I swear it’s that time of year when it feels like every week is a rough week. Kids are challenging, people are getting sick, adults are getting grumpy, friends are getting cabin fever, holiday stress is looming. I contribute it to the weather. It’s freaking cold! And we all know it’s only going to get colder.
A couple of things can warm a person. Good soup. And kindness. They don’t call us Minnesota Nice for nothing, after all.
Heads up: This post is slightly longer winded. I have three MN nice stories and two recipes.
Last week I made a ham dinner. We were expecting company Tuesday night from Texas. However, our friend Jay was delayed a night because of the snow. It happens. We are used to it around here. Growing up, we know the snow could mess up our plans at any given time. My dad plows snow for the state. That means any holidays, birthdays, sporting events…there was a good chance Dad would have to work if it snowed, at any hour of the day. It definitely helped prepare me for adulthood and coping with out winters.
When Jay arrives in Minnesota his first stop is always Caribou. I am a Starbucks or Scooters girl myself. But after his encounter I might be converting to always Caribou Spiced Chai. The person taking his order asked what brought him to town. He explained that his grandmother passed away 2 days prior and he was here for the services. She was so kind and empathetic to Jay, then said his Campfire Mocha was on Caribou. That, ladies and gentleman is one tiny example of Minnesota Nice.
Earlier in the week I had the most pleasant experience with someone on marketplace. She had some dishes available and I was going to get them for my son, the one that just moved out. They were free. Can’t beat that! When I went to go pickup, she had forgotten to leave them out. Instead of getting upset, I sent her a polite message (“be kind always”). She was so sweet in her reply and offered to bring them to me. We went back and forth a couple days. Two Minnesotan’s being nice. Eventually she ended up bringing them to our house. Yes, remember, these are free dishes. Our youngest was outside shoveling when she arrived and he offered to carry them in for her. She was so quick to send me a message complimenting him. Again, nice, nice, nice! Now we are Facebook friends. I love these examples of kind interactions and getting to know people.
The ham dinner was delicious. The recipe is so easy, I won’t type it below. It’s short enough to be in this paragraph. I am pretty simple when it comes to this. I put a ham (bone-in) in the crockpot with a packet of dry onion soup mix and a can of coke. Pepsi does not work for this. Has to be Coke. When we are about an hour away from dinner, I sprinkle some brown sugar on top. Boom. Done. Then I make gravy with the juices from the crockpot. This week I made cheesy potatoes. My best friend Jacki’s recipe. Still tastes better when she makes it though. No idea why, just does. I guess I have a 4th MN nice example. We ran out of fuel on the way to the game Sunday. Jacki and her husband got bundled up and delivered us some diesel. And followed us to the gas station to make sure we got there. Have I mentioned I have amazing friends?
It was a busy week so I didn’t get to the leftovers to make soup until Saturday. It ended up being the perfect day for it. Why, you might ask? Because it was 13 stinking degrees outside. I know, I know, that isn’t that bad for this tundra. Yet. It’s been a mild season so far, weather-wise, so that was a very COLD slap in the face. And we had a lot of preparations for the game the following day. My husband and his buddy (you all know, the plate licker) were redoing the seating and flooring in our tailgate bus. Yes, we have a tailgate bus. You will see more of that in future posts. I had a house full of kids, the two guys, and later that night our friends from North Dakota arrived. One person, whom shall remain nameless, doesn’t like soup. No dish licking this time. However, 2 of the kids that are pretty picky when it comes to soup, loved it! My game changer is ancho chili powder. It doesn’t make the dish spicy. Instead, it brings out the other flavors. It’s so smooth, savory and scrumptious! Recipe to follow.
That brings me to yet another showing of Minnesota Nice this week. As you may or may not have seen, the Vikings game was ugly. We got our asses handed to us. It happens. We move on from it, never wavering away from the love we have for our time. It is what it is. I thought Vikings fans traveled well. Cowboy fans? That was on another level! There were so many! Our seats (we own the seats, so the same every game) were surrounded by blue. WTF. Our house is supposed to be purple people! As the game was about to start, a lady and her daughter sat now next to me. I will admit, at first, I was like UGHHHHHH ANOTHER ONE! And then she spilled her water all over a few of us. Not a great introduction. But, instead of being rude or upset, I said no big deal. It happens. A lot. She was so apologetic and super nice. We ended up having a lot of fun. Her team was winning. She repeated throughout the game “I am not going to shit talk; I am not going to shit talk”. And she didn’t. Just stayed nice. As did most of the visiting fans. She wasn’t even native MN. She was from New Mexico. But she did comment on all of the Minnesota Nice she encountered.
Stay nice. Be kind. You never know what someone else is going through. Even when you think you know, you likely don’t know EVERYTHING. That is how we roll in these parts. Most of us.
Stay warm and enjoy the soup!
Ham and Potato Soup
Ingredients (Clearly, I don’t measure much):
Leftover Ham
Ham bone
Water
1lb of bacon
1 onion
Garlic, a couple spoonsful of minced
Butter, a couple pads
Flour, a couple spoonful’s
White wine, a splash or two
¾ cup Milk
¾ cup Half and Half (I didn’t have any, so I just used more milk)
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp Ancho Chili powder
Potatoes, 4-5 large peeled and cubed
Steps:
- Make your stock by boiling the hambone in water. You can skip this and use some other store-bought stock, like chicken or veggie. But this is the best way.
- I usually boil my potatoes in the soup using the stock I have just made. But I was short on time and threw the potatoes in the water with the bone. Worked great actually.
- In a Dutch oven, fry your bacon. Doesn’t have to be in a Dutch oven. But I like all the flavor from the drippings.
- Remove bacon and extra grease.
- Add onions and butter to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add your garlic and flour and cook for 2 more minutes. Or so.
- Splash some white wine in the Dutch oven to deglaze for a minute or so.
- Remove the bone from your stock (if it’s ready and potatoes are soft).
- Take out half of the potatoes, set aside. Pour stock and remaining potatoes into Dutch oven.
- Using an immersion blender, puree everything in the Dutch oven. The potatoes are your thickener for this soup.
- Add the potatoes from step 9 and diced ham (mine tends to end up more shredded at this point)
- Simmer about 10 minutes. Taste. Do you need more salt, pepper, or ancho?
- To serve I top with shredded cheese, parsley. You can use sour cream or bacon also.
