Old Fashioned Split Pea Soup

All I need are carrots and celery to make this yummy soup . . . my mom just brought me the ham bones from Easter dinner . . . can't wait for the aroma of this soup cooking to fill my house! Oh yeah . . . don't forget some really good bread to go with this.


INGREDIENTS:

1 pound dry green split peas
2 quarts water
1 meaty ham bone
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
dash pepper
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste


DIRECTIONS:

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cover dried peas with 2 quarts of water. Bring split peas to a boil; boil gently for 2 minutes. Set aside to soak for 1 hour. Add ham bone, chopped onion, garlic powder, marjoram, thyme, and pepper. Bring split pea soup to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove meat from bone; dice and return to pea soup with chopped celery and carrot. Simmer split pea soup slowly for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste split pea soup and add salt.

Yield: 8 Servings



Source: my recipe files . . . I have no idea where this recipe came from

Chocolate Fudge

Food gifts are the best . . . I love to give them as well as receive them . . . especially sweets. Fudge is one of the perfect gifts to give anyone. The methods of packing and gift wrapping are endless . . . just about everyone loves fudge . . . it is one of those universal gifts . . .

When I quit working and suddenly had to adjust to being a one-income family, store bought gifts were the first thing to go . . . especially the past extravagance of Christmas. I was blessed with the ability to create cool and unique items that everyone in the family loved to receive. Handmade gifts are so appreciated by most people because they are special and made with lots of love. Teenagers into designer names are the exception . . . but I made them realize that setting the trends and being unique was more cool than being like the sheep who follow everyone else.

This is the only fudge recipe I use . . . CHOCOLATE . . . it is the only one I need . . . it is that good and relatively easy. Even in my working days, JR and I had a tradition of taking vacation days around the Christmas holiday and we baked & cooked non-stop in preparation for our annual Christmas party and made lots of food gifts for our guests to take home. I remember one year spending two days just making batches of fudge, one at a time . . . those were the good ole days for me! Maybe I missed my calling in life . . .




Makes 100 1-inch pieces


12 ounces German sweet chocolate, broken

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate morsels

7 ounces marshmallow creme

4 1/2 cups sugar

13 ounces evaporated milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups broken walnuts





Place chocolate bars, morsels and marshmallow creme in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer.

Combine sugar, milk, butter and salt in a heavy 3 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil on high, stirring constantly. When the mixture boils, lower heat to medium and set a timer for 6 minutes. Keep mixture boiling steadily and stir constantly during this time to prevent scorching.

At the end of 6 minutes, pour boiling syrup over chocolate and marshmallow creme. Beat until chocolate is melted and well blended. Beat in the vanilla and nuts.

Pour into a lightly buttered 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Let cool at room temperature for 24 hours. Cut into 1 inch squares and pack in airtight containers.






I have no idea where this recipe came from, but I have used it year after year since I was out on my own.

Better than Anything Cake

I love those recipes that are "semi-homemade" . . .


Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
1 c. sugar
1 large can of crushed pineapple


Topping:

1 pkg. vanilla instant pudding
2 c. milk
1 9-ounce tub of Cool Whip (whipped topping)
1 large back of shredded coconut


Directions:

Bake cake as directed on the box for a 9x13 pan.

Just before the cake is ready to come out of the oven, mix the sugar and pineapple in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Dissolve sugar completely.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, take a fork and poke holes all over
the top of the cake.

Pour sugar/pineapple mixture over hot cake and set aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, mix the pudding with 2 cups of milk. Add shredded coconut and
spread evenly on top of cooled cake.

Refrigerate.

Just before serving time, spread a large container of Cool Whip over the entire top of cake and keep refrigerated.


Source: CakeClubRecipes

Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins

Ingredients:

1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1-1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup strawberry jam



Directions:

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until smooth set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

In another small bowl, whisk the egg, milk, brown sugar, butter, lemon peel and almond extract.

Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Spoon half of the batter into greased muffin cups. Top each with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture and 1 teaspoon jam. Top with remaining batter.



Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Yield: 1 dozen.