Real Women of Philadelphia: Creamy Peas with Ham and Mint

This is a sponsored review from BlogHer and Kraft.

One thing I always have on hand is a bag of frozen peas. Although I love to eat them plain or with just a touch of butter, sometimes it’s nice to dress them up a bit. This simple but decadent side dish features Philadelphia Cooking Creme, a new product that provides the rich taste of original Philadelphia Cream Cheese (another thing I always seem to have on hand), but melts easier and can be spooned and stirred right into the dish.

Philadelphia Cooking Creme is one of the products you can use to enter Kraft’s Real Women of Philadelphia recipe video contest.  Would you like to meet Paula Deen in person?  Think you have what it takes be a cooking star?  Want a chance to win $25,000?  Head over the Real Women of Philadelphia site to join the community, find inspiration, and learn how to enter.

It’s side dish week featuring Philadelphia Cooking Creme at the RWoP and I’ve created this Creamy Peas with Ham and Mint recipe to help get your creative juices flowing.

This dish is simple to prepare and only requires a handful of ingredients: ham, peas, onions, chicken stock, Philadelphia Cooking Creme, and fresh chopped mint. Don’t worry if you are cooking for picky eaters… the onions are cooked down and they aren’t noticeable at all in the final dish.

First, find a large skillet that has a lid or that can be covered somehow. Now heat the skillet and add a chunk of butter (Paula would be proud, right?).

When the butter is melted and hot, add the onions.

Cook the onions, stirring them every once in a while, until they are very soft and golden brown.

Now stir in the chicken stock, scraping up all the browned, buttery, onions.

Add the frozen peas and ham, bring the liquid to a boil, then cover and cook over low heat until the peas are nice and tender.

Now just spoon the Philadelphia Cooking Creme right over the top of the ham and peas.

Stir everything together and let cook over low heat for a few minutes to blend all the flavors.

Just before serving, stir in the fresh chopped mint then season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

And that’s it! Enjoy!

Creamy Peas with Ham and Mint

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
1 pound frozen peas
6 oz. cooked ham, diced (about 1 cup)
1 10-oz. container Philadelphia Cooking Creme, Original Flavor
1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried mint)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large skillet (make sure it has a lid) over medium-low heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in chicken stock, peas, and ham. Turn heat up and bring liquid to a boil. Cover, turn heat back down to medium-low, and let cook until peas are tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in Philadelphia Cooking Creme and cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat for 5 minutes just to let the flavors combine. Stir in fresh chopped mint then season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately

yield: 6 servings.

Now that you see how easy it is to incorporate Philadelphia Cooking Creme into a recipe, maybe you should create your own! Head over to Kraft’s Real Women of Philadelphia to join the community, see what other are cooking up, and if inspiration strikes, enter the contest for a chance to win $25,000!

To see what other food bloggers are creating with Philadelphia products, check out the BlogHer roundup page!

For even more creative video recipes by home cooks, visit the Real Women of Philadelphia Gallery. I’d love to know which videos are your favorites, so don’t forget to come back and let us know which ones you’d like to try!