Ham & Bean Soup

If you’re a regular reader, you know that I constantly steal recipes from my Sister in Law (SiL) and rework them depending on what I have in my cabinets. Yesterday, I did this and completely transformed a Vegan Bean Soup recipe that Beth found on Pinterest.

I will share my version of the recipe. The link above is to the original recipe if you’re more diligent about following recipes than me.

Easy Ham & Bean Soup

• Generous dash of olive oil
• 2 sweet onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• ~4 cloves of garlic minced

Saute veggies in a medium sized soup pot until they are a bit soft–for about 10-15 minutes then add: 

• 3 cans of (whatever you can find) black beans, pintos or mixed beans—Or if you’re cabinets are like mine, one of each. Drain and rinse.
• 2 cups of your choice broth (I had beef broth on hand)
• Roughly 1 1/2 or 2 cups of chopped pre-cooked ham
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 4 tsp powdered curry
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Slap a lid on that puppy and set it to low-medium or just above a simmer for about 30 minutes. I forgot to add but I do recommended 1-2 TBSP of lime juice.

This would make a fine meal by itself, but if you really want a happy belly: 

Throw some tortillas in a skillet and put some cheese in the middle. A cheese quesadilla pairs beautifully with this hearty soupy meal.

Chicken Rosemary Pizza

So the other night me and the hubbster tried making chicken and rosemary pizza. It was pretty good which means that next time it will be awesome.

First, we made the dough using our bread maker. We followed the recipe except for our addition of 1/2 tablespoon of Italian seasoning.

The dough came put great and it rolled out like a dream. Only a tiny bit of flour dusting was kneaded. I also allowed the dried rosemary to soak in some olive oil for 20 minutes because I didn’t have fresh.

I generously brushed the dough with the rosemary and olive oil. Then layered my cooked, shredded chicken and sliced fresh mushrooms. Lately, I added the Italian blend shredded cheese and popped it into the oven on 350° for 20 minutes.

The final product speaks for itself.
However, we did decide on future changes:
1) Sauté mushrooms and onions for toppings.
2) Back off the Italian seasoning in the dough just a touch.
3) Use fresh rosemary and crush before putting on pizza.