Ham bone soup follow up

The soup turned out fantastic. We wound up adding a total of 3 cans of black eyed peas and about 3 cups of white rice. It was simple, hearty and healthy.

Ham bone soup

This is something I would have never tried had a not been married to Rich. He is all about these great ideas that I have to carry out. :O) He wanted me to make soup with the ham bone from last Sunday. Those of you who know me know that I am all over canned broth and canned beans. The quicker the better when it comes to these 2 food items.
Here is what I came up with. I really needed to keep it simple due to the excess amount of cooking that has gone on while he has been on break. I took the ham bone, added 3 quarts of water, and a can of black eyed peas (hubbies request). Let the bone simmer for a few hours, removed meat from bone and added salt. We are going to feast on that tomorrow after church with a yummy loaf of Panera Bread.
Hope it turns out good.

Yummy First Ham

Rich decided that he wanted to have Ham for our Resurrection Dinner. I have never cooked a ham before, so was a little resistant. I did a bit of research before and was only more anxious. There was just so much information out there that it was overwhelming. To complicate the idea, Dante really does not like sweet ham. He never has.
I read an article from an AWESOME magazine that I subscribe to about putting your homemaking/keeper of your home skills in the hands of the Lord and he will provide. He will guide you, even in the kitchen. As long as you are willing to start or take that first step, God WILL fill you. So, this article encouraged me to just go with my gut regarding our first family ham. Let me tell you...it turned out fabulous. It was extremely easy to prepare and cook and everyone loved it. The 8lb ham cooked for 3 hours at 325 degrees with a foil tee pee. I flipped halfway through cooking and VOILA...a super yummy moist ham with lots of leftovers. Rich wants me to find a good ham bone soup. AHHH, the next kitchen challenge. Thank you, Lord for helping guide my hands in preparing a delicious meal for my family. You are ever faithful.

Chicken Potato Bowls

I have been working at putting together one month of different meals, week by week. Since Rich works late during the week and is so easy to please, the kids are my biggest critics. Trying to find meals that are healthy and kid friendly can be a bit tricky. I have run across some outstanding meal planning websites that have been essential in helping me put together my menus.
Tonight we made Chicken Potato Bowls. Along with Dante's help, preparing this meal was super simple. We made homemade mashed potatoes, baked fresh chicken breast, marinated in Italian dressing, and boiled some mixed veggies.
To serve, you make a bowl out of the potatoes and then fill the bowl with chicken chunks and veggies. It was a big hit with everyone but Isabella, who is an avid veggie hater, unless it is raw green salad. The kids agreed to pose to prove how happy they were with this new dinner idea.
Yes, that is Justus smiling and eating a piece of cooked broccoli. It helped that Dante ate 4 huge pieces and then proceeded to take his shirt off to prove how healthy broccoli was for your muscles. AAHHH, the testosterone.

Let the baking begin

With as much baking as I do, I realized it would save me quite a bit to purchase my baking flour in bulk. I usually make about 6 loaves of bread a week and 2-4 batches of pancakes, waffles or muffins also. Flour is individually priced at $.80 /#. When purchased in a 25# bag, it is half the price at $.40 per #. Cannot beat those savings.
The next step is finding a good airtight way to store the flour that will not take up too much space. After doing a bit of research, the best solution I found was an Iris Airtight pet food storage container with wheels. The plastic is FDA approved for food storage. The lid is so easy to open and the container fits beautifully behind my kitchen door for easy availability. The 25# of flour fit perfectly. YAY, I love easy, cheap solutions. Rich and I figured that with the savings in flour each month would quickly pay off the $20 we spent on the container.