Split Pea Soup

This is the last of my Easter left-overs recipes. My grandpa grew up on a pig farm and his favorite meal was split pea soup with ham. I think he would have really liked this one. It's simple but it makes great use of the left-overs from a ham dinner.

Split Pea Soup
Makes: 6 servings

6 cups water
1 ham hock (or bone left-over from a ham dinner)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, 1/2" dice
1 lb split peas
1 cup ham, finely diced
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 - 2 tsp chicken bouillon

• Make the ham broth by covering the ham bone with the six cups of water. On high heat, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for one hour.
• Remove the ham bone from the broth. Set the broth aside.
• In the bottom of a large soup pot, saute the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until soft, about five minutes.
• Add the six cups of ham broth, split peas, ham, and black pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peas are tender, about one to one and a half hours.
• If the soup seems too thick, add some water.
• Test the soup, if it tastes a little bland, add some chicken bouillon, one teaspoon at a time.
• Serve with a piece of crusty bread.

Collard Greens

Hi, Frank!

Collard greens are definitely a Southern staple. I had heard of them before we moved here, but only because we feed them to our iguana, Frank. So it took me a while to think of them as people food and not just iguana food. But I've definitely gotten over that mental block by now and I love collard greens! They are so yummy.

Collard Greens
Makes: 6 servings

2 cups water
1 ham hock (or leftover ham bone from a ham dinner)
1 large head of collard greens
1/2 cup finely chopped ham
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
malt vinegar

• Tear all of the collard leaves apart and thoroughly wash each of them individually. This will take some time and effort but it's necessary because collards tend to have a lot of dirt on them, even when they're pre-washed.
• Once the collards are clean, cut the stem out of the center of each leaf and then chop it up into large 2" x 2" pieces. Set aside.
• Place the ham hock or ham bone in the water. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Continue simmering for one hour.
• Remove the ham bone and set the broth aside.
• In a large soup pot over medium low heat, saute the garlic in the olive oil.
• Once the garlic is cooked, add the ham broth to the pan along with the chopped ham. Bring the broth to a boil.
• Add the collard greens in batches until you can get all of it in the pan. Toss the collards with a pair of tongs until all of it is coated with the ham broth.
• Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and continue to cook for 30 minutes until the collard greens are soft.
• Serve the collard greens with a splash of malt vinegar.

Surprisingly, these freeze really well. So if you're a family of three (like us!) then you can serve half and freeze the other half for later!

American Pizza

When we were in college, Matt met his friend, Ken who was an exchange student from Finland. They became really close and Matt even went to Finland to visit Ken after his exchange program was over. While Matt was visiting, they went to a pizza place. On the menu there, they had an "American" pizza. After some discussion, Matt realized that what they called American pizza was the same thing that we would call Hawaiian pizza here in the states. Ever since then, Matt and I have always called it American pizza because we thought it was funny. And we always make American pizza with our left-over ham from Easter.

Since we're on the topic of Matt's friend, Ken, I should also tell you the story about pumpernickel. During another dining experience in Finland, Matt had some bread which he thought tasted a lot like pumpernickel. Ken had never heard of pumpernickel and the word wasn't in any English to Finnish dictionaries. After a lot of discussion they eventually found out that what they were eating was pumpernickel and they were talking about the same thing! Matt didn't know the Finnish word for it and Ken didn't know the English word for it. Matt likes to tell that story and I think it's pretty funny.

Anyhow, here's what I did with our Easter left-overs:

American Pizza

Makes: 1 large pizza

1 package of premade pizza dough

14 oz jar of pizza sauce

8 oz pizza cheese (mozzarella & cheddar blend)

2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

20 oz can of crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup chopped ham

4 scallions, chopped

• On a surface coated with cornmeal, roll out the pizza dough. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet or pizza pan that has been lightly greased and coated with cornmeal. Set aside and allow the dough to rise for about 30 minutes.
• Prick the pizza dough to prevent bubbles from forming.
• Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the dough.
• Spread half of the ham and half of the pineapple over the pizza sauce.
• Sprinkle on the entire 8 oz of cheese. Then sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and the garlic powder.
• Spread the rest of the ham and pineapple on top of the cheese.
• Bake at 375° F for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove the pizza from the oven and sprinkle the chopped scallions on top.
• Allow to cool for five minutes before serving.

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Green Beans Almondine

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. We were on vacation last week visiting our family back home in Massachusetts. It was a lot of fun. Those vacations never last long enough...

Anyways, onto the reason we're here! We had Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner tonight. I love this dish because it seems so fancy but it really is simple. It's an easy weeknight dinner and it will pass the test with even the pickiest eaters (ahem! Matt!). You can serve this with potatoes, rice, or pasta. Tonight we had pasta. I like to keep a common theme with my meals and a great way to do that is to use the same herbs on the vegetables or pasta/rice/potatoes as you use on the meat.

Chicken Cordon Bleu
2 Chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise so that you end up with 4 pieces of chicken
1 Cup panko bread crumbs
1 Tbsp chives, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1/4 lb sliced ham
1/4 lb sliced Swiss cheese

• Place a chicken breast on your work surface. Layer 1 slice of cheese, 2 slices of ham, then 1 more slice of cheese on top of the chicken. Leave about ¾" of room at the top end of the chicken breast.
• Roll up the chicken, ham, and cheese. Then secure with 3 toothpicks.
• Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.
• Mix together the bread crumbs, chives, and olive oil.
• Dip each chicken roll in the beaten eggs, then roll in the bread crumb mixture.
• Place the chicken rolls on a greased baking sheet, seam side down.
• Bake at 400° F for 30 to 35 minutes, until cooked through.
• Don't forget to remove the toothpicks!

While the chicken is baking, you can make the pasta and green beans.

Garlic and Chive Pasta
1/2 lb penne or other tube pasta
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter (I actually use Smart Balance)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 Tbsp chives, chopped

• Cook the pasta until al dente, making sure to salt the water well.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes until fragrant and soft.
• Strain the pasta, then add to the garlic and olive oil.
• Add the chives, then toss together.

Green Beans Almondine
1/2 lb green beans (I use the kind that come in the steamer bag)
2 Tbsp toasted slivered almonds
Salt and Pepper

• Steam the green beans until al dente. Make sure you don't over-cook them!
• Toss with the toasted almonds. Add salt and pepper to taste. I like a lot of pepper on mine.