Ham 'n' Veggie Soup

So how was everyone's Thanksgiving??

Anyone else feel the need to diet through Christmas now?

Well, this soup makes great use of leftover ham you may have. It's hearty, flavorful, and healthy.

The original recipe calls for a lot of salt, so in efforts to make it a little healthier (and tastier), I cut some of it out. I made this last year, and it was definitely a hit.

For 160 calories a cup? Totally worth making.

Ham 'n' Veggie Soup

(Original recipe by Barbara Thompson)

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Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
• 1 medium zucchini, cubed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
• 3 cups fresh or frozen corn
• 3 cups cubed fully cooked ham
• 6 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

• In a large saucepan, saute onion and zucchini in oil for 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add the mushrooms, corn and ham; cook and stir for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the tomatoes, broth, salt, garlic powder and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Uncover; simmer 5-8 minutes longer. Garnish with mozzarella cheese. Yield: 8-10 servings.

• 

Chocolate Pecan Pie

I made this for the first family Thanksgiving held at our house a couple of years ago.

It's just like a traditional pecan pie... just kicked up a notch. ;)

And no lie, the entire thing was gone in 15 minutes. My niece even mentioned that she'd never had pecan pie before and loved this version. So there ya have it.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

(Original recipe by me... inspired by several different recipes)

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Ingredients

• 1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell
• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and melted butter. Add the corn syrup, sugar, and the chocolate. Stir until all ingredients are combined. Stir in pecans. Pour mixture into the pie shell and place on a heavy-duty cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for an additional 35-40 minutes or until pie is set. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
Cool before serving.

Garlic Chicken Puffs

We had a luncheon this week at church for all of the women's Bible studies that meet up on Tuesdays. Everyone signed up to bring something. My signature dishes are usually desserts. I'm just better at baking, I think. Probably because my sweet tooth never fails me; I can tell if something will come out right just by looking at the picture. But I brought a dessert last time, so I figured it was time to push myself out of my comfort zone. However, I decided to stick with something simple.

I found this recipe and decided to give it a whirl.

It was inexpensive, tasty, and fed a lot of people. I think next time I'll take it up a notch and add some herbs... maybe some basil, oregano, etc. But they're definitely a great snack food to bring to a party, shower, or any other event where hungry people will be. And I got a couple of random compliments, so the fact that they're a crowd-pleaser is a plus.

Have a great weekend!!

Garlic Chicken Puffs

(Recipe by Cheryl)

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Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup cooked shredded chicken*
• 2 cans refrigerator crescent rolls

Directions

Mix cream cheese, garlic and chicken until well blended.

Unroll crescent rolls and cut each triangle into 2 triangles (when you unroll the crescent rolls, 2 triangles are attached making a big square, I just followed the perforation on the opposite side and made an X, creating 4 little triangles).

Place 1 tsp of chicken mixture on the center of each triangle and fold the corners in over the creamy mixture. Place on cookie sheet, lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with no stick spray. Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes (mine were ready in about 10 minutes, so watch them closely).

*For cooked chicken, I used the leftovers from my favorite oven roasted chicken dish I make. If you're not planning on making chicken the night before, you could always grab an precooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.

Pumpkin Crunch

I've seen several ways to make this, however none of them have ever beaten my MamMaw's version.

I've written before about how my grandmother was head of the local Women's Auxiliary of Homebuilders Association, and the ladies compiled a cookbook the year that I was born.

There are recipes from several women, including my mom and grandmother, that I knew personally, and this book has become one of my most trusted sources when cooking. They weren't famous chefs, but before Paula Deen became the national spokeswoman for butter, they were the ones adding "just a little bit more" to every dish.

Anyway, this yummy dessert comes from this cookbook.

It's super easy and definitely great for any holiday gathering.

Pumpkin Crunch

(Recipe by Virginia Williams)

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Ingredients

• 1 large can pumpkin
• 1 large can evaporated milk
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 2 sticks butter, melted and cooled (you don't want it so hot that it'll start cooking the eggs... gross!)

