Author: RefreshHer

Comfort Food · Dinner

What To Do With that Ham Bone?

RefreshHer6 Comments

Holiday meals are creeping up on us, believe it or not! Last weekend I baked a Smithfield Brown sugar glazed ham (it’s one of the best I’ve ever bought!). After I sliced all the meat off, I tucked the bone into a freezer bag and put it in the fridge. I knew that bone had all kinds of possibilities! I usually always make Senate Bean Soup with our Christmas ham bone, but I wanted to venture out and try a new recipe.

I found this a recipe for Creamy Ham and Potato Soup and it sounded savory and delicious. It also didn’t take hours to make! The recipe suggested making ham stock with the bone and using that as the base of the soup. That’s exactly what I did. All that took was popping the bone into a stock pot with water to cover and simmering it for an hour. Easy peasy.

Here’s the simple recipe with my slight changes:

Creamy Ham and Potato Soup

NGREDIENTS

  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup large carrot peeled and diced
  • 1/2 cup diced celery
  • 3 cups peeled and diced potatoes
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked ham, diced
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
  • 2 cups Ham Stock or chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons chicken Bouillon
  • 3 cups milk 
  • 1 pinch of salt, if needed 
  • fresh cracked black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Heat the butter in a pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion, carrots, celery until beginning to soften (about 4 minutes).
  • Add the potatoes, cook for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and sauté until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
  • Mix the flour through and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Stir in stock and bouillon and ham, mixing all ingredients together. Increase heat and bring to a boil until potatoes are ‘just’ fork tender, about 10-12 minutes.
  • Reduce heat to medium-low, add the milk and stir over the heat until thickened (about 5 minutes).
  • Add more and salt and pepper, as needed
  • Serve warm.

This was so savory! I was so happy to make such good use of that flavorful ham bone! It made a whole pot of ham stock, so now I also have more frozen for a couple more recipes of this wonderful soup!

To make your own ham stock, place the ham bone in a stock pot and cover with water. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Discard bone. How easy is that?!

If you don’t have a ham bone on hand, you can purchase a bone at Honey Bake Ham! But I’d also encourage you to save this for those holiday hams in your future!

Here are a couple of our other favorite savory soups:
Sausage Corn Chowder
Chicken Gnocchi

Happy ham bone season!

One Decorating Tip To Instantly Enlarge Your Room
home accessories · Home decor

One Decorating Tip To Instantly Enlarge Your Room

RefreshHer3 Comments

This summer I redecorated our bedroom and I am in love with the way it turned out. It’s so much more inviting and it functions so much better!

I’ve sung Myquillyn Smith’s praises before here on my blog, but that won’t keep me from telling you again that her decorating steps have transformed my house! In her book, Cozy Minimalist Home, she gives the order that one should follow when decorating a space. I won’t go through the steps, but I do encourage you to get her book if you’re looking to refresh a room you hate! The “fix” won’t be found in Target’s pillow aisle or Hobby Lobby’s canvas prints. Trust me…those things need to wait. Get the book; you’ll be so glad you did!

I will tell you one secret she shared that has transformed my bedroom when I redid it this summer. Ready?

Hang the drapes high and wide!

You won’t believe the difference it will make in the room. Let me show you my visual! When I was redoing our bedroom, I took a picture with one window where the drapes were on suspension rods in the window and the other window was hung HIGH and WIDE.

Does the window on the left look much bigger? It’s all because of the placement of the drapes!

The lighting was poor in the picture above, but you can definitely see the difference, right?! Just stepping into the room now there is a “Wow!” factor simply because the windows look so much bigger!

I’m on a mission now to rehang all the drapes in the house! It will take time because I’ll need longer lengths. Buying 96″ or 102″ is usually what is needed.

Here’s the bedroom to date. I’m still hoping to paint and hang replace the fan with a light fixture, but I’m loving where it is at this moment!

Let’s do a side by side before and after. I’m being vulnerable to show this before picture! Ugh! I’m just glad it’s much better now!

Next week I’ll share with you my bargain finds and more details about what went into the room makeover, but for today I hope you’re inspired to

Hang those drapes high and wide!

Are you drapes up high or do you need to make some changes?

Mid-Week Kitchen happenings
Home making · Kitchen Tips · Meal planning · Spiritual Refreshment

Mid-Week Kitchen happenings

RefreshHerLeave a comment

Kitchen is a busy place – not just when you’re cooking. It takes daily work to keep things organized, efficient and well-planned. This is an important part of the work in the kitchen.

I was away last week and then have been quite busy since returning home. That means things were lacking in the kitchen. I have been working to get things straightened up, freshened up and planned for the week ahead.

I love to gather inspiration for meal planning. I find lots of good ideas in the Relish magazine that comes in the Sunday newspaper.

How cute is that board full of fall treats? I’m definitely going to make a version of that this month!

These sliders look so good, too! They’d be perfect on game day, if you have some football fans! They would also be good for a weekend supper.

