Soup...

So soup. I hate soup. Well, not all soups (soups I like: french onion, cheesy potato, pumpkin). But really, most soups I just don't like (especially any with ground beef. Eww!). I never fill full after eating them. I'd really rather have a sandwich or a hunk of bread even. Anyway, Matt loves soups (not all soups, but quite a few (soups matt does NOT like: french onion, cheesy potato, pumpkin). I remember being told that marriage was about comprimise. I never realized this would include food. Okay, fine, don't squeeze the toothpaste the right way, I can deal with that. But soup? I'm supposed to eat soup with you? Well, I cook Matt soup and I even eat it with him. This must make me the most awesomest wife in the world :) Right?

Well, we have a little after Easter tradition. Every year we go to Matt's grandparents for Easter. Every year they have ham. Every year we are given the ham bone. And every year I make Matt Ham & Bean soup. Tonight was the night for our yearly ham bone soup. Here is the recipe if you ever happen to be gifted a ham bone (I have heard that you can ask for one at a meat counter, but I've never been brave enough to try this). Enjoy! (If you like soup that is...)

Ham & Bean Soup
1 lb dry Navy beans
4 C water
4 C chicken broth
1 ham hock
1 C chopped carrots
1 C chopped celery
1 C chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. mustard powder
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. Paprika

1. Soak beans for at least 8 hours. Discard soak water.
2. In large pot combine all ingredients. Stir & bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer for 2.5 to 3 hours.
3. Remove Ham Hock & remove meat from bone.
4. Remove 2 cups of soup & puree. Replace both soup & ham meat in pot. Stir well, serve.

Bourbon-Glazed Salmon

Wow, two posts in one day! So, I think I am maybe going to mainly post about food (because I love it so!!) So, tonight I made a new recipie. Bourbon-Glazed Salmon. It was yummy & easy to make. I did feel that while some bites had enough of the glaze, the thicker portions could have used more. Perhaps the recipie could be tweaked & a glazed made to serve with the Salmon as opposed to just marinate it in. I served it with a bag of spinach (yes, I just put the bag on the table and said "tada!", hey, I'm busy! :-)), and orzo. Well, enjoy!

Bourbon-Glazed Salmon

Ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar

6 tablespoons bourbon

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepp

er
2 cloves crushed garlic
8 (6-ounces each) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
non-stick cooking spray
4 teaspoons sesame seeds
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

Prep:

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; add salmon fillets. Seal bag, and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning bag once.

Remove fillets from bag; discard marinade. Preheat broiler. Place fillets on broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 11 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Sprinkle each fillet with 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon onions (I must admit that I totally forgot about this part...)

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/323/BourbonGlazedSalmon69709.shtml

Burned Fingers

Last night was less than enjoyable. It all started with Monday morning, which actually started because of Sunday night... Funny how so many things are interconnected.

Well, Sunday night we got back from a fun Easter  celebration in Fort Madison. Since Sunday night is our movie night & Evie really wanted to watch her new movie Tangled, we blew in the door, sat down on the couch & watched Tangled (which was awesome I might add). When it was over it was way past Evie's bedtime, so she went straight to bed. After which we realized Evie had not eaten dinner.

Fast forward to Monday morning. Evie wakes up lethargic & shaky. Worried that she is sick I cancel all our morning activities (which includes grocery shopping.) Turns out she was just hungry (which I realized after I stuffed her full of hard boiled eggs, oatmeal & fruit).

Now, it's Monday afternoon & I'm trying to figure out what to throw together for dinner (since I did not have the ingredients to make Gyros). We had a ton of hot dogs leftover from Evie's birthday & I had most of the ingredients to make Matt's baked beans. TaDa! Dinner! Throw together the beans, throw them in the oven. A few hours later it's dinner time. Pull out the beans, put them on the table & ask Matt to get a spoon for them.

Well, I'm in the middle of getting something or other from the kitchen when I hear this bizarre yell. Now, anyone with kids will know that yells have many different meanings. It could be a someone is in trouble, someone just did something incredibly cute, or someone is hurt... Turns out it was the latter. Matt had gone to stir the beans (which had been baked in a sauce pan) & automatically grabbed the pan's metal handle. Which was of course 325 degrees. I turned on the cold water & told him to get his hand under the water quick! Now this crazy man tells me that no, you're supposed to put warm water on a burn first... I think I need to send him to first aid training.

After icing his fingers half the evening he decides the pain isn't getting any better & headed to Urgent Care. According to the doctor Matt had 2nd degree burns & may have had 3rd degree burns if he hadn't iced  his hand so much (I bet that cold water would have helped too :P) So in conclusion, I am never cooking anything in a sauce pan in the oven again. Also, those stupid stupid beans ended up being burned (I left them in the oven too long), their current residence is the garbage can. Blah, what an evening.

I'm Back!

Well, I totally forgot I had a blog... It must have been a busy 3 years :)

But yeah, I came across this yesterday when I was looking at friends' blogs. It was wierd reading things I didn't even remember blogging about....

I have now lived through 3 of Evie's birthday's parties. This years was much better than last years, but still crazy. Perhaps that is the nature of children's birthday parties. Evie had a meltdown after the guests left and is thankfully taking a (hopefully) very long nap.

Tomorrow is easter. It is hard to get into the right frame of mind for easter when everything has been about Evie's birthday. Time to go spend some time in the word.