Leftover Ham - Oh Yum!

Most of us are tuckered out after all the fun and family of the Christmas holidays.  We grab whatever's in the refrigerator and make due for the next few meals.  If you had ham, here's one easy and great soup that is filling and flavorful.

Cheesy Ham and Potato Soup

Spray a large crockpot with PAM to keep the soup from sticking.  Turn to high cook.

Boil until tender:
5 pounds washed/unpeeled golden Yukon potatoes
Drain/let sit in cold water until cooled - with your fingers/peel off skin.  Add skin to your composter. 

Add to crockpot:
2 Cups Ham (Dice or pull into small bite sized pieces)
32 ozs. Chicken stock/broth

Add:
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire
1/2 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper (to taste)

Melt in fry pan:
1 heaping Tablespoon Bacon Grease
1 heaping Tablespoon Butter
And add:
1 Cup Finely Diced Carrots
1 Cup Finely Diced Celery
1 Cup Finely Diced Onions
Simmer until onions are translucent but not browned.

Add to crockpot:
Onion mixture and potatoes.  Lightly mash with hand masher/leaving bite sized potato hunks.  Cook until mixture begins to bubble at the sides.  Scrape down.

Add:
1 Cup Milk (Add more if it becomes too thick)
1 Pound Vevetta cheese - cut into squares
Stir and when cheese has melted, turn crock pot temperature to Low.

If this begins to bubble, turn it down to warm.  Cooking too hot will cause the cheese to stick to the sides and flavor won't be as good.  Everything in this soup has been cooked prior to the crockpot so it's just a matter of letting flavors blend and holding warn until you're read to eat.  

This makes a large crockpot full.  It can be made in a soup pan but you must stir more often to keep it from burning/sticking.  And when it's all warm and ready, it needs to be served rather than held.

This also freezes well.  Simply stir to blend ingredients while reheating.  Also, microwaveable but be sure to cover because it splatters.   

As they used to say on the farm, this soup will "stick to your ribs" these cold winter days.  It's good with a simple salad or fruit.  It's almost too rich and thick for crackers or bread.  

Christmas Jam

I just finished two batches of Cranberry Jalapeño Jam - they look good - they taste good - they set up:  All is well in Santa's workshop.

I had bought a little jar of commercially produced CJJ and loved it on toast, eggs, crackers, cheese - many things.  The cranberries give it zing and color - the peppers a little bit of heat.  Then, I couldn't find it anywhere and decided I'd make my own.  The following recipe is easy and worked exactly right (love it when that happens.)

Cranberry Jalapeno Jam

2 cups     Whole fresh cranberries - washed/drained
3               Jalapeno peppers **
2 Tbs.      Water
1 cup        White vinegar
5 cups      White granulated sugar
3 oz.         Liquid pectin

** You can use any type of hot pepper or more than three BUT you don't want to make it so hot that it loses it's subtle flavors and is just another hot sauce.

Wash & sterilize 5 half-pint jars, lids and rings.  It will make five jars but you will have about 1/2 cup left over to use/store in refrigerator.  

Wearing latex gloves, wash peppers, cut off stem ends, slice in half lengthwise and remove all seeds and inner membranes.  Chop finely in the food processor.  

Add cranberries and water to peppers.  Pulse until finely chopped.

Spoon pulp into a 4-quart stainless steel pan.  Add vinegar.  Cook over low heat 10 minutes to blend flavors.  Stir to keep from burning/sticking.

Add sugar all at once and raise heat.  Stir constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a rolling boil.  When mixture bubbles and the top foams significantly - add pectin.  Boil hard one minute.  Remove from heat.  Stir.  If there's extra foam, skim off and discard.  

Ladle jam into jars, leaving 1/2 inch at top.  Clean rim, add caps and rings; gently tighten.  

Process jam in water bath canner 10 minutes.  Remove to towel covered surface.  When the jars have sealed and cooled, tighten rings.  The jars need to be completely cooled for the jam to set.  Wipe clean with damp rag and polish with dry towel.  Date and store at room temperature.

Refrigerate after opening or anything not processed in canner.   

Since I'm giving some as Christmas presents, I added a label and twine bow.  This recipe isn't terribly time consuming and the end result is a beautiful jewel-toned jam.  

      

Tropical Beauties

Sunset off our patio

We were fortunate to spend some time in Maui last month.  The awesomeness (yes awesomeness) of the ocean is one of the great features.  The other was the vegetation.  Vegetation seems so generic for Maui plants and flowers.  They are anything but generic.

The background:  I won the ten days in a beautiful condo on the beach through an on-line auction held by the National Hemerocallis Association.  The condo time was donated by one of the NHA officers - the owners.  What a gift!

Not only did we have wonderful accommodations but a view of the Pacific from our patio.  Although it was a bit early for whale watching, one of those big girls showed herself to us not far off the coast of our beach.  This ramped up the awesomeness to a bucket list level.  

We visited the privately owned Kula Botanical Garden.  It poured down the entire time we walked the garden which gave it an ethereal feel.  And so, under our umbrellas, we saw these beauties.

As always, you can click on the first picture and then page thru them in a larger format.  Vacations are great and this one especially beautiful - but - there's no place like home.