Trista Thinnes

Ham, peas, and pasta

This recipe is a variation of one from epicurious by Minday Fox in 2015. My main change is that the recipe calls for much more lemon than we cared for. Otherwise, it is perfect. This is one of the most perfect recipes for leftover ham that literally cooks in under 30 minutes. It would be great after a holiday to use leftovers. The second change I made is to use much more ham. We like pasta with our protein and not protein with our pasta. Because the ham is salty, I used much less salt.

1 pound small penne pasta cooked al dente

2 tablespoons butter

2 shallots thinly sliced

4-8 ounces cubed ham

1 1/2 cup frozen peas

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Fresh parsley

black pepper

grated parmesan

Cook butter over medium heat in a skillet. Saute the shallots for 5 minutes. Add the ham, peas, and cream. Simmer about 5 minutes until sauce thickens. Add the lemon zest, parsley, salt, and pepper. Add the pasta. Top with parmesan.

Lemon thyme chicken marinade

Dinner, Marinade

I recommend placing the chicken in a ziploc bag with the mixture at least 6 hours. It makes the most flavorful juicy chicken ever. It is perfect for grilled chicken.

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 cloves garlic peeled and sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

This was enough marinade for 2 large split bone in chicken breasts. The cooking will vary depending on what pieces of chicken you use. I grilled these chicken breasts on propane at 350-300 degrees for about an hour. I started skin side up and flipped them after about 45 minutes.

Homemade enchilada sauce

hot sauce

Canned enchilada sauce is very easy. It also can have a bitter and sometimes unpleasant taste.

This sauce can be made in under 30 minutes. It is a 30 minute task that is well worth it. It can freeze well for later use.

For the chili powder, I mixed equal parts Concho chili, Chipotle chili, and Guajillo chili.

This makes 2-3 cups of sauce.

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2-3 tablespoons flour

6-7 teaspoons of chili powder

16 ounces tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

The first step is cooking the oil and flour on medium heat stirring constantly until lightly browned. This is the same as making a light roux.

Add the spices, then add the water and tomato sauce slowly and stirring constantly. Continue to cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until thickened.

White chocolate pecan cookies

Dessert

1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup oatmeal

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the margarine and sugars. Add the egg. Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in flour, then oatmeal, then pecans and white chocolate chips. Roll into tablespoon sized balls and flatten on baking sheet. Bake for 10-11 minutes.

Ham, bean, and potato soup

Soup

For this recipe, I used a ham that my husband smoked on the green egg. Deli ham would work just the same but would give a slightly different flavor.

My cook times for this recipe result in the beans being so cooked that they fall apart. It leaves a creamy buttery texture. If you perfer more firm beans then you should decrease the cooking time my 30-45 minutes.

3 stalks celery, diced small

1 cup sliced carrot

1/2 onion, diced small

2 cloves garlic, diced small

10 ounces dried white beans

6 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1-2 cups cubed ham

1 large russet potato, diced

1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder

2 bay leaves

3 sprigs thyme – remove stems

1 teaspoom white pepper

pinch or more cayenne

3 tablespoons butter

Clean and rinse the beans. Place the beans in water with salt. Bring this to a full rolling boil. Remove it from heat and cover the pot. Let them sit for 60 minutes.

Turn the heat back on. Add all of the ingredients to the pot except the butter and ham. Place a few pieces of ham into the pot (1/4 cup) and reserve the rest. Simmer on low covered for 60 minutes. Stir the mixture every 15 minutes. Add water is needed. It is supposed to be a thicker soup.

After an hour, add the diced ham and butter. Cover and cook another 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Serve with crusty french bread or corn bread.

Chocolate cream cheese frosting

Dessert

With Valentine’s day being next week, I needed to write about something chocolate. This is about the easiest delicious dessert. It is pretty fool proof. I would put fresh strawberries and raspberries on top to make it more fancy.

The first step…. make a boxed chocolate cake mix. I use the trick where you use melted butter in place of the vegetable oil and make the cake using one extra egg than directed. It makes the cake more dense and moist. It tastes more like a professionally made or bakery style cake. Easy.

