Baked Monte Cristos

Okay... so this recipe was surprisingly simple, and very tasty. The puff pastry gave it a buttery, light taste that is hard to beat. I found this recipe at Mmm...Cafe


The Ingredients:
1  egg
1 sheet Puff Pastry, thawed
4 thin slices deli Black Forest ham
4 slices deli Swiss cheese (about 4 ounces)
Confectioners' sugar
Pure maple syrup

The Instructions:
Heat the oven to 400°F.  Beat the egg in a small bowl with a fork.
Unfold the pastry sheet on the work surface.  Cut the pastry in half, diagnally to create two large triangles. Brush the edges of the pastries with egg.
With a corner of 1 pastry facing you, place 2 slices ham and 1 slice cheese on the bottom half of the pastry.  Fold the pastry over the filling to form a triangle and press the edges to seal.  Crimp the edges with a fork.  Repeat with the remaining pastry.  Brush the top of the pastries with the egg mixture.  Place the pastries onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.  Sprinkle the pastries with the confectioners' sugar.  Serve with the maple syrup.

Split Pea Ham and Barley Soup

Now, I must admit I have never been much of a fan of soups. But LATELY... I guess this winter was just the right kind of cold and I got on a soup and stew kick that left me in LOVE with some new recipes. This one in particular is so fantastic. Super creamy and smooth, without all the cream and butter! And the barley adds just the right touch of chewiness that I so very much love. PLEASE try it, and I bet you, too, will love it! (Picture and recipe courtesy of MelsKitchenCafe.com)

The ingredients:

1 cup dry split green peas
1/2 cup medium pearl barley (not quick-cooking barley)
2 cups chopped ham
3/4 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
5 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes (or 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf

The instructions:

In a medium bowl or liquid measure, combine the water, bouillon cubes and spices and whisk to combine (it’s okay if the bouillon cubes don’t completely dissolve).

In a medium round slow cooker (about 4-quart), layer peas, barley, ham, carrots, onion and celery. Do not mix. Pour in the water/spices mixture and add the bay leaf to the slow cooker. Don’t stir! Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours or on low eight hours, until the peas reach the desired creamy, soft texture. Remove the bay leaf, stir well, and add salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Serve immediately. Upon sitting and/or refrigerating, this soup thickens considerably. Simply add water or chicken broth to thin the soup to the desired consistency before reserving.

(Brown rice makes an excellent barley substitution!)

Ham and Noodles

Okay, so this one sounds a bit off, but it is SO GOOD! I mean, I was surprised by how much I liked it since in general, I don't like ham. Our neighborhood did a recipe swap a while back and this was one of the recipes that was swapped. I am so glad that Nik shared this recipe (Thanks Nikola!)

The ingredients:
2 cups uncooked wide noodles (Now I just guess on this since I have no idea how to measure two cups of noodles- I use roughly 3 ounces)
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. flour
1 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1 cup grated American cheese
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups diced ham

The instructions:
Cook noodles as instructed by packaging. Shorten cooking time by a minute or so since you will be baking this afterward. While noodles are cooking, melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Once butter is melted, stir in flour and cook over medium low heat until the mixture turns a golden brown. Add the milk and cook, stirring constantly until boiling. Take it off the heat and add salt and cheese to the milk; stir until cheese is melted. Once the cheese sauce is finished, and the noodles are cooked, combine them, the ham and the peas. Pour into a 7X11 baking dish (or a 9X9) and cover with foil. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Cover with buttered bread crumbs and bake for another 15 minutes.