Okay, probably not big news to most of the world (those who eat pork, anyway) but what a REALLY inexpensive way to flavor up pea soup when you haven’t recently baked a ham!

I used my usual pea soup recipe, except that I pre-cooked the 1.5 lbs of neck bones first. I wasn’t sure if they’d have long enough to cook in the usual recipe – 15 minutes, I believe.

BUT, with these neck bones, better to precook and get all the bones out before adding the other ingredients. I pressure cooked them in the 8 of the 9 cups of water I use in the recipe for about 10 minutes and 10 minutes natural release. Then, quick-released the rest of the pressure under cold water, strained the liquid into my 8-cup measuring cup, and used the broth, plus a cup+ of water to make the 9 cups total liquid. Then, I let the necks cool down a bit, and picked off all the meat, discarding much of the fat, of which there was a lot!

I am really glad that I didn’t just stick the neck bones in with the rest of the ingredients! It would have been a disaster with all the tiny bits of bones and the fat – picking it all out of the finished pea soup would have been a nightmare.

There was plenty of meat for the soup, though. It was great! (Well, still is, since we have a bit more in the fridge and I froze a few containers. Not sure how it will be when defrosted…I seem to remember reading that things with potatoes in them don’t freeze well… Hell, I bet it will still taste good – but perhaps the texture and looks won’t be “fit for company.”

So, while ham hocks make for an economical alternative for pea soup when you don’t have a leftover ham bone, and is easier since you can just pop them in when you make the soup, the necks are even less expensive and add great flavor, albiet the extra cooking step.

Hmmm, now that I think of it, I should buy those necks whenever I see them and do the broth and “pick the bones” thing on a lazy afternoon and freeze it all for a quick pea soup dinner on another night.

Okay, gotta go…time to do some cleaning and organizing. Scary but necessary. If only I were as good at getting housework done as I am at cooking… Where’s the maid?

The last time I made a roast beef dinner was when I was in my teens – and it came out great. But, I never got around to trying it again until now. Just not sure of what cut to use – or didn’t want to buy an expensive cut and risk messing it up, etc. And, I hadn’t even considered it over the years until I got married about three years ago and started really learning about cooking meat.

BUT – I had a chance encounter at Shaw’s while shopping the other day that got me to buy a roast. There was another woman looking over the roast cuts and we got into conversation, both noting the neither of us were sure of the best cut for a roast beef, at least for a smaller dinner crowd. Then, one of the butchers showed up and we asked him. Turns out semi-boneless rib roast was on sale and, while only steak cuts were out, he told us that another butcher was cutting some roast cuts. 4.49/lb versus 8.49 or so per pound, regular price. I wandered away and when I came back there was a 2.30 lb cut there and the butcher (same one still there) said it would be perfect for two and some leftovers. I grabbed it. WELL, it was a great cut at a great deal.

It looked like a REALLY thick steak cut – wider than high, but too thick to think about grilling or broiling. I checked around for roast cooking instructions and decided to go with 450 degrees for 20 minutes, then using 13-15/lb at 325 for the rest of the time.

I also made a rub of minced garlic, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and crushed dried rosemary and let the roast sit at room temperature for about and hour and a half with the rub on it before putting it in the oven. Then, after the first 20 minutes of the high temperature, I added quartered red potatoes and some chunks of onion that had been tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper – but I could have added them at the beginning, since I had to cook them further after the roast was done.

I checked the roast after another 20 minutes at 325 and the instant read thermometers (I have an analog and a digital and don’t trust either of them!) were reading lower than 100, so I let it go another 15 minutes or so after that. My instant read thermometer was then reading pretty high – in the 140s or more, but the juices were still red and, after slicing in to check, I deemed it done. And, it was great. A nice pink in the middle, tender, etc. And, given that it was not very thick, the pink middle was actually most of the meat. But the outside was nicely browned.

After the meat was done, I put it on a board covered with foil to rest and put the taters and onions back in the oven. I also added sliced fresh mushrooms and covered the pan with foil and turned up the heat back to 400. After 20 minutes, they were all cooked, but I drained the juices into a sauce pan so they could dry roast for another 20 minutes. I drained the meat juices from the cutting board into the saucepan, too. That made a nice light sauce for the meat and potato, onions, and mushrooms when I served. I steamed some asparagus at the end, and it was a lovely meal. Easy prep, good price since the roast was on sale (reminder to self – go get another roast or two to freeze while it is still on sale!) and easy clean-up, since there was only the roast pan and two easy-clean saucepans for the asparagus and the sauce.

So, next I will try some other cuts for roast beef – more economical when at regular price, and see how that goes. I wonder what cut my Mom always used….I know it had to be an economical one! But hers always came out great. Have to check out her recipe box…

Well, it is not so bad if you’ve already served a bunch of the ham to company on Easter! But, here it is Wednesday and we are having ham again… This time, I am going to lightly stir fry some green peppers, mushrooms, and brocolli (we had a lot of raw veggies leftover that were sliced for veggies and dip) toss dice ham in for a quick heat, then mix it with cooked pasta and grated cheese and sprinkle with the home-ground parmesian-reggiano I have leftover from the asparagus I served on Easter, and bake it until browned and bubbly. OR, maybe just make a quick white/cheese sauce and serve it over pasta. But, I think I want to go the casserole route, tonight.

And that will be it for ham for now. I froze a few chunks to slice for sandwiches or dice for another casserole, and I have the bone and more chunks/scraps for pea soup in the freezer.

Ham is quite economical if you catch a good quality one on sale. This Cook’s brand ham (spiral cut bone-in) was 1.79 a pound (I’ve gotten it on sale for 1.29 a pound other times but they didn’t slash the price as much with it being Easter and all) so for 17.00, I served dinner for 13, brought some over Steve’s Dad’s on Sunday where we munched on it with cheese and crackers, and had it for dinner Monday and Tuesday night – AND tonight in a casserole. With a few sandwiches and pea soup to come.

You know, I had at one time thought about being a Home Economics teacher. But, although I’d be great at the cooking part, I don’t have the patience for sewing. I should just start offering cooking classes on my own. Such fun! And, since we all have to eat and do some kind of food prep, it would be extra fun to make it fun for others.