Ham and Cheese Quiche

Christmas Ham.  Is there anything better than Christmas ham?  I love a good ham.  Not only does it make a tasty main dish when garnished with sides of green beans and mashed potatoes, it makes for some AMAZING leftovers.  Tossing in a cup full of diced leftover ham turns a pot of potato soup into a delicious dinner that will satisfy your tummy's craving for some hearty comfort food. ;)

I recently found another way to use up some leftover ham.  The Ham and Cheese Quiche from Janelle at Comfy in the Kitchen.  It has the most delicate texture and tastes amazing! ;)  It's a new family favorite in our house!






Ham and Cheese Quiche
1 pre-made pie shell (I recommend Marie Callender’s in your grocer’s freezer)
6 eggs
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 cup diced ham (I purchase this in a bag in the meat section)
¼ cup diced onion
1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese
salt/pepper


Preheat oven to 375


“Pam” a small pan and sauté onions with ham for appx 5 mins. Pour sauted ham and onions and shredded cheese into premade pie shell. Beat eggs with heavy cream until well blended, add salt and pepper. Pour over top. Bake 35-45 mins until set. (When you take the quiche out of the oven, the middle of the pie should not jiggle)

Women Living Well Blog: This Means War!

Women Living Well Blog: This Means War!.

Read this fabulous reminder of the reason for the season and what that should mean for us.

Comfy In The Kitchen: The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

I've had epic fail when it comes to making chocolate chip cookies.  I like the taste of real butter cookies, but never managed to figure out a way to make them keep their shape and be crispy in the right places but still soft in all the right places too.  I don't like to use "Crisco" or other trans-fat laden shortening so I was at a stale mate.  This recipe saves the day!  It's amazing!  Even I couldn't screw this one up and they are oh so good!  You MUST try them!

Comfy In The Kitchen: The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie 


 

Potato Soup Sums it up

Wow, July was the last post?  Facebook has caused me to be quite negligent in the blog!  Yesterday was a fabulous day.  Jeff took the day off work (yes I know it was after an already long weekend break with Thanksgiving) to try to get a serious water problem under the house fixed.  He labored long and hard (and two trips to Lowes in one day!) to get it fixed.  I decided I was going to make a nice pot of potato soup thinking he would need something hardy after a long hard day.  Shortly after cleaning up from lunch, I set to work on it.  I've acquired a "visionere" pot from my mom and it's perfect for such a fun colorful dish.  (It's a clear glass pot that is safe for stove top.)  I spent all day working on it and boy it was yummy.  I've really come to enjoy cooking for my family and take great joy in it.  It was something that did not come particularly natural to me and we spent many years eating things from boxes and cans.  Making things from scratch was intimidating at first but now it's almost like it's my artistic expression! ;)

So, as my "title" says, the potato soup summed it all up for me.  I love my family.  I love cooking for my family.  Today, potato soup was my project of love. ;)  Even the kids liked it. (Yes, even Levi)


Sarah's Potato Soup:

5lbs red skin potatoes cubed (skin on)
1/2 bag of baby carrots sliced
2 stalks celery sliced
1 small sweet onion finely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (we like a lot of pepper and I use McCormick's pepper medley coarsely ground )
1 box reduced fat/low sodium chick broth
3TBSP butter
*Add in last 1/2 hour of cooking*
1 Can Evaporated Milk
1 cup diced fully cooked ham

Add potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion into pot.  Season with salt and pepper as desired.  Pour chick broth in.  (Add water if necessary to come to the top of the veggies)  Cover and bring to a boil.  Stir occasionally to avoid sticking.  Add butter and re-cover.  Simmer on low for several hours.  (The longer the better.)  Once fully cooked (about three-four hours) use a sturdy cooking spoon (or old fashioned potato masher if desired) to smash the potatoes. (I prefer to leave some larger chunks still)  Slowly stir in the evaporated milk.  Add in diced ham.  Continue to simmer for an additional 1/2 hour.  Best served with a slice of beer batter bread! Mmm Mmm MMMM :)  


And, just for fun, a picture I snapped with my cell phone when I first lit the stove:

Home Photo Shoot

Three Months Old!

Potty Training

Those two little words can strike fear into the best parents!  Yes, it's that time again: POTTY TRAINING!  It seems like just yesterday I was slipping Lydia M&M's for going potty.  Now it's Boaz's turn.  He's done really well considering.  Over this past Memorial Day weekend we started him in Pull-ups and he did a pretty good job of keeping them dry even while out and about at other peoples houses.  Now, pooping, that's a whole other story, but we'll get to that in a bit.

After successfully keeping his pants dry I thought it was time to give "Naked Potty Training" a try because while he was keeping his pull-ups dry, he wasn't really showing much initiative to go on his own (without our constant "go potty" prompts).  Day one was FABULOUS!  Not without accidents mind you, but all in all a very productive day.  I ended the day with a great sense of satisfaction and was quite proud of my "patience of Job" throughout the day.  Day two?  NOT SO MUCH!  I found myself in tears by mid-afternoon.  Not all of it directly potty-related, but indirectly my lovely GREEN monster (also known as Lydia) was ridiculously jealous of the attention being paid to Boaz and Levi had a TERRIBLE day at the doctor's office (three shots, an oral vaccine, and a corrective "procedure" to an adhesion in a place no "adhesion" should EVER be...poor little buddy!)  Suffice to say I no longer had the feeling of satisfaction but rather of near epic FAIL!

On to Day Three...now, add to the fun the fact that I was watching Wynnie, the beautiful six month old daughter of friends of ours.  Over all the morning went shockingly well.  This could be due, in part, to the fact that Lydia left mid morning to go pick strawberries with her grandpa.  Someone even asked how potty training was going and I dared to tentatively admit that so far so good: No accidents thus far today.  So, picture it, I've nursed Levi who is now happily snoozing securely in his boppy on the couch.  To allow him quiet to sleep, I take Boaz and Wynnie into Lyd's room so Bo can play while I feed Wynnie her bottle.  Suddenly I hear an "Uh oh!" and watch with horror as a little turd pops out of Boaz's naked butt.  I said, "Go potty quick!" and he runs to the potty leaving a trail of turds in his wake.  He peed in the potty but he'd pooped out all he had.  If it weren't so gross it'd be hilarious!

Got Sleep?

To the student who thinks they’re tired because they had to get up for the bus. For the teenager sleepy from cramming for the test last night. To the young adult complaining about working a double. To the adult who either never had children or who parented “littles” so long ago they’ve blissfully forgotten what it’s like. To all of you I have this to say: You may think you know what it is to be deprived of sleep, but you would be WRONG. Allow me to give you a small glimpse of what true, newborn-induced sleep deprivation looks like:

After victoriously settling Levi into his bassinet after his 1:30am feeding, I closed my eyes ever so briefly only to become keenly aware of his fussing again. I tried without success to settle him back to sleep. I tried patting, jiggling, shushing. All of this only served to further anger my little bundle of joy. Admitting defeat, I mustered up the strength and energy to sit up and save him from his “torture chamber” that is his bed. Through sleep blurred eyes I notice with great shock that the clock now reads 4:45am!!! Three HOURS had passed in what felt like merely three minutes. No wonder my little angel was up and fussing. His belly was hungry! After brushing off the initial feelings of epic fail as a parent of a newborn it occurs to me that THIS is what sleep deprivation feels like! When hours pass in what feels like seconds, you know you’re tired!

Edit Fun

Picture overload