese and mix together. Add any vegetables if desired. Pour into 9x13 pan and Bake at 375 for 11/2hours- 2 hours till potatoes are tender and juices have absorbed.

P.s. Very cheesy and my non-potato fan husband really likes them.

Easy Shepherd's Pie

So Shepherd's Pie is really just a fancy way of eating mashed potatoes and gravy with vegetables, but we like it.

1 lb. ground beef
4 cups frozen mixed vegetables - thawed
1 cup beef gravy (we use brown gravy)
2 cups hot mashed potatoes
4 oz. cream cheese - cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese - divided
2 cloves garlic - minced (most time I just use garlic salt)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brown meat in large skillet. Drain. Stir vegetables and gravy into meat. Put into 9-inch square baking dish.

Mix hot mashed potatoes, cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese and the garlic until well blended. Cover meat and vegetable mixture with potato mixture.

Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Bake for 20 min. or until heated through.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I don't have a picture to share with you but I HAD to get this up before Thanksgiving so that you all could make it too. This is absolutely the best sweet potato recipe around! I don't even like sweet potatoes! I would never eat them at Thanksgiving but with this recipe I'll pile them really high on my plate and please let me eat them all year round!!! So try it out....even if you don't think you like sweet potatoes. This recipe makes them taste like candy!

3 Cups Sweet Potato - cooked and mashed
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter
2 Eggs - beaten
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/3 Cup Sweet Condensed Milk

Mix and put in baking dish

Topping:
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Flour
1/3 Cup Butter
1 Cup Chopped Nuts - we like to use pecans

Mix topping well and sprinkle on top of sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes