Soups On

This is what I do with holiday leftovers, make soup, and lots of it.

 Ham and the kitchen sink soup:
-Diced holiday ham
-left over turkey stock
-rest of the mast potatoes
-rest of the stuffing
-chopped green beans
-rest of the carrot casserole
-1 can of white beans, or rice
-salt and pepper, seasoning to taste
-simmer for 4 hours
My family loved this soup. All the flavors mixed well together and I will make it again.

 Turkey Posole
-saute onion and garlic in olive oil
-1 can of diced green chilies
-1 can cannellini beans
-diced pepper
-left over turkey stock
-15 ounce can hominy
-salt and pepper, seasoning to taste
I love a nice "hot" soup with a kick. This was a yummy way to use up that turkey.
I would love to hear how you use your leftover turkey and ham.

Monday Fun- Baking and Pipe Cleaner Animals

Make this for breakfast, I promise you'll love it!

Aunt Eileen's Baked Oatmeal

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil or applesauce
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup any fruit you want (we added strawberries)

Mix all together, place in baking pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I baked this in my new Le Creuset rectangle baking pans that I ordered from CSN web site. The product came in 10 days and was simple to order. The Le Creuset baker is of top quality, heats evenly, and came in this lovely blue. You can really order almost anything from CSN and they even have free shipping on some items, like the one I ordered. The only downfall is that many items have hefty shipping costs. To conclude my review on CSN....yes, I would for sure order a product again, if it had free shipping.

We are also having a good time this morning making pipe cleaner animals.

I glued eye onto buttons that I purchased from Oriental Trading Company and the girls went to town twisting legs and tails for their animals. Enjoy your Monday!

The BEST darn sheet cake!

Trust me, this is the best darn sheet cake you will make this year. I got this recipe from the Pioneer Woman's site  here.

 

It's super yummy, but make sure you have some friends over to share it with or you will eat the entire cake by yourself!

Best Sheet Cake Ever:
From the Pioneer Woman.

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 2 cups Flour
• 2 cups Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1 cup Boiling Water
• ½ cups Buttermilk
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• _____
• FOR FROSTING:
• ½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans
• 1-¾ stick Butter
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

 In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. 

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat.

Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool. In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. 

Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. I added hazelnuts. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the nuts, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Whiplash Wednesday, pomegranates

I can't tell you how much I love pomegranates! It's not something I grew-up with, it's one of those things you discover when you move away from home, like to the other side of the country. These tiny bitter-sweet seeds pack a healthy, powerful punch.

For those of you who don't know...this fruit grows on a VERY spiny bush. When we lived in California our neighbors planted them under their windows for extra protection.

The one thing I can't stand about this fruit are the stained fingers, counter tops, and shirts it marks with tiny red droplets.

My whiplash moment came when I discovered an easier way to love these round, ruby globes.
1. cut in half
2. soak in a big bowl of water
3. flip the seeds out
4. drain and enjoy

Now go ahead and whip it good!