JANUARY 1, 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Here I am taking a break from the kitchen for a few minutes. I am actually at a pretty good spot to do just that. I have been the busy little bee today, up since 6:30 AM but only because I couldn’t go back to sleep after hearing our DS, 18, leave with his friend to the beach for the day. I am just a little green eyed over that one. Funny thing, after doing a little work in the back yard, noticing that son has not, neither hubby nor myself actually remember giving him permission to take off for the day. How I would love to go sit and watch the waves break for a few hours. But, here I am cooking up a feast that no one is really interested in.

Today’s Menu:
Ham
Black-eye Peas
Sweet Potato Pineapple Bake *
Pistachio Salad
Fruit Salad
Deviled Eggs
Relish Tray
Tea
Rolls

I had planned on making Hawaiian bread, but cannot seem to find my recipe. The only one that I have found works well for me. Since there were so many potato rolls left from last night, will just put those on. I had promised recipes, so here goes.

Ham: We like whole ham best, so it is a nice small butt portion, bone in. I lay it flat side down in a pan, then place sliced pineapple rings on top, cut cherries in half and place in the center of the rings. Normally I use a whole clove stuck through to hold the cherry in place, which holds the pineapple ring in place, but today I found that I was out of whole cloves and having already been to the store yesterday and once again this morning, opted to use toothpicks instead of another store run. Then I sprinkle ground cloves, ground cinnamon and brown sugar over it, cover good with foil and bake. I took a picture for the blog.

This was an amusing side story, hubby found the camera sitting out and nosey Ned that he is, bugged me until I told him I took a picture of my ham. You know the story.

“Honey, why is the camera out?”

“I took a picture.” I say as I keep chopping up fruit.

“Of what?”

“Just a picture.”

“Tell me?” in a little boy whiney voice.

“Good grief, I took a picture of my ham.”

“Oh.” He is back watching football

So I am thinking to myself I have to explain what? Since he is holding the camera all he has to do is look on the menu and see all the photos taken. Guess that would be to easy. So, I ask him "I have to explain taking a photo?"

“No, I just wanted to know why the camera was out.”

A few minutes later it hits me. All that explanation because the camera is sitting out? DUH! It is out because a photo was taken. Part of me wants to really just say, “Thought I would take a few spicey shots in my sexy jamas so I can post it to MySpace.” Or maybe, “Guess it was tired of being in the case and wanted a change in scenery.

As if, please. For one, I sleep in a t-shirt and baggy pants. Two, no one would want to waste time looking at me. Three, the camera has a much nicer view in the bag than it does looking at the mess of a our room. I know, am straying down the side path, so I will pull myself back to the subject at hand, the noon meal. Which is actually the 1:30 meal.

About the recipes. Black-eye Peas, very simple. Open can, dump in bowl, place in microwave, hit button for canned vegetables. We have to eat them for good fortune the coming year. And everyone will eat at least one spoon full, it is a requirement. The Sweet Potato Pineapple Bake is a new recipe and from the Taste of Home Cooking School Quick Cooking magazine. This is a kind of special edition, not the usual Quick Cooking. Not sure if it is against copyright rules to post the recipe, but I have given credit to the source and not profiting from it, so here goes.

SWEET POTATO PINEAPPLE BAKE
1 can (29 oz) cut sweet potatoes, drained
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple
3 Tbsp. chopped pecans
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
¾ c. miniature marshmallows

In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes. Stir in pineapple, pecans, brown sugar and butter. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle top with marshmallows. Bake 5 minutes longer or until marshmallows are lightly browned. Yield: 4 servings

Side Note: I didn’t have crushed pineapple, just cans of tidbits, so mashed them with the potatoes.


PISTACHIO SALAD: 1 can of pineapple tidbits, 1 can of crushed pineapple, 1 package instant pistachio pudding, 1 cup chopped pecans, 1 cup flaked coconut, 1 container whipped cream (like cool-whip), 1 cup mini marshmallows.

In a bowl, empty the pineapple and sprinkle the pudding on them. Let it set about 3 minutes. In another bowl, fold together pecans and coconut, then add to pineapple mixture and stir. Fold in whipped cream, add marshmallows and mix well. Cover and place in fridge for at least 2 hours. Longer it sets, better the flavor.

That is my mom’s version. For my family, we use one can of pineapple, no coconut, and I pretty much just mix it all in one bowl, less dishes.

DINNER IS SERVED.

My oldest son came over and ate with us, had to call him to see where he was, he had fallen asleep. So, noon meal turned in to 2:00 PM but was still good. He wanted to take all the left over ham, but I told him I had plans for it. He informed me that it usually goes bad in leftoverville, to which I replied I have a menu plan all written out which plans on leftover meat. He looked at me skeptically. At any rate, I did send him home a little bit, along with the one serving of sweet potato dish left. It was SO VERY GOOD. The dish would have been better if I had used crushed pineapple though. I was surprised that there wasn’t much food left since I am trying to cut down on leftovers. Except for the ham, which is already put away, the bone is in the freezer as well, even though hubby tried to give it to the dogs. It will be so good cooked in the pinto beans later this week.

Now, for the ticket.
Ham $2.74
Black-eye Peas .51
Sw. Pot. Dish 1.47
Dev. Eggs .77
Pistachio Sal. .72
Fruit Salad 1.74

Total: $6.95 served 4 at 1.74 per serving.

A little over the $1 per serving goal, but hey it is a holiday meal. I didn’t use the whole can of pineapple on the ham, so threw that in the fruit salad. The most expensive part of the fruit salad was the bag of frozen strawberries. Normally I have some in the freezer, bagging them up when they are in season, but was out. Luckily, I was given fruit over the holidays so used that for the rest. Of course the eggs were pretty outrageous at $3.09 for 18 count, but that beats the chain stores where they are going for $3.29 a dozen. But, today I was reminded of the great bargains at Save A Lot grocery store. I had quit going there when they went through remodeling, then always forget to take plastic sacks and end up having to buy some.

Was in search of a jar of Bread & Butter Jalapenos for this really AWESOME dip that we had over the holidays with family. Never found it so improvised. That whole ordeal of searching stores, even went to a Mexican market, was just borderline insane. My in-laws made this great dip when we had Christmas with them, my whole family loved it, so called up DSIL for the recipe. The unique taste of the dip comes from a special ingredient, bread & butter jalapenos. Apparently, one of her clients gave a jar to her as a gift, turns out she ordered them from somewhere. I made the dip this morning to have this evening. No time to order up a jar and get it here, improvise was the only way to go. I used chopped green chiles and the juice from bread & butter pickles. Which apparently is how the peppers are made. Pretty tasty for a first attempt at copying with out the proper ingredients.

Well, I have rattled on long enough. Need to check my email, read over some blogs, still have dishes waiting on me as well. It feels like it is ten o’clock at night, but is just barely after five. I go back to work in the morning, not really wanting to go back to work either, need the paycheck though.