You know how flavors can bring back vivid memories? Split pea soup is like that for me. One whiff of it’s smoky scent, and I feel the chilly spring afternoon air as I sat at my family’s wrought-iron patio set. My grandfather had returned from a favorite deli with sandwiches and soups, and raved over how good the split pea was. The criss-cross of metal pressed into my thighs as I agreed to try the soup — though I was rather skeptical about it. My legs dangled off the edge of the chair, too short to reach the ground, as I dipped the plastic spoon cautiously into the paper cup of soup.

It was amazing. I was totally surprised by how much I loved split pea. Heck, I think I surprised everyone when I ate a whole cup of it. The salty, smoky flavors, mingling with the slight sweetness of the split peas.

Until a few years ago, I never dreamed of making split pea soup myself. But when you bake up a ham every Easter (like I do!), it’s so easy to whip together with a few simple ingredients.

While this recipe for Easy Split Pea Soup is easy, it is time consuming too — you’ll need to let it cook for a few hours before you can dig in. So be sure that you have enough time for it to cook before you start making it. The good news though? Most of the cooking time is totally hands-off.

PS – This is fabulous served with a buttery grilled cheese sandwich.

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When we were driving to my cousin’s house this afternoon, Will pointed out the brilliant blue sky (“I really like the color of that blue sky.”), and he was right, it was spectacular. It was one of those skies that takes on a breathtaking sapphire hue that makes you want to drink it in while sipping something cold and refreshing on the front porch.

That’s the kind of day it was too – relaxed, brilliant, spectacular. We had brunch at my house (you will be hearing lots about that meal this week. Mmmm!) before heading to my cousin’s for an Easter egg hunt and dessert. Between cooking (and that last-minute batch of cookies I whipped up … wait to you hear why later this week), and visiting, it was a jam-packed day, but in the best way. I love seeing all of our kids together – there is something magical about a group of cousins who enjoy each other’s company like that.

Brunch yielded a serious amount of leftovers at my house … including a great stash of ham. I’ve been clicking around trying to decide what to do with it all … Here are five of my favorite ham recipe finds.

1. Ham and Cheese Quiche – Ok, I admit it. I am a huge fan of quiche. HUGE. And one of my very, very favorite combinations is ham and cheese. The recipe for Ham, Leak and Three-Cheese Quiche at Epicurious looks absolutely fantastic.
2. Split Pea Soup – When I was a little girl, I remember this one day where someone was painting inside my grandparent’s house and they decided to order out for lunch. They brought these big, amazing sandwiches home and cups of split pea soup. To this day, my mouth waters when I think of it … and I have yet to find one as good. But the recipe for Split Pea Soup with Ham, Mushrooms, Carrots, and Wheatberries at Kalyn’s Kitchen sure sounds delicious.
3. Macaroni and Cheese with Ham – There is nothing more comforting than macaroni and cheese. It’s once of those kid-dishes that just warms the belly, like arms encompassing you. Mmm. And the 1988 Macaroni with Ham and Cheese Recipe from the New York Times is a perfect option.
4. An Amazing Ham Sandwich – My mouth waters just thinking of the prospect of having a ham sandwich. But what’s better than a plain ham on bread? A ham panini. Mmm. For a great option, check out the Ham, Brie and Apple French Toast Panini at Serious Eats. It’s seriously drool-worthy.
5. Hash – Oh, how I adore hash. We will be tossing together our leftover potato hashbrowns and some diced ham for a delicious accompaniment to eggs. If you are looking for a great ham hash recipe, check out the Ham and Potato Hash at Simply Recipes.

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I love – LOVE – the ease of food that can do double duty. For instance, a roasted chicken like the one mentioned on the Everyday Food blog today can be Sunday dinner, Monday chicken tacos, Tuesday chicken and rice and Wednesday chicken salad. Talk about a blessing for a busy, harried mom — or any uber busy person.

That’s why I love this beef recipe. It doesn’t take long to throw together and it can feed a family of four for three meals. It’s adapted from a cookbook that I’ve had for several years, but rarely used, called Better Food for Kids. My version makes it a bit fresher and more to my style/taste.

Since you use it in different dishes, we didn’t get bored eating ground beef three times in a week. Will and Paige gobbled up the shepherd’s pie and devoured the beefy calzone that I made with this (see below for directions). And the bolognese was a huge hit too.

The recipe makes three cups of beef — three dinners worth. Now, I know, you are wondering how you can stretch three one-cup portions into three full meals for a family. Right? Actually, it’s pretty simple. Just forget the notion that protein needs to be the biggest thing on your plate. Toss that idea completely out.

Done? Okay.

Now, get used to the idea of using more vegetables and some good carbs too. It’s all about keeping meals well-rounded. A trip around the food pyramid, if you will.

So what can you do with this beef?

• Shepherd’s Pie: Mix one cup basic beef with two cups al dente vegetables in a casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes (garlic mashed, preferably). Cook in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes begin to brown very lightly.
• Beefy Calzone for Four: Stretch one prepared pizza dough into a large rectangle. Spread one cup of cheese along the center length of the rectangle. Top with a single layer of sliced tomatoes (down the center only) and one cup of beef, then a second layer of 1 cup of beef. Cook in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.
• Bolognese Sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine one can of tomato paste with 1/2 cup of water and two large tomatoes, diced. Season with salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Add one cup of basic beef. Heat through. Serve over pasta with a salad.

Beyond these ideas, you could make beef quesadillas or burritos, serve it with rice and lots of peppers and onions, make sloppy joes . . . the possibilities are only limited with your imagination.

Enjoy!

Basic Beef
yields 3 cups
adapted from Better Food for Kids

1 lb lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1 large tomato, diced
2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef. At the same time, combine the garlic and onion in a food processor and process until chopped to a fine and uniform chop. Add to the beef and cook until the beef is browned. Pour off any excess fat.

Add tomatoes, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper to the beef mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.

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I held a mini-tasting in my kitchen for some family members this weekend. I test cooked about seven recipes for the book and several were clear winners, getting instant cheers. Meanwhile a few others are going back to the drawing board because they are just missing something. Obviously, it was productive. I wouldn’t want to include recipes that only make my taste buds tingle and no one elses.

Honestly, the tasting was so much fun that I would consider doing it every week. That sure would speed the process along too.

One thing I have discovered since I started writing less than a week ago is that if I think too much about what I am doing, I lose sight of it and have difficulty – writers block, kitchen errors, etc. But if I just do it, and forget why I am doing it, the whole writing and cooking process goes very smoothly. I guess when I am trying to write a cookbook, I put too much pressure on myself. But when I am just trying to write things are just normal. Am I making any sense here?

This recipe is from early February – don’t worry I haven’t broken my Lent. It was borne of the desire to fully utilize a roasted chicken I had made without any waste. From that 3 lb chicken, I made these chicken tacos, a chicken basil soup(that was a weeks worth of lunches for my husband), and ate the chicken itself for dinner. Talk about waste not, want not. Did I mention that the soup was made from stock from the chicken carcass?

Anyway, the taco recipe all started with this:

And a careful portion of Penzey’s Original Taco seasoning. This is less meat than would normally be used to make tacos (1 lb) so I used a lighter portion of seasoning.

I definitely recommend this taco seasoning. The flavor was excellent.

2 cups cubed roasted chicken
1.5 tbsp taco seasoning (such as Penzey’s Original)
3/4 cup water
shredded cheddar
4 fajita sized soft tortillas

In a medium skillet, combined the chicken, taco seasoning, and water. Cook on medium for 5-8 minutes, until the water evaporates leaving a thick sauce.

Spoon chicken onto tortillas, top with cheddar.

Serve these with salsa and low-fat sour cream, as well as a salad for a quick and easy meal.

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Will is a cheese-a-holic. He asks for it all the time in that cute little voice (“chhhheeeeesssssse”) and it’s always followed with a bit of gratitude (“dank you”) for his favorite food item . . . next to chocolate, of course. Fresh mozzarella is his favorite, but he’s not picky . . . he will eat whatever cheese you want to share. Then again, it’s no wonder that he’s a cheese-lover with the excess of cheese I ate while I was pregnant with him (the same justification applies to the chocolate too . . . geez, and I wonder why I was a whale when I gave birth).

Anyway, knowing that he has a penchant for cheesiness, I had him in mind when I created this dish on the fly this week. Originally, I had planned to make a lasagna with the wonderful, fresh flat sheets of egg noodles I purchased at Costco last week. But lasagna takes a while to cook and it was late. Besides, I was hungry and knew Will would love to eat this for lunch the next day.

So instead I made this lovely tray of manicotti. I love manicotti, particularly when the ricotta is smooth (instead of grainy, like it gets when you overcook it). There’s a great little restaurant in Danbury, Conn., that does it just right called The New Sorrento. Their manicotti is to die for. My husband and I actually had our rehearsal dinner for our wedding there since we loved their manicotti (and chicken parm, too) so much. We still drop by for take out once in a while. In any case, it holds a special place in our hearts.

I modeled this after the manicotti at The New Sorrento, with smooth ricotta and a homemade marinara. You don’t have to make your own marinara, but I do recommend it. (Check back tomorrow for my marinara recipe.)

Homemade Manicotti
serves 4-6

3 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup Romano cheese, freshly grated
4 eggs
4 cups marinara sauce (divided)
6 sheets of fresh pasta dough (or 6 manicotti shells, cooked according to package directions)
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Romano cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, 1 cup of Romano, and eggs. Mix well until smooth.

Spread 2 cups of marinara sauce in the bottom of a baking pan.

If you are using fresh pasta dough, use a pastry brush to brush the sheets with water on both sides. Spread a generous amount of the ricotta mixture on one end of the pasta sheet. Roll up and place in the baking pan. Repeat with the remainder of pasta sheets.

If you are using manicotti shells, fill each prepared shell with an equal amount of the ricotta mixture and place in the pan.

Top the manicotti with 2 cups of marinara sauce. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of Romano on top.

Cook for 20-25 minutes, until mozzarella is fully melted.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

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