Maddie and Emily here with a combined blog post about how to use up all that holiday ham! Is it May? Yes, it is. We just haven’t got around to posting this until now…
Emily’s Ham Hack
Minced ham and scrambled eggs. This was my favorite way to use up our ham leftovers. Just dice your ham and toss it in with scrambled eggs. I will say on day two of me making this for breakfast my husband asked me to “Cool it on the ham.” So I cut up the rest, portioned it out and froze it for future use.
Cobb Salad. I actually have yet to do this one but it was my husband’s idea! Make a classic cob salad and put some of your ham in it. Easy!
Split Pea Soup. Nuff said.
Freeze for Easter. Before I even cooked off my ham for Christmas I cut it in half and froze one half to use for Easter.
Maddie’s Ham Hack
Understand your commitment to this ham: It is May and we still have some ham in our freezer. Make sure that if you are buying a whole ham for just two people you realize that it will be a six month commitment. It is a great deal (especially with inflation being what it is) but you will need to get creative with using it up!
White Bean Soup. Using the ham hock, I like to do a slow cooker soup to use up every bit of the ham. This year I did an Italian spin with tomatoes, kale, and potato-pictured below. I thought it turned out v well!
Ham Casserole. We really enjoyed this ham and noodle casserole and have made it on two separate occasions this year.
Ham and Cheese Paninis. This is best if you have some yummy crunchy bread.
We will probs use the rest for ham and eggs like Emily mentioned. I agree this is the best usage if your husband can handle the ham for a week straight.
Maddie here with an entire month of outfits! This is to commemorate the finishing my first month at a new job that I am v excited about. I made the move from working in HR at a nonprofit theater to working in HR at a global consulting firm. Emily helped me go through my existing clothes (some being formal from the law firm and others being more casual from the theater) and helped me pick out new pieces for my wardrobe based on the new “smart casual” dress code of the office. Hopefully we will do a joint blog post later about that process which was really fun. Overall, I feel great about my new workwear vibe- I am able to express my style but still feel professional!
Emily here! Back with another day in the life. I wanted to do an updated one now that I have two children. This is more of a 24 hour day in the life as I am up during the night as well with the baby. This day in the life took place in May. Pal had just turned two and Bud was 5 months.
2am – Bud wakes for a feeding. Back to sleep at 3am 5am – Bud wakes up again to eat. I change his diaper and luckily get him back to sleep. 6:15am – Pal wakes up. Diaper change for him and we go down stairs. Our cat Nacho is meowyelling at me to be fed. We put him on a diet and it’s really annoying. I get Pal fresh water and a snack (he has been on a blueberry kick). Then I get Nacho his food. Make myself my morning chai. About 6:40 I sit down to drink my chai. Pal watched a wake up show (today was Thomas and Friends) and we snuggle. 7am – I start cooking food. I’ve been making breakfast burritos for me and my husband and Pal gets a deconstructed version of a buritto. Pal wines about cars and doesn’t want to eat. I make a sandwich for my husband’s lunch and pack up dinner leftovers for him.
7:45am – I sit down to eat as fast as possible before Bud gets up. Pal joins me and inhales his food after he “wasn’t hungry” 8am – Tired to do some dishes and Bud is awake. I go into our room quietly to get him and Pal comes running in and turns on the nightstand light right in my sleeping husbands face. I feed Bud again while Pal plays independently. As I was feeding Bud Pal smashed his hand in my hope chest (note to self buy him a child safe toy chest). After some tears I get Pal and me dressed and Bud a fresh diaper. 9am – By this time Pal has had a few meltdowns so I load the children up for a walk to see if that will change some attitudes. After our walk Pal didn’t want to get out of the stroller so he had some time to himself sitting in the garage.
10am – Made a snack. At this time I pulled out a new toy to brighten Pals day. He plays with it while I do some tummy time with Bud. 11am – Pal has even more of a meltdown as I try to put Bud down for a nap. So I quickly prep Pal for a nap and then put Bud down. I’ll spare the details but it was an utter nightmare. My nerves are shot so I water the garden to try and change my mood. Make myself some food and zone out for a moment. Then Bud wakes up at 12:15. I put him in the swing to sleep more cause I ain’t messing around. Then I go to sleep. 1:30pm – I wake up from nap. 1:50pm – Bud and Pal wake up. Pal watched a show so I can feed Bud in peace. 2:30pm – Lunch time for me and Pal. 3:00pm – It was a nice day so I took everyone in the backyard to play. Me and Bud on a blanket and Pal playing around.
