Spiral-cut Ham with Slow-Roasted Asparagus and Lemon-Thyme Sauce
Can you smell this simmering already? The spiral-cut ham is delicious on its own. When paired with asparagus and lemon-thyme sauce – enjoyable!
Braised Pork Medallions with Apples
Fall is the perfect season to create dishes with those harvest flavors and spices we love. Make sure to save the biggest apple in the bunch from your trip to the apple orchard for this recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 Indiana Kitchen pork tenderloin sliced into 8 pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 large apple cored and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup apple cider
Servings: people
Instructions
- Season medallions on both sides with pepper and pumpkin pie spice.
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; brown pork on both sides, remove from pan and reserve.
- Add onion and apples to skillet, saute until soft.
- Add apple cider to skillet, heat to a simmer.
- Return pork medallions to pan, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
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Mini Moments
Making the most of teachable moments with your children
Something happened this week that I didn’t anticipate, which isn’t unusual in life, is it? While driving my daughter to a Saturday-morning art camp, we heard a news story on the radio about a young girl who was collecting teddy bears for police officers. They carry them in their cars to give comfort to children during tragic and emotional times.
The little girl’s story began innocently enough when she heard that her friend’s daddy had run out of stuffed animals. Normally, that would make me smirk because most guys I know are way past collecting stuffed rabbits and the like. Yet, this man was a police officer, and he knew, in tough circumstances, something like a toy could provide relief to a little one who might feel scared.
The story ended, the radio music started, and her questions began. “Mom, do you think it’s nice to give something you really love to someone else who really needs it?” I knew before she finished her question, this was going to be a teachable moment.
Teachable moments are those brief windows of time where an opportunity arises to talk about something—or do something—that isn’t what you originally intended, yet we can learn or educate someone else in the process. These little moments happen a lot with my kids. Sometimes I jump on them, and sometimes I let them sail right by. It’s all about timing, figuring out what their thoughts are on the subject and answering them in a way that continues conversation. Sometimes these moments happen organically, and other times, you can initiate some activities to facilitate great learning conversations with your kids, such as:
- Reading books together.
- Talking about when you were younger.
- Having age-appropriate conversations about happenings in the world.
- Taking a learning trip to a farm, zoo, museum, park, festival and so on.
- Looking at photos, maps and memorabilia.
- Cooking, gardening and even grocery shopping can unearth discussions on measurement, nutrition and why budgets are important to plan and follow.
Just as my children have learned from me during teachable moments, I also have learned a great deal from them—and about them—when it comes to grace, compassion and how their childlike thoughts and emotions touch my heart.
I’d like to tell you that, after discussing why community service, first responders and charity are important (yes, we covered them all from one little news story), my daughter parted with the plethora of stuffed animals taking over her room. But, that didn’t happen. Instead, after camp, she asked if we could run to the store to buy popsicles. She wanted to deliver them to the firehouse near our neighborhood and thank them for all they do. When I asked why popsicles, she simply stated, “They work in the fire and heat all day, Mom, so something hot to eat would be inappropriate.”
Now, why didn’t I think of that!?
Gabby
Chief Family Officer
Bacon Mushroom Beer Cheese Soup
This is the next tailgate crowd pleaser! Beer, bacon and cheese? Yes, please! If you’d rather not include beer in this soup, simply replace it with non-alcoholic beer, chicken or vegetable stock.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4-6 servings | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 25 minutes |
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This is the next tailgate crowd pleaser! Beer, bacon and cheese? Yes, please! If you’d rather not include beer in this soup, simply replace it with non-alcoholic beer, chicken or vegetable stock.
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Ingredients
- 2 slices Indiana Kitchen bacon uncooked
- 3/4 cup mushrooms chopped
- 1/3 cup red onion finely chopped
- 2 - 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups 1% milk
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese extra sharp
- 1/2 cup shredded gouda cheese (again, very loosely placed in the cup)
- 1 tablespoon shredded gruyere cheese
- 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons Red Robin Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup brown ale (or your favorite brew)
Servings: servings
Instructions
- In a saucepan (I mean the pan you’re going to cook the soup in), fry the Indiana Kitchen bacon until it’s crisp. Remove the Indiana Kitchen bacon from the pan and crumble it up into little bits. Set it aside for now.
- Pour some of the excess fat from the pan, then add the onions, garlic and mushrooms. Over medium-high heat, saute them in the Indiana Kitchen bacon fat until the onions are soft and translucent and the mushrooms are limp.
- Add the flour to the pan and stir, coating all your little shrooms, onions and garlic bits in flour.
- Add the milk and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 5 – 10 minutes or so or until the mixture thickens.
- Add the pumpkin puree, shredded cheeses, most of the Indiana Kitchen bacon bits (reserving a few for garnish), and the seasonings and cook for a few minutes longer until the cheese melts.
