Hearty Split Pea Soup

You know what I love about homemade soups? They are great for using up leftovers. It is a rare occasion when I make a soup from scratch for the intent of making a soup, from scratch. Rather, my goal is usually to clean the fridge of it's bits of this or that. For that reason, it is hard for me to post recipes for soups- because soups are rarely alike in the Newman household and those phenomenal soups created once will likely never be created again.

But not THIS soup. THIS soup is made because the taste of it pervades me dreams and ONLY for that reason. It is not a "use this up, toss this in" sort of soup-but one that you make solely to smell it cooking away in its' crockpot for hours at a time- or to feel it's hearty thickness warm your innards on a cool day. This is, plain and simple, my own kind of comfort food.

You know what else I love about this particular soup?

1) It's cheap. Like feeds a family of 6 for under $4.00 kind of cheap!

AND

2) It's a cupboard stocker. Being made with dry split peas means that you can have the ingredients in your cupboard and they can stay there for a LONG time, just WAITING to bail you out on that week when grocery money is non-existent or...catastrophic world events take place...or the internet crashes and the whole world goes insane...or the snowstorm of 2009 leaves you holed in your bear cave until 2011. That sort of thing.

Hearty Split Pea Soup

* made in the crockpot *

You'll need:

* 16 ounces dried split peas
* 2 cups sliced sausage/kielbasa
* 1 1/2 diced carrots
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 bay leaves
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 5 cups chicken stock (made simply with boiling water and chicken bouillion)
* 1 cup hot milk

In your crockpot, layer the first nine ingredients in order listed (do not stir). Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until vegetables are tender. Before serving, pour in hot milk, stir. Sniff. Smell. Salivate. Then go fishing for bay leaves~ discard when found. (The bay leaves, not the soup!) THEN- discard the soup. RIGHT down your throat.


Lots of pea soups are made with ham and I *like* it that way, but I tend to go the whole sausage/kielbasa route for one simple reason. That is how Mom made it. That is how I grew up with it-and so, call me partial, but that is it for me. If your mommy dearest made it with ham, by all means- make it with ham. Or, if you have an extra hambone lying around- go ahead, TAINT it with leftovers! (ha! JUST KIDDING!)

Strawberry Lemonade

You know, it really isn't THAT much harder to make beverages FROM SCRATCH versus mixing a few glubs of powder into water. Really. It isn't.

And REALLY! It tastes SO much more refreshing. And it costs less. And it is healthier to use 'real stuff'. AND, it is way more elegant to say "Ah yes, Dah-ling. But of course this is made from scratch!" than to say, " Yup. I just threw a few bits of powder har and added water ober dar. You got a problem wid it? hehe. Totally joking, of course, on the last bit.

But. If ever you DO want to try something a bit more exotic, than I am sure you will find the results worthwhile.

First, put about 1 or 2 cups water in a saucepan and turn that baby up full throttle until the water boils. When that happens, add two cup of sugar and remove from heat: stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Put into a gallon pitcher and add 2 cups lemon juice. If you were to add the rest of the water now, you'd get yourself some right tasty, Plain 'Ole Lemonade. But. We want strawberries to perk it up a bit.

Next: Take a bag of frozen strawberries, and defrost half of them, then blend them to a PULP with your blender.

Add the pureed strawberries to the pitcher and mix, then fill the Gallon jug up with cold water and maybe a few icecubes (if you want.)

Then-take another pitcher or jug and pour your Strawberry Lemonade slowly through a fine mesh strainer into the serving pitcher or jug. This will strain out the seeds and large bits of pulp to give you a nice, smooth, refreshing drink.

Mmm Mmm Good.

Jalapeno Jelly

*** Listen Here People: Do NOT discount this recipe if you don't like spicy things. Don't do it. Just DON'T DO IT! I have a FRAGILE tongue and I baby my tastebuds and even I love this. Please, make it. Try it. It will NOT disappoint you!***

This jelly sounds so spicy! In truth, I made it for my husband and never even opted to tastetest it myself. Then, I had some company who I knew loved SPICY things, so I brought out a jar, never intending to actually try it. But they gushed and gushed-eventually, I couldn't help myself. It is a teeny bit sweet and if eaten on it's own has a teeny bite at the end. BUT-if you put it on a cracker slathered with some cream cheese, there isn't any BITE at all-just sweet with incredible flavor!

Not to mention, it is handy to have on your shelf for unexpected company and it pretty enough to give away as gifts!

Here is the recipe, taken from the Ball Blue Book

3/4 pound jalapeno peppers
2 cups cider vinegar, divided
6 cups sugar
2 pouches liquid pectin
Green food coloring, optional

Wash peppers, drain. Remove stems and seeds. Puree peppers and 1 cup vinegar in a food processor or blender. Combine puree, 1 cup vinegar and sugar in large saucepot. Bring to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in liquid pectin. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, again, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Stir in a few drops of food coloring, if desired. Ladle hot jelly into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a hot water bath canner.

