Ham and Vegetable Chowder

The holidays are long  gone, but we still have some leftover ham, so I decided to make this Ham and Vegetable Chowder which is  perfect for this cold weather that we've been having. It is a hearty, easy soup that's ready in 30 minutes so you won’t spend hours in the kitchen with this one! Sounds perfect, right? I sometimes use cooking cheats for this like a carton of reduced fat cream starter, but even if you use the usual chowder ingredients like I did here (milk, chicken broth and flour), it still won't take that much time!

If you don't have ham, turkey or chicken will also work. It’s very comforting and perfect during the cold fall and winter days, or even during days when you just feel like having a nice bowl of soup. You should try it!

Creamy Lemon Chicken with Asparagus and Bacon

My youngest daughter and I were browsing through some magazines the other day when she found this delicious looking recipe from Family Circle March 2014 issue and requested that I make it for dinner. Well, lucky for her, asparagus is in season and I bought two bunches the day before...and we always have chicken breast in the freezer so I really didn't have a reason not to give in to her request. 

So yes, this Creamy Lemon Chicken with Asparagus and Bacon was our dinner last Monday, and it was a big hit! We honestly didn't expect it to be so flavorful, but it was.

I'm truly glad we tried this recipe. It's very simple and super easy to make yet really delicious! The lemon gave it a refreshing taste that we all loved! Definitely a must try!

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Roasted Pecans

Green Cabbage is one of the vegetables that my daughters don't wanna eat. They say it smells awful. Whenever I make pancit, nilaga, chopsuey, vegetable stir-fry or even salad with green cabbage in it, they would eat everything else except the green cabbage. That is how much they hate this nutritious vegetable. They don't have a problem with red, napa and savoy cabbages, neither with bok choy...but with green cabbage and its miniature counterpart, Brussels Sprouts, it's totally a different story. My daughters will do everything to avoid eating them!

Unlike the green cabbage which I grew up eating, "Brussels Sprouts" is something I haven't heard of until I came to the US. The first time I saw Brussels Sprouts at the supermarket, I thought they are baby green cabbages. Well, they look exactly like green cabbage...and they taste the same too! They actually belong to the same family, but they are of different variety. Brussels Sprouts won't grow into big cabbage heads like what I first thought. They grow on a tall stalk and stay small (only 1"-1.6" in diameter) even when they are mature. But like cabbage, Brussels Sprouts is an excellent source of vitamins A, B6, C and K. They are also rich in protein, fiber and antioxidants...and also contain iron, copper, calcium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium. They are incredibly nutritious vegetables...but like cabbage, they have a strong unpleasant smell which my daughters don't like. 

But this Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Roasted Pecans seems irresistible for them. My daughters love bacon...so I thought adding some in a Brussels Sprouts dish will definitely lure them to eat one of their most hated vegetables. Well, it worked! The first time I made this, they seemed so excited seeing all the bacon in it...though still a bit hesitant to try it. But Cherlin started digging in when she noticed that she could hardly smell the Brussels Sprouts...and then, Clarise followed. Since then, Brussels Sprouts is no longer a part of their "not-to-eat" list.