- Just before serving, stir in the beer. The soup will froth up for a moment, but then it will calm down again, just in time to serve it.
- Pour into bowls and top with shredded cheese, the reserved Indiana Kitchen bacon bits, and fresh parsley leaves. Some people like to put popcorn on their beer cheese soup. That’s fun too.
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Hickory Smoked Ham
Remember when I shared with you last month my grandmother’s sage advice, “Ham isn’t just for the holidays?” You’ll want to wrap your taste buds around this barbequed ham! Plan a week’s worth of meals with the leftovers! Slice it up for sandwiches, or add it to a casserole with cheese and potatoes. You’ll make my grandma proud.
Instructions
- Turn grill or oven on high heat, and preheat for 15 minutes
- Place ham in center of heavy-duty aluminum foil sheet, and pour brown sugar over ham. Firmly press sugar on to ham, turn and repeat on all sides until ham is covered. Wrap tightly with foil, then add another tightly wrapped layer of foil, so that none of the ham is exposed.
- Reduce the heat to low, and place ham on top rack. If this is not possible you will need to place wrapped ham into a foil pan on the lower rack to prevent ham from drying out.
- Cook for the next 90 minutes. Do not open the oven door or grill lid at this time.
- Once ham is done, remove from grill or oven and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, remove foil and serve.
Recipe Notes
Tip: When removing foil, do so over a bowl to catch the juice and spoon over the slices.
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Gather Together
Why family meals are important
When your father is a farmer, and works sunup to sundown, you might think finding stolen moments with him would be a problem, right?
It wasn’t.
My dad knew when it was time to wear the business hat and when it was time to trade it in for the dear old dad hat. No time was more precious to him than dinner with his family—saying grace, passing the green beans and asking about our day. Flexibility was key. Some days, mom rang the dinner bell (literally, we had an old schoolhouse bell she salvaged and mounted near the back porch) at 4:30 p.m, and other days it sounded at dusk. Yet, we gathered together, broke bread, and it was good. It was a priority.
In the craziness of life, between sports, piano lessons and carpools, company meetings and PTA events, it would be easy for me to hand my kids a chef’s hat and spatula and wish them luck nuking a frozen dinner. Don’t get me wrong—some days are like that, and during the crazy swells in life, we just keep on swimming
You see, it’s not really about eating amazing, four-course meals, seven days a week—because, believe you me, that isn’t happening under my roof. It’s about spending time together. Setting aside dedicated minutes to listen, to laugh and be in each other’s presence. We all go different directions once the alarm clock sounds in the morning. Dinner is our one opportunity, as often as possible, to enrich our relationships with one another.
When I chat with my girlfriends about family time, it seems we’re all in the same boat. We want more time on the clock, fewer commitments and a few minutes to be alone and regroup, recharge. We all lead busy lives, don’t we? What to do?
The common thread we saw was our families were starving for time together as a whole. We divide and conquer to make it to our kids’ sporting events, school functions and playdates, and when you add in careers and other commitments, it can feel like a no-win situation. So, what can we do to combat the hamster wheel of busyness and make family time at the table happen more often? Here are a few suggestions:
- Prepare large batches of favorite meals, like an extra ham and cheesy potato casserole to freeze, or plan meals from leftovers.
- Big brunch weekends!
- Turn off the TV, hide the electronics, and interact at the table.
- Plan meals and shop ahead, so meal guesswork is at a minimum.
- Love Taco Tuesday? Pizza Friday? Bacon every day? Make one meal that everyone loves—a staple—each week.
- Get your kids in the kitchen! Have them help set the table, season the stew, and for your older children, let them be hands-on—slice and dice with supervision.
- Pick up premade side dishes from your grocer to pair with mouthwatering ribs simmering in the crockpot.
If you’re looking for some good conversation starters with your kids during dinner, try these:
- Have I ever told you about my best friend when I was your age?
- Want to hear about my favorite vacation when I was little?
- If you could have a day filled with wishes that would come true, what would they be?
- What do you think life was like when Mom/Dad/Grandma was little?
- If you were given a hundred dollars to donate to a charity, which one(s) would you give it to, and why?
Recharge as a family at the dinner table. A time to impart a little wisdom to your children, and learn from them as well. Some of my favorite moments come when my children dispense advice, love and listen to one another. That’s priceless to me.
Not every meal is perfect, not every meal is argument free, and not every meal has every member of our family present. That’s life. What we gain, however, when we gather is priceless. We learn to listen, to not interrupt, and why good manners matter. We learn to work through issues together, and we realize that some of life’s bigger questions are hard to answer.
Give family mealtime a try this week, and let me know how it goes!
Gabby
Chief Family Officer