Split Pea Soup

Chris has been asking for soups lately, so every Sunday night I make a big pot and he brings some to work every day for lunch. With the weather getting decidedly fall-like this weekend, he requested split pea for the week.

I was busy for most of the day yesterday, so I knew I'd have to rely on the Crock-Pot from Grandma/Nana/Mom/Aunt Flo/Manna to do most of the work while I slept. Assembling the ingredients took about 10 minutes - and 10 hours later the soup was ready!

For the vegetarians out there (or meat eaters like me who don't like ham!) this can be made without the ham or chicken broth. Just be sure to use vegetable broth for the flavor boost. I kept the pieces of ham on the larger size so I can easily pick them out - haha!

1 bag green split peas (about 2 cups)
1 1/2 cups chopped ham
1 yellow onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced (you can include the leaves, too!)
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
1 bay leaf
Fresh ground pepper

Layer the above ingredients in the slow cooker in the exact order shown above. Do not stir. Cook on the low setting for 8-10 hours.

Potato Pancakes with Avocado Mash and Eggs

This recipe is from this month's issue of the Rachel Ray magazine. I made it for breakfast today and it was delicious! While the recipe calls for a full onion, I used only about a third of one and the flavor was more than enough.

Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds shredded baking potatoes
1 grated onion
4 eggs
2 avocados
Chipotle-flavored hot sauce

Directions

Place 1 1/4 pounds shredded baking potatoes in a kitchen towel and squeeze to remove any moisture. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 1 grated onion, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Divide the potato mixture into 4 mounds in the skillet and pat into 4-inch pancakes. Cover with a sheet of foil and cook, turning once and adding 1 more tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, until browned, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a platter. In the same skillet, cook 4 eggs sunny-side up with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil for about 1 minute. Mash the flesh from 2 avocados and season with salt. Top each pancake with some avocado, an egg and chipotle-flavored hot sauce.

Serves 4.

A little bit of housekeeping

Hi Girls!

I re-designed this blog a little bit. When you look at the page's left side you'll see different categories such as "dinner" "appetizers" "brunch", etc. This will help you locate a recipe in a jiffy!

I also added a search function to the left side of the page, so you can use this method to find a recipe, too.

Happy cooking!!

Meghan's Homemade Pizza

Meghan emailed this recipe to me while ago. I'm posting it here so we all have access to it!

Easy Dough from Scratch

¼ oz. (2 ½ teaspoons) package Active Dry Yeast

½ teaspoon Sugar

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

2 to 2 ¼ cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

½ teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, proof the yeast and sugar in 1/3 cup lukewarm water for 10 minutes, or until it is foamy. Stir in an additional 1/3 cup lukewarm water, oil, 2 cups flour, and salt. Blend mixture until it forms a dough. Knead the dough on a floured surface, incorporating as much of the remaining ¼ cup flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.

Put the dough in an oiled bowl and turn it to coat with the oil. Let the dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it is double in bulk, and punch it down. The dough is now ready to become a pizza!

Constructing the Pizza

2 tablespoons Olive Oil (separated)

7-8 cloves of Garlic, thinly sliced

7-8 Roma Tomatoes, thinly sliced

Salt

Pepper

Red Pepper Flakes

Approx 8 oz. Fresh Mozzarella, cubed

Lots of freshly shredded Parmesan

1 package Basil, finely sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Coat a 9x13 sheet pan with 1 tablespoon oil. Knead dough in hands, stretching to the general shape of the pan. Once dough becomes too large to handle, drop onto pan and pull edges so that the dough covers the entire pan. Let rest.

Sauté sliced garlic in olive oil on medium heat until garlic is in beginning stages of turning brown. Set aside.

Prior to piling on the toppings, revisit the dough, as it may have retreated slightly from the edges of the pan. Stretch the dough to ensure that it covers the entire pan. Immediately layer toppings, beginning by covering the dough with sliced tomatoes, a generous sprinkle of salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, then cubes of mozzarella, followed by sliced basil and lots of freshly shredded parmesan.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 mins (until edges are no longer soft and beginning to slightly brown). Kick the heat up to broil and cook for an additional 5 mins, or until the cheese is crispy.

Using a spatula, remove pizza from pan and let cool on cutting board for 5 minutes. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Parsley Lemon Butter Salmon

I HATE seafood--this recipe is the only fish I eat! Easy and simple and sure to impress the roommates.

college dorm kitchen portion (for 1):

4 oz. salmon fillet
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
pepper, garlic salt, and parsley to taste

Heat pan on medium. Melt butter and lemon juice in small dish. Mix in garlic salt, pepper, and parsley. Brush each side of fish with butter sauce. When pan is heated, place fillet skin-side down and cook 4-5 minutes. Brush with butter sauce again before flipping, and cook the other side for 4-5 minutes. I usually pour the remaining sauce on the fillet just before I take it off the heat. Great with cold black bean and pea salad--we college ladies have to get our protein somewhere!!