Split Pea & Ham Soup

This recipe is close to that found in Best Recipes.

Add a ham bone with a lot of meat on it and a couple of bay leaves to a soup pot with 3 quarts of water. Simmer for 2-3 hours.

Remove ham and add 1 lb of split peas. Shread ham into bite sizes bits when cool.

While ham is simmering, sauté carrots, onions, and celery over low heat until golden brown, about 40 minutes.

After peas have simmered for 45 minutes, add ham, vegetables and some cubed potatoes to the soup. Simmer until potatoes are cooked, about 20 minutes.

Serve with balsamic vinegar and diced red onion.

This recipe is very adaptable for volume and quantity of ingredients. Everyone likes a lot of ham.

Rice pilaf with ground chuck

Another rice pilaf recipe? Sheesh!

Brown ground chuck. I used a couple of hamburgers that we had frozen. Strain out fat.
Saute vegetables - I'm using onions and carrots.

Add meat to vegatables. Add rice (I usually use arborio) and garlic and saute until nutty smelling, a couple of minutes.



Add stock, bring to simmer, and cook for 15 minutes in a 350F oven. When done, let rest another fifteen before opening.

Grilled turkey & cheese

Heat a cast iron skillet. Add butter.
Put cheese (I used cheddar) on heavy bread. Top with turkey meat and another, buttered slice of bread.
Grill over medium heat for 2-2.5 minutes, until toasty brown.
Turn the sandwich over and repeat on second side.
Let sandwich rest a couple of minutes before cutting.

Frittata and Brussels Sprouts

We make frittatas frequently. Its a great way to use left over pasta.

The technique is quite simple. Take pasta, mix with eggs and bake. Everything else depends on what you like and have available. We had left over spaghetti with a meat sauce.

Saute a leeks or onions and some chorizzo in a cast iron skilled. Bring the pasta to room temperature in a microwave and add a couple of beaten eggs. Mix in the sausage and leeks.

Pour the mixture back into the pan, pushing it into the corners. Top with some cheese and raw onion or leek.

Cook on stove over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. The goal here is to form a socarrat like you have with a good paella.

Bake in a 350F oven for 15 minutes. Let it rest for at least five minutes before removing from pan.

Trim the Brussels sprouts. Put about an inch of stock in a sauce pan and boil, covered, until tender, about 8 minutes.

Baked Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots

Cut a 3-4lb chicken into pieces. Remove the backbone, wing tips, and ribs. Bring chicken for several hours.

Gravey: Saute onions and carrots in a pan. Add chicken parts and brown. Cover and sweat for about twenty minutes. Add water and simmer for about four hours. Strain out solids and thicken with corn starch (I'm assuming you know how to do this).

Rinse and dry the chicken. Season to taste. Brown well in a hot skillet being careful to not overcrowd the pan.

Peal potatoes and carrots and put them in a baking pan with garlic. Season to taste.
Put browned chicken onto vegetables. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Amy's Chili

3 large organic free-range chicken breasts
3.5 cups organic chicken broth
3 cans 15ish oz. each Cannelini (white kidney) beans
1 half green pepper, 1 half red or yellow or orange pepper
1 medium onion
mushrooms if you like
1 small can green chilies (like, a really tiny can) half-n-half (a couple smidgens added after everything is mostly cooked)
1 t cumin
1/2 t. ground oregano
salt & pepper
something spicy like Cayenne if you like it that way - I like to let people throw on what they like after it's cooked to please the different tastes

Sautee chicken breasts (I usually throw in minced onion and use a Chili/Lime seasoning on it). Drain and rinse the beans, then throw chicken in with rest of the ingredients except for the half-n-half. Use the spices to your liking. Cook in 3.5 quart crock pot on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Or cook on stove for 2-3 hours. After it's mostly done its cooking (maybe hour before serving), use holy spoon (spoon with holes) to strain out beans and chicken into small/medium mixing bowl. Use a whisk or masher or fork to mash up a bunch of the beans and chicken and add it back in to thicken it up. Then 'bout 30 minutes before serving pour in some half-n-half to finish the thickening (about half cup?).

xo

Turkey Italian and Left Over Rice

Brown turkey Italian sausage in a Dutch oven. Regular Italian works well, too.

Remove, drain some of the rendered fat and saute onions and red peppers until wilted.

Add back sausage, tomato sauce, stock, and a left-over starch. We had some rice.

Add oregano and crushed red peppers to taste.

Let flavors meld and dish to thicken, about 30 minutes.

Greens and mother liquor

Trim the stems off of your favorite greens and wash thoroughly.