Frosting:

• 1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
• 3/4 cup Cool Whip
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 9x13x2 inch pan with waxed paper. Mix pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, and cinnamon together and pour into pan. Pour 1 box yellow cake mix, dry, over pumpkin mixture. Pat nuts onto cake mix. Spoon melted and cooled butter over nuts evenly. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Invert and peel off waxed paper. Mix frosting ingredients together. Frost and refrigerate.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Today is one of those dreary, chilly days. To be honest, I love it.

Something about this kind of weather makes me want to cozy up on the couch and read or watch a cheesy Hallmark movie. Y'know, those things you save for lazy, rainy days.

And to top these kinds of days off? Soup.

My husband loves Panera's broccoli cheddar soup. It's surprisingly not too bad in the calorie department too! But sometimes I'm just really not in the mood to go out.

So I found this recipe for days like today.

Hubs loved it, and it was really simple to throw together.

To save yourself some time, try getting one of those steam-in-a-bag things for the broccoli.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

(Original recipe by Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

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Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, preferably sharp or extra sharp
• 1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups chopped, lightly steamed or blanched broccoli

Directions
Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes. In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour, salt and pepper. Cook together, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium heat until soup starts to thicken, about 5-8 minutes. Add warmed chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add cheeses and stir until completely melted. Stir in steamed broccoli. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Serve immediately in bowls or bread bowls.

Tuscan Pasta with Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce

I had been eyeing this recipe for awhile now, and I don't know what in the world I was waiting on. It was so good and SO easy. It definitely gives you that just-as-good-as-a-restaurant taste but without the cost. If you're in the mood for some good Italian? Give this a try.

Tuscan Pasta with Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce

(Original recipe by Marguerite Cleveland, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Southern Living
JULY 2007)

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Ingredients

• 1 (20-oz.) package refrigerated four-cheese ravioli*
• 1 (16-oz.) jar sun-dried tomato Alfredo sauce
• 2 tablespoons white wine (I skipped this, since I didn't have any. Still tasted amazing)
• 2 medium-size fresh tomatoes, chopped**
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Garnish: fresh basil strips

Directions

Prepare pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, pour Alfredo sauce into a medium saucepan. Pour wine into sauce jar; cover tightly, and shake well. Stir wine mixture into saucepan. Stir in chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup chopped basil, and cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Toss with pasta, and top evenly with 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Garnish, if desired.


*1 (13-oz.) package three-cheese tortellini may be substituted.
**1 (14.5-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, fully drained, may be substituted.

Sweet Potato Mini-Muffins

I made these over the weekend with my little guy. I had some sweet potato left over from dinner the night before, and I hate wasting food (especially healthy food!).

As a baby, Noah looooooved sweet potatoes. His hands started turning orange, he ate so many. But since starting solids, he eventually lost that love. But I swear, as soon as he stopped eating so many of them, he started getting more colds and ear infections.

I wanted to find a way to incorporate them back into his diet. But since he wasn't interested in eating them normally, I had to get a little creative. I found this recipe, and I'm SO happy with it.

As soon as they were done, Noah ate FIVE of them.

And he has no idea how healthy they are. Next time, I might try to replace some of the oil with applesauce. They have an oatmeal-cookie-like flavor, so I think the applesauce would work great.

Sweet Potato Mini-Muffins

(Original recipe by Catherine @ weelicious.com)

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Ingredients

• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
• 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
• 2 Large Eggs, whisked
• 1 Cup Sweet Potato Puree, cooked*
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 1/4 Cup Canola or Vegetable Oil
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Place the first 7 ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl whisk the remaining ingredients.
Slowly combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients just until they are combined (be careful not to over mix the batter).
Place 1 tbsp of batter in each cup of greased mini muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes.
 Serve. (Makes 30 Mini Muffins)

* To make sweet potato puree, bake sweet potatoes (or yams) in a 400 degree oven for one hour, allow to cool, slice in half lengthwise and mash flesh with a fork until smooth.
** You can place muffins in labeled freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months.