Note: Wear rubber gloves when cutting or seeding hot peppers-and never ABSOLUTELY never rub eyes-if if they might turn all watery. ;-()

Chive spread

Have you ever had those packaged crackers that are filled with 'Cream Cheese and Chives"? I decided it was high time I figured out how to make those myself so I created this dip using the plentiful chives out of my front door. When I served it, along with crackers, at a recent shower, it was gone in a flash. You might want to double the recipe.

You'll need:

4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. minced onion
about one T. snipped fresh chives.

Mix first three ingredients with an electric mixer. When smooth, snip chives and stir. Garnish with a purple Chive flowerhead. Serve with crackers.

(Yield: about 1/2 cup)

Maple Cream

Delicious creme to accompany fruit!


1 oz. cream cheese
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 T. confectioners sugar
1 t. Maple extract (or maple syrup)

Beat cream cheese until smooth in consistency and then add heavy whipping cream. Beat this until thickened a bit. Add 1 T. confectioners sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Then add 1 t. Maple flavoring.

For an extra special presentation, cut strawberries into quarters being careful not to cut the whole way through and fill with creme.

Pita Pocket Chicken Salad

My trip to Indiana was very productive-even resulting in a few new (and already well-used) recipes. These next three recipes are thanks to Mrs. Bibby with an adaptation here and there.


2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 ½ cups seedless red grapes, halved
1 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup sliced almonds
¾ cup mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup Kraft poppy seed salad dressing
6 pita breads (6 inches), halved
Leaf lettuce, optional

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, grapes, cucumber, almonds and mozzarella cheese. Add dressing and toss to coat (You may want more or less, depending upon your preferences..)

Line pita breads with lettuce if desired; fill with chicken salad. Yield: 6 servings

Mexican Lasagna

I first tasted this while visiting friends and it was so delicious I have made it several times since. So really-I stole her recipe but adapted it slightly to suit our family. The only real difference is that my host made it with noodles and I opt for tortillas. Seems to me tortillas finish off the 'Mexican' theme...AND they require NO prep and no addition cooking time! Can't beat that! But it really is delicious-no matter what you choose!

You'll need:

1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic (or ¼ t. granulated garlic)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
3 cans (10 ounces) enchilada sauce (I used 2 red and 1 green)
2 eggs
1 carton (15 ounces) ricotta cheese
½ cup minced fresh cilantro
6 soft flour tortillas (or you could opt for noodles)
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend

In a large skillet, cook onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until tender. Stir in chicken and enchilada sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta cheese and cilantro. Spread ¾ cup chicken mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Layer with two slightly overlapping tortillas, 2/3 cup ricotta mixture, ¾ cup chicken mixture and 1 cup shredded cheese. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining tortillas, sauce and shredded cheese.

Cover and bake 375o for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 10-12 servings

Ruby Relaxer

This is a tasty drink-and man, does it go down smooth!

If you like it strong, go with the 3 T. each, if you like to pare it down a bit- just use 2T. of each. I think it is delicious either way.

3 T. Malibu coconut rum
3 T. Vodka
3 T. Peachtree Schnaps
5 T. Cranberry Juice
6 oz. Pineapple Juice

Mix and fill remainder of glass with ice.

Cashew Brittle

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 c. butter

2 1/2 cups raw cashews
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Butter a cookie sheet and set aside. Mix water, sugar, butter and syrup in a 2 quart sauce pan. Bring to a boil.

Cook over medium low , stirring occasionally, until candy thermometer reaches soft crack stage (275°F)~about 30 minutes) Stir in nuts and continue cooking until thermometer reaches 295, hard crack stage (about 15 minutes more). Stire occasionally to keep nuts from burning. Remove from heat.

Quickly stir in baking soda and butter. Will harden rapidly.

Pour quickly onto a buttered cookie sheet and let stand for about an hour to cool. Break up into pieces.

*adapted from the Better Homes and Gardening cookbook

Veal Parmesan

This was the first time I had ever made veal (come to think of it, the first time I had ever EATEN it too!) , and I was nervous about it. ESPECIALLY when I went to the meat market and saw the accompanying price tag. But, it was Matt's requested birthday feast and I wasn't going to disappoint~ and I didn't. If you are one of those people that don't mind eating baby animals then you'll love this. I can't tell you how full of compliments this meal was.

6 Italian style veal cutlets, about 1 1/2 lbs.
1 egg, well beaten
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
1/2 c. french fried onions, crushed
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. olive oil
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 lb. Mozzarella cheese, grated
3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Buy fresh veal from the meat market. Swallow your tongue and hand over the bills and baby that meat until it is gone!

Beat egg with salt and pepper.

Crush french fried onions until they are very fine crumbs, then mix with breadcrumbs and with the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Put crumbs in a shallow pan or plate.

Dip cutlets into egg, then put veal cutlets on crumbs, turn and press crumbs firmly onto meat.

Heat olive oil in a skillet and brown breaded cutlets on both sides. Put cutlets into a greased shallow baking pan. Top each with 2 tablespoons tomato sauce and shredded mozzerella. Sprinkle with the 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Bake in moderate oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and melted.

Serve on a bed of pasta and be sure to make more sauce available to those who would like it. And serve wine, because you are feasting like kings!