Ham Bone Soup

1 large meaty bone from a smoked ham half
1 bag of small carrots
1 medium onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
7 potatoes peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dried parsley
6 ribs celery finely chopped

Place ham bone in a large stock pot and cover with water. Add onion and garlic as well as salt and pepper.

Bring to a rapid boil and reduce to low boil. Cook until marrow is extracted from bone.

Remove bone from the pot, pull usable meat off. I chop usable meat into smaller pieces for the kids and put it back in the pot. Throw bone away.

Add potatoes, carrots, celery. Add more salt and pepper if desired. Cook until vegetables are tender. Serve.

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

1 20 oz bag of elbow macaroni
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
4 T butter
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 8 oz box of cream cheese
1 teaspoon mustard seed
approx 2 1/2 cups water (more or less depending on the consistency you want)

I added 1 1/2 cups water, evaporated milk, butter, cheddar cheese, mustard seeds and cream cheese in crock pot. I let it sit for half an hour to soften everything before adding the elbow macaroni. Stir the macaroni in. Let it cook for two hours. I stirred it every 45 minutes or so to prevent sticking. At the end I didn't like the consistency so I added another cup of water.

Cream Cheese Chicken for the Crock-Pot

3 Chicken Breasts cut up
1 package of Italian salad dressing mix or Tuscan Garlic Seasoning
4 T butter
1 small onion
1 garlic clove
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup chicken broth

1. Place cut up chicken breasts in crock pot and sprinkle the package of seasoning.
2. Slice 2T butter and put into crock pot.  Cook on low for about 4-6 hours (longer doesn't hurt it). (I cooked mine on high for about 3 hours.)
3. An hour before serving saute onion and garlic with remaining 2T of butter. Combine sauteed mixture, cream of chicken soup, cream cheese and chicken broth. Cook until smooth.
4. Add mixture to crock pot and cook on low for another hour.

Gingerbread House Icing

I ended up adding more sugar to stiffen it up some. I used my blender to make it so it may have gotten a little too hot and thus the need for extra sugar. It worked wonderfully though!

Ingredients

• 1 pound sifted confectioners' sugar or more as needed
• 1/2 cup pasteurized egg whites (3 large egg whites)
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Beef Enchilada Dip

We found this great beef enchilada dip recipe and it's a family favorite for sure. Because I didn't have any Jack or regular cheddar cheese I just used mozzarella and mild cheddar cheeses.

2 lbs ground beef - cooked
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 teaspoons garlic - minced
2 cups enchilada sauce
2 cups cheese - your choice!

Some of mine liked sour cream with it and others didn't.

I add the onion and garlic to the hamburger when I'm cooking it. When cooked, add enchilada sauce. Top with cheese and let it sit until cheese melts. Serve.

Steak Marinade

I made a few changes to this steak marinade because I didn't have everything or because I didn't want it to be too spicy. Here's how I used it:

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice (bottled)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
 1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon minced garlic

My blender died so I just stirred it all together, put the meat in and called it good. Half the kids liked it half didn't. 

Guacamole

This guacamole recipe is good just how it's listed. I however do not dump out any of the lime juice.

3 avacados, halved, seeded and peeled.
1 lime, juiced (I use lime juice from a bottle)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 tomatoes, diced and seeded
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced (I used preminced garlic that I keep in my fridge)