If you’re in a menu rut, pull out an old cookbook and flip through it for some fresh inspiration. You might even find an old recipe you haven’t made in a while that you need to recreate! Go to the library and check out a new cookbook or a food magazine like Taste of Home. You’re sure to get some good inspiration there! I know the Internet is full of great ideas, but sometimes I find it easier and more fun to use a printed form.

I am freshening up some kitchen decor. I’m removing all the red items in my kitchen and the last things to go were my red rooster canisters. I found clear glass jars at Home Goods and they were exactly what I was looking for! The opening is large enough for a cup measure to fit inside – a must, in my opinion!

I also took some time to clean out the drawers in my island and while I was at it, I changed out the drawer liner. It’s amazing what a little addition like that can do!

I love being in the kitchen, and keeping it inviting is important. It keeps me motivated and happy about being in there!

Let’s use all this to make a spiritual application. It can be so easy to be busy doing all the things that followers of Christ do – attending church, serving others, teaching a class, and attending a Bible study that we forget to maintain our own walk with God. Things get “messy” and overlooked. We must intentionally take time to just be with God. Spend longer time in prayer just enjoying communing with Christ, hearing from Him as you sit quietly and allow Him to speak to you. Sing. Confess. Worship. Fellowship with the God who loves you and rejoices over you because you are His child. You’ll find that you are energized for the spiritual works before you.

So, what is the mid-week activity of your spiritual life looking like? Are you too busy? Stop and focus on the Lord so then you can move forward in your tasks with purpose and joy!

In your kitchen, are you planning and also staying motivated for meal times? Are there areas you need to freshen up? It’s worth it to spend a little time taking care of those needs. You’ll probably find you’re more productive! But if you can only focus on one area, start with your spiritual needs and then ask the Lord to guide the work of your hands.

Cozy Fall Decor for All the Senses
Fall · seasonal decor

Cozy Fall Decor for All the Senses

RefreshHer10 Comments

After reading The Cozy Minimalist Book a few years back, I have taken a whole different approach to decorating for fall. I have only a few “fall only” pieces in my home. Now I try to use real leaves, real pumpkins, and things from my yard. I pull out my fall-colored dishes and candles. I attempt to incorporate all five senses to find fall touches all through my home. Let me give you a few glimpses of what I mean.

In my kitchen I have a cookbook on a book stand, opened to a fall cake. The pumpkin plate on the stove is one of the few pieces I mentioned. I’ll use it September – November as my spoon rest as I cook.

The lazy Susan on my island holds a candle that I try to keep lit. It is a Wood wick that crackles. It gives a great aroma of fall scents, but also the sense that a fire is crackling somewhere. The tiered stand has a couple snack plates and a fall leaf spreader on one side.

The other side holds an orange Fiesta cup used as my salt pillar, a succulent and a couple pumpkin napkin holders.

My Southern Living Magazine is opened to a page of fall scenery and a tall pillar candle rests on top. Here there are both fall visuals and scents.

For the mantle I put branches from trees in the backyard into a white pitcher. They last a long time in water! I like it so much better than a stem of fake leaves!

Twinkly lights in a bowl filled with moss balls and wooden decorative balls add a little more sparkle and warm glow in the living room.

Cozy layers rest on my leather ottoman in our family room. Leaves from my yard are my florals and a magazine picturing a yummy stew is there on the tray.

Dried leaves and wheat stalks are in a tall vase on the armoire. I love those turquoise candle sticks in the brass holders. I learned that you should always burn the wicks of your candles. A little drippy wax down the side of the candle adds to the coziness.

One thing you can’t see is my Alexa that plays the Autumn playlist I’ve made up. It has songs like, Autumn Leaves and songs from Little Women. Cozy music is so-o-o inviting!

It’s all the little appeals to the five senses that make a house feel like fall is slipping inside. I have also added my fuzzy pillow slipcovers and some soft throws on the couches. Yep, it feels, looks, smells and even sounds like fall in my house.

Do you consider all five senses when you decorate for the seasons? What else do you add?

Refresh the senses for fall!

trust

Trust

RefreshHer2 Comments

I found myself sitting here, hands on computer keys, staring into the screen. How many minutes have passed?  My heart has been racing, my thoughts swirling as I try to lasso the questions in my mind and answer them with Truth.

A situation happened that has caused me to run back to the Word that I had just heard preached.  It was a simple, yet impassioned message – 

“For with God Nothing shall be impossible.”  Luke 1:37  Another reminder was –

“We are just pilgrims here. Our time is very short.” 

Our time is short. 
Our time to make a difference. 
Our time to reach the lost. 
Our time to lay up treasures in heaven. 

This also means that Satan’s time is short and he knows it.  He is busy.  His our enemy.  He hates us. he hates God.  He hates Christ. He hates the Truth we are tucking away in our hearts and sharing with others.  Why will I waste my time focusing on the problem? Instead I must turn my thoughts to Christ and His Word.

But with God nothing shall be impossible!  No conflict, no struggle, no need, no person, no trial, no sickness, no threat is too great for our God!  Praise the Lord for that truth that anchors our hearts when they are shaken!

What do you need to trust God for today? Be comforted that nothing is too hard for our God and remember that your time is short on this earth. Rather than focusing on the problem, look at Jesus.

Believing the God of the impossible,