Ham Bone Pinto Bean Soup with Okra

I had a ham bone, so soup was on the menu.  It was a high-end ham, uncured, no nitrates, antibiotic free, low-sodium (compared to all others) and I had a ton left over.  I soaked my pinto beans overnight and thought about how I'd put this together... I knew I wanted some heat in it but that was all.  I slept on it and below is what I came up with today.  I will say my ingredients may have been inspired as I marathoned a 20 year old cooking show today called "Great Chefs of New Orleans" on Amazon Prime...😊

Macaroni & Cheese x Three!

I certainly don't make this often as it's so unhealthy.  Period.  However, over the holidays, I don't mind excess and splurging, and I'm not going to lie - we have been...  It's part of enjoying the season, though I am starting to wind down with the "bad foods".  Personally, I honestly feel better when I eat well (healthy).  For my son, this dish was for him.  He LOVES mac 'n cheese. 🥰

Christmas Day Dinner: Savory Mushroom Bread Pudding and more...

Merry Christmas!!!  ❄🎄⛄❄ There was a lot of debate over what would become Christmas dinner this year - steakhouse surf & turf? Greek pastitsio?  Porchetta (next year!)?  In the end, it was Prime Rib, again (at my son's request), and I chose to make this as a side in place of my usual Yorkshire pudding.  I took my own liberties with it.  I love stuffing, so this seemed suitable to serve.  I also made these pomegranate roasted carrots as the veggie side.  Riced potatoes w/ butter and cream completed the entree course.  There was no appetizer, but I did do dessert!

Christmas Day: Maple Apple Tarte Tatin

This looked "relatively" easy to make for Christmas Day dessert so I gave it a go with minor edits...also, puff pastry and Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream from the grocery store.  I made it in the afternoon and served it at room temperature after dinner.

Baked Brie with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce and Diced Green Chilies

Appy night at my house.  This was one of those 3-ingredient dishes.  You know, dinner is easier to do than making a bunch of appetizers and less work too, just sayin'...The good thing was I was off work for the Christmas break now, so I just puttered at everything throughout the day.

Beef Barley Soup

I always make my barley soup with ground beef but today I decided to use stewing beef.  I bought a blade (chuck) roast for it.

MacLaren’s Cheddar Jam Squares

I googled this cheese as I used it in my potato soup and I wanted to provide a link to it.  When I did, I came upon this recipe and knew I had to make it.  I've always been a huge fan of cheese and jam together, and I love cheddar melted on apple pie too.  But I really made them for my son as I knew he'd love them.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I made a chicken bone broth the day before and with that, this became dinner.  My idea was to make a cheesy potato soup and then dress it up like a baked potato.  It was a good day for this, brrrr chilly evening and comfort food (a.k.a carb coma) seemed right.  Ahem, it was the night before my return to work as well, after a wonderful 3 weeks off... 😒