Put a couple of inches in a pot and add something smoked such as turkey legs or smoked butt. If you're want a lot of meat, go with the butt, but turkey has an excellent flavor.

Add the greens and bring to a simmer for 40 minutes or until greens are tender. We sometimes toss in another vegetable such as broccoli at the end.

Cut the meat into bits and serve with greens and plenty of the mother liquor. That's where the flavor is!

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, pilafed arborio rice with carrots and onions

Brown well-seasoned thighs well in a Dutch oven. Remove to a platter.

Saute onions and carrots until tender, about 6 minutes. Add rice and garlic and brown until nutty, a couple of minutes.

Return chicken and accumulated juices to pot. Add chicken stock (about 2:1 by volume of rice) and bring to a simmer.

Cover and put into a 350 oven for 15 minutes. Remove and keep covered for another 15 minutes.

Chicken breasts with pesto & pasta

Prepare boneless-skinless chicken breasts in uniform pieces. Either pound them to a uniform thickness or cut off the tenderloin and slice in half the flat way.

Coat with your favorite rub - I used 'Tosa City Blend. Dredge in corn meal. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and saute breasts, about 3min/side. make in several batchs so as not to crowd the pan.

Laurie makes the pesto with basil, garlic and pine nuts (I think).

Pasta with meat sauce w/ fritatta leftovers

Brown 1lb of Italian sausage. Drain meat in a colander.

In same pan, saute an onion. Return meat to pan, add tomato sauce. Add herbs and spices of your choice - oregano and red pepper flakes is nice. Simmer for about one hour. Serve over pasta.

Frittata:
Mix eggs with leftover pasta. Press into a non-stick pan, and heat on cook top for about ten minutes. Put pan in oven pre-heated to 350. Cook for 15 minutes.

Turn over on cutting board and let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Pork Roast and potatoes

Liberally season an pork roast with a rub. Brown well on all sides. Cook in an oven pre-heated to 375F to an internal temperature of 160F. I use a temperature probe because I can. Let rest for 10 minutes. Deglaze the pan on cook top with chicken stock. I usually toss in some dried shallots. The roast cooks quickly, maybe 30 minutes.

Peel and cut potatoes to a medium dice. Add a couple of table spoons of oil to a saute pan and cook until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Sometimes I add onions.

Ribeyes, broccoli, and squash

Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into florets. Steam for about 8 minutes.

Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds and other stuff from the cavity. Bake for bout 45 minutes or until tender.

Season the ribeye steaks with salt and pepper to taste. I much prefer bone-in steaks. Turn the oven on broil. Heat a cast iron pan on the cook top until very hot, about five minutes. Sear the steaks on both side, about 1 - 1.5 minutes.

Place steaks in broiler. Turn steaks after 2-3 minutes and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Use the "thumb & finger" test to check for doneness, or use a thermometer.

Place blue cheese on steaks and tent with foil for 5 minutes.

Sauteed Spinach

Clean and stem the spinach.

In a very large sauté pan, actually I use a wok, add a little chicken stock and heat. Add the spinach and stir. A tongs will work nicely. The spinach will reduce in volume tremendously. Add a little grated nutmeg (a little goes a long way) at the end.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Blaise's Pot Roast and Mashed Potatoes

This was fun to make. Brother Dan has the recipe from Cook's Illustrated posted here. I only used about a 3lb roast as there were just the two of us and no dog.

Laurie specialized in mashed potatoes. Normally she puts bleu cheese in them, but we didn't have any. The potatoes we get from our farm are delicious in this!

Pork chop & boiled potatoes with acorn squash

Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, until tender. I bake the seeds with it for about 10 minutes. Don't wash them.

Season the bone in, thick cut chops. Brown on both sides and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the internal temperature is about 150. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Deglaze the pan w/ the potato mother liquor.

Peel and cube the potatoes. Boil in enough chicken stock to cover until tender, about ten minutes. Season with S&P. Mash them and ladle on the mother liquor.

Chicken & Crunchy Potatoes

Season bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts with salt, pepper or a rub of some sort. I used Aleppo pepper & chili powder.

Peel & cut potatoes in a medium dice.

Brown chicken well in a dutch oven. This cooktop did a great job.

Remove chicken to roasting pan, drain most of the rendered fat.

Toss in potatoes and sauté for about 6 minutes, scraping up the brown bits. Season with salt, pepper and garlic to taste.

Add potatoes to roasting pan and roast for about 30 minutes at 385F.

Let rest before serving.

Total time: < 1 hour