Chicken and Ham Stew

I generally make a turkey for Christmas and my mom makes ham for Easter, so I don't often find myself with much in the way of leftover ham.  Several years ago, however, I decided to change things up a bit and make ham for Christmas.  We had so much leftover that I was searching for recipes to use the remaining pounds.  I ended up using much of it in this great slow cooker recipe.  Sometimes I think too much ham in one meal is overwhelming, so I love that this strikes a balance with both ham and chicken.  My kids love it, too.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups diced ham
• 2 cups diced boneless chicken
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 cup frozen onions
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 tsp dried marjoram
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• (2 Tbsp cornstarch)
• (2 Tbsp water)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine soup, ham, chicken, vegetables, and seasonings in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours or high 1-3 hours.
2. If you like the mixture a bit thicker, mix the cornstarch and water in a bowl, stir it into the slow cooker and cook for 10-15 minutes longer.
3. Serve with warm buttermilk biscuits.

Note:  Because this recipe has ham in it, it does tend to be a touch salty.  If you are able to use low sodium cream of mushroom soup, I would recommend it.

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 15 minutes or less prep, 1-5 hours cooking

Source: Adapted from a Crock Pot Chicken recipe book

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Every once in a while, I just want to make a yummy dessert. On a cold, windy day I didn't feel like packing the kids in the car to pick up ingredients for many of my desserts. So I looked through all of my pinterest desserts and scoured my cabinets...finally a tempting dessert that I had the ingredients to. Plus, I got to use the condensed milk I buy on sale each year and never use-score for emptying out the pantry. My daughter said they were amazing and asked if I'd make them for her birthday party. The trick is to share these with people because they are delicious and it is hard to stop at one!

INGREDIENTS:

• yellow cake mix (ok, I cheated and used leftover Christmas funfetti cake mix minus the candy bits)
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 can sweet condensed milk
• 2 T butter
• 2 t vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine cake mix, melted butter, peanut butter, and eggs in mixer.
3. Press into a sprayed 9 x 13 pan; reserve 1 1/2 cups of cake mixture for topping.
4. In a small saucepan, melt chips, butter, and sweet condensed milk. Once melted, remove from heat. Add vanilla.
5. Spread in pan.
6. Crumble remaining cake mixture on top.
7. Bake 25-30 minutes.
8. Cool and cut.

Difficulty: Medium

Time:15 minutes prep; 30 minutes baking

Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything