Split Pea Soup

 You know your recipe for Split Pea Soup is tasty when your son asks for it for his 9th birthday!

Ingredients:

1/4 C butter

2 C chopped onion

1 C diced carrot

1 C diced celery

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp black pepper

1 pound dried split peas, rinsed and sorted

1 meaty ham bone

1 large bay leaf (or 2 small)

2 tsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)

6 C chicken stock

2 C water

2 C diced ham

Directions:

1.) In Dutch oven, melt butter. Saute onion, carrot, celery, and garlic until tender.
2.) Stir in black pepper and split peas.

3.) Add ham bone, bay leaf, thyme, chicken stock and water.

4.) Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.

5.) Allow to simmer for about 2 hours. (Add additional liquid for desired consistency.)

6.) During final 15 minutes of cooking, remove ham bone and bay leaf. Then, add diced ham.

Serves 8.

Key Lime Cake

Last year when Mitch's birthday was approaching, Simon insisted we make his favorite dessert (key lime pie), and Lydia insisted we have a type of cake. Google search to the rescue! I found a Cake Doctor type of Key Lime Cake recipe that looked decent. It was close to amazing tasting, but needed a little tweaking. After a few more attempts and fine tuning, we now have this delicious recipe!!

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 box lemon cake mix

1 C oil

4 eggs

1 small package vanilla pudding

1/4 C orange juice

1/2 C lime juice (fresh squeezed)

lime zest of 3 limes

Cream cheese frosting:

1/2 C butter

8 oz cream cheese

3 Tbsp lime juice

4 C powdered sugar

Directions:

1.) Combine cake mix, oil, eggs, pudding and citrus juices, following mixing directions on the back of box.

2.) Bake in 2 cake pans, according to directions on back of box.

3.) Allow cakes to completely cool on wire racks.

4.) To make frosting, allow butter and cream cheese to warm at room temperature for about 2 hours.

5.) With electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.

6.) Add in lime juice and mix.

7.) Mix in powdered sugar 1/2 C at a time, until the frosting has reached the desired thickness.

8.) Blend half of the lime zest into the frosting.

8.) Place cakes on serving platter and frost cakes.

9.) Sprinkle the remaining lime zest on the top of the cake.

10.) Chill for at least 8 hours.

11.) Enjoy!

Serves 12.

Key Lime Pie

I've done lots of experimenting to find the best ratio of creaminess, tartness and sweetness. This is the best! Definitely use Philadelphia brand only, as it's more difficult to achieve a creamy, homogeneous texture with other brands and store brands.

Ingredients:
2 extra-serving graham cracker pie crusts

2 bricks of 8oz cream cheese (Philadelphia brand only)
2 cans sweetened condensed milk

1 1/3 C lime juice

zest from 4 limes

Directions:

1.) Remove cream cheese from cardboard and allow to warm at room temperature for about 2 hours.

2.) Zest 4 limes. Set aside.

3.) Juice 6-8 limes, depending on size. Set aside.

4.) Place cream cheese in mixing bowl and (with mixer) mix until texture is smooth.

5.) Add sweetened condensed milk and blend until smooth.

6.) Add lime juice and blend until mixture is homogeneous.

7.) Mix in half of lime zest.

8.) Pour mixture equally into two pie crusts.

9.) Sprinkle remaining lime zest on top of pies.

10.) Refrigerate at least 5 hours.

Makes two pies for a total of 16 servings.