Cooked big this morning
 

This morning we filled our oven with ham balls, scalloped potatoes, oven pork chops. Green pepper soup simmering on a burner. This is going to have to hold DH and me for the week because I’m going to the sewing room !!!

Oh my, all of this sounds so good. I wish DH liked ham because it's one of my favorites. How do you make the green pepper soup? I think that's something he would love. We are waiting for a new air fryer to be delivered this week so we are looking forward to some new recipes in our home. I hope I like the air fryer.

While I like to cook, I only like to cook every couple of days and am a fan of the large batch!

I would also like more info on the green pepper soup -- is that like sort of like stuffed peppers but chopped up??

Osewme, most of my friends with air fryers love them and set them up as a counter appliance to be used often. Only one person I know didn't like it and got rid of it.

It sounds like your DH will eat like a king while you are in the sewing room. Will you take time out to join him?? :). Everything sounds so yummy. We are having ham for dinner tonight with homemade perogies. Yummy! The only problem is I have to leave my sewing studio to get dressed before the guest arrive.

Green Pepper Soup

2# browned hamburger (or ground Turkey) with diced onion. Drain & set aside
2 cups precooked brown rice - add later

In soup kettle combine following:
Diced celery (about 1 stalk)
Diced tomato - 28 oz can
Tomato soup - 1 can
Ketchup - 4 oz or 1/2 cup
2 green peppers - seeded & diced about 1/2”
Black pepper, Paprika and Cumin (1/4 tsp each)
Brown sugar - 2 Tblsp
Soy sauce - 1 Tblsp
Garlic granules or powder (1/8 tsp)
Beef broth or stock (28 oz) or make with dry boullion & water to make 3 - 4 cups

Add meat to soup and simmer. Add cooked rice towards end of cooking. Rice is precooked or it absorbs the liquid. Soup is thick and I want it thinned out so I add up to 1 quart tomato juice or V8 juice.

I love one pot meals. Beans, soup, dumplings, stews, casseroles, and I call a cobbler a one pot meal. I use the air fryer instead of frying in a skillet. It makes the best porkchops and crispy fried chicken. I wrap meat sandwiches in foil and air fry those, melty cheese and toasty bread. Meatballs are cooked to perfection in an air fryer. I use the Faberware one. I like it so much I bought another for a spare. The basket and tub go in the dishwasher so easy cleaning.

yes, DH takes care of any reheating and clean up and we certainly eat together. He says he didn’t get married to eat alone……

Tranum, my husband just made a pot of soup that could feed 100 people lol!
He cooks like we have a house full and we don't.
He's also been on a bread baking kick. Yummy!

Homemade soup & fresh bread, it doesn’t get any better, does it ?

Oh you bet! But my waistline is complaining! :D

Tranum, that is great planning ahead…I do have to ask what are ham balls?

I have been making warm healthy soups over the past couple of weeks too…one of my favorites has been chicken white bean chili made with fresh poblano peppers, cannellini beans, cumin and other yummy ingredients. I garnish with cilantro and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese or a dollop of sour cream.

Ham balls are made by combining a mixture of ground ham, ground beef, sometimes ground pork, graham cracker crumbs, milk, and eggs. The mixture is formed into balls and they are baked in a tomato sauce usually made of tomato soup, brown sugar, mustard, and usually a small amount of vinegar. If you google ham balls you will come up with many recipes. They are delicious!

HAM BALLS
I put the following in my Kitchen Aid mixer & use the paddle attachment (or mix by hand)
3 lbs ground ham
2 lbs ground pork
2 cups quick oatmeal
2 cups milk
1 egg
Use 1/4 cup to divide out and form balls. Don’t pack too tight. Lay them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
In saucepan combine 1 cup vinegar (apple cider or white) 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup water and 2 Tblsp prepared mustard. Heat to dissolve sugar but don’t boil. Let cool a bit and pour over ham balls. Bake 90 minutes at 350.
NOTE - Original recipe calls for 3 cups brown sugar but I cut way back. I can buy ham ball meat at my meat market so it’s what I use. Finished ham balls freeze great.

It sounds like a week of feasting to me. Enjoy your sewing time!

I love the "big batch" method in theory, but every time I go to the trouble and make a huge casserole, I'll have one serving and in the morning I see that he had the rest of the casserole in one, fell swoop. I likes to sneak food late at night. I don't know where he puts it. He's skinny, I'm fat, go figger.

That sounds good!

When I make stuffed green pepper soup, I cook the rice separately. When the soup is ready, I put a scoop of rice in our bowls and then ladle hot soup over it. If we have leftover soup, I refrigerate soup and rice separately so all the broth doesn't get "sucked up" by the rice.

I like this idea. It would eliminate adding more tomato juice when reheating.

Add me to the "didn't care for" side.