3:40pm – Back inside. Feed Bud (at this point I have also lost track of diaper changes but there have been plenty). Bud falls asleep and I hold him while I watch a show and Pal plays and we eat goldfish and a granola bar. 5:00pm – Bud is up so I start dinner. Chicken burgers which were terrible. The patties we prep frozen garbage that were just so bad. 6:30pm – Bud eats again and I put him down for bed. 7:00pm – Pal and I bring in the garbage cans (his new fav activity) and I cleaned dinner up while Pal played. 7:40pm – Prep Pal for bed. Switched a load of laundry that I started at some point today. Fed Nacho dinner. Shutdown the house for the night (general tidy and toy pickup), looked at our budget, had a treat and watched a show while I sewed some oven mitts for my mom’s birthday. 9:30pm – Got myself ready for bed. 10:00pm – Lights out. Midnight – Bee is awake to eat. Back to sleep by 1am.
Since it’s now December our routine looks a little different (but honestly not much lol).
Emily here! I have been on the hunt for many years to find the perfect pizza dough recipe. I have it here folks! I would title this blog post “The Best Homemade Pizza Dough” because I truly think it is. BUT I hate when people on the internet do that so on principle I won’t. Also if you’re naming a post like that I feeeeeel like you should literally have an award or something. Or like enter it in a county fair and have a blue ribbon? Anyway moving on. The original recipe is from Bread Baking for Beginners by Bonnie Ohara (amazing book that has served all my bread needs). I have made a few changes to that original recipe to make it my own.
Homemade Pizza Dough Makes 2 Pizzas Total Time 2hrs 30min (ish)
Ingredients 8 grams instant yeast 375 grams warm water 400 grams all purpose flour 100 grams whole wheat flour 10 grams salt
Steps 1. Measure out yeast in a small cup. Next fill a measuring cup with warm water (I usually shoot for the water to be slighter warm to the touch). Place a glass bowl on your scale. Start pouring water until you reach a weight of 375 grams. Add measured yeast. Mix and let sit for a few minuets. 2. While yeast and water are resting measure out salt in a small cup. 3. Next weight out 100 grams whole wheat flour and 400 grams all purpose flour into your glass bowl with water and yeast mixture. Add measured salt on top. 4. Mix ingredients until just combined then pour them out onto a lightly flour and clean counter. Knead the dough until it is smooth (2-3 min). 5. Flour your bowl and place dough in it. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour and 30 minuets. 6. After the rough has risen preheat your oven to 525°F and add a pizza stone if you have one. Removed the dough from the bowl and divide into two balls. Reshape balls and let them rest while you prep you pizza ingredients (5-10min). 7. Cut parchment paper large enough for your dough. Roll dough out in parchment paper. Once rolled to your preferred shape and thickness you can begin to assemble your pizza. 8. Once your oven comes to temp put your pizza in there for 9-13min. I prefer 13 for a darker crust. 9. Remove pizza and let rest for 5 min. Then dig in!
Some notes: -You can use 500 grams of all purpose flour instead of the 100 grams of wheat but I think it really adds to the flavor of the crust. -Sugar shouldn’t be in pizza dough. -When putting the pizza in the oven asked a loved one for help. My husband and I each take a side of the parchment paper to get the pizzas safely in the oven. – Set a timer when you put the pizza in the oven. I have nearly burnt many pizza not setting one.
Emily here! I have been working hard to not have any food waste in my kitchen. I had a few random items this week and I had the idea to use all the items for a pizza. Here is what was leftover
Goat cheese, string cheese, grilled chicken and a meat sauce. Used the meat sauce for the base (obvi)Added the cheeseTopped with the chicken. I had pepperoni, pineapple and olives on hand. Ta Da!! Delicious.
Sister Hack 