Now the frosting is the best part. Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature. I really enjoy this frosting less sweet, but you can add more sugar to taste.

8 ounces cream cheese – not whipped

1 stick of salted butter – not melted

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-2.5 cups powdered sugar

Cream the butter and cream cheese on medium speed in a mixer. Add the vanilla. Add the cocoa powder 2-3 tablespoons at a time until fully mixed. Now, begin slowly adding the powder sugar as well. Frost the cake when completely cooled. Store this in the refrigerator.

Taco soup

Soup

Simple. Delicious. Inexpensive. Crock pot. Taco.

Have I said any words that any busy mom likes? This is a go to meal for many reasons. Made as is, it is a great soup. You can also make it with less water. Then you can place it over chips and shredded iceberg for giant nachos or taco salad. This also freezes and re-heats well. What more could you want?

1 pound ground beef cooked

1/2 cup onion, diced

1 can pinto beans, undrained

1 can rotel

1 small can diced green chili

1 can corn, undrained

1 packet taco seasoning

1 tablespoon cumin

1/4 bunch fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

****1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder**** for spicy

1-4 cans water depending on if you make soup or taco meat.

Put all of the ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 6 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours. If the plan is to re-heat the soup later, I would stop cooking it an hour early.

Pina colada smoothie

Smoothies

If I am going to treat myself, I tend to not worry too much about calories. I rather induldge in something REALLY good than eat 10 things that are not. Having said that, this is pretty good for you AND delicious. It makes 2 smoothies.

My husband bought me a ninja last year. I really love how convenient it is. I find myself a lot more likely to eat fruit and yogurt by making smoothies than I am to just eat fruit. I have always been more of a vegetable lover than a fruit lover.

I think that freezing the coconut milk into ice cubes would be a really good idea for this recipe.

1/2 banana

1 cup plain yogurt

1/3 can light coconut milk

6 small pieces frozen pineapple

10 ice cubes

2 tablespoons sugar

Blend all until smooth and enjoy.

Next time, I might just add alcohol…..

Chicken sausage and crab gumbo

Dinner, seafood

Gumbo takes a really really long time to make. It tastes sooo good it is worth it. My favorite part is that it can be made in giant batches. It freezes really well to made several quick dinners by warming it and making fresh rice. It makes a great easy dinner for weeknights, after babies are born, and for winter camping trips.

This batch and the portions I used made 4-5 batches of 2-3 bowls each. That is a LOT of gumbo.

3 green bell peppers, diced

6 celery stalks, diced

1 large onion, diced

7 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup dark roux

2 tablespoons butter

4 bone in chicken thighs, smoked

2 pounds andouille sausage links, smoked

10-16 ounces crab claw meat

5 bay leaves

2 teaspoon thyme

12-14 cups chicken broth

1-2 teaspoons paprika

6 large pods okra

2 tablespoons gumbo file

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

chopped green onions to garnish

My dark roux.

Melt the butter in large soup pot on medium heat. Add the celery, onion, and pepper. Cook until soft about 10-12 minutes.

Once they are soft add the garlic and then stir in the roux. Add the chicken broth. Add the thyme, paprika and bay leaves. Add the chopped up chicken and sausage. Add the okra. I use giant firm pods and put them in whole. Once the okra opens, I remove the pod and leave the seeds.

Cover and cook for 1-2 hours.

Just before serving, add the crab meat and gumbo file. Remove the bay leaves and okra. Add in fresh chopped parsley.

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Serve with white rice, corn bread, and green onions.

To freeze this, I let it cool fully and then place smaller portions into ziploc freezer bags without rice. When warming it, sometimes I add a bit of water. Also, this is when we add shrimp if we are going to. The shrimp does not freeze well.

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Peanut butter oatmeal cookies

Dessert, Uncategorized

These are the most buttery crispy cookies ever. They are sooo yummy.

1/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup old fashioned oats

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the shortening, margarine, and sugars. Add the peanut butter. Add egg. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Drop by tablepoon onto baking sheet. A silicon mat works great for these to prevent sticking. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until desired crispiness.

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