Ham Leftovers

Carolyn C. Cooke
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March 20, 20070 found this helpful

If you have a meat grinder, either as part of another appliance or "stand alone," grind up the ham bits with Cheddar cheese, mix with Miracle Whip or mayonnaise, and, voila!, a great sandwich spread. I find that alternating the ham with the cheese, with the ham last, cleans out the grinder better. Also, freezing the cheese to get it hard is a good idea.

Scalloped potatoes and ham. Sometimes I just use the boxed package of potatoes following the directions and adding my cubed up leftover ham and sometimes a can of peas. Meal in one bowl---I love it.

My mother used to make a ham casserole. A casserole is a sauce, a starch, a protein and,if you wish, vegetables. Hers was a thin white sauce with potatoes, onions and green peas. The onions were chopped and browned and the white sauce was a conventional white sauce -- flour browned in butter to which milk or chicken broth or a combination of the two was added.

But, let's expand this repertoire. In a hurry? Used the canned cream soup --chicken, mushroom or celery -- of your choice. Prefer pasta? go ahead but red pepper pasta or spinach pasta make the dish more appetizing. Use either elbows or rotini or cart wheels but the chunkier the better.

Add a can of stewed tomatoes or chopped tomatoes or fresh tomatoes.
Like peppers? Add them. Like mushrooms? Saute then add. Not fond of peas or none available? Lima beans or green beans will do. Or add chopped spinach to the white sauce or canned soup.

A fan of cheese? Add it, especially if your sauce is made from broth. chunks of cheddar or Swiss or raclette can be tossed into the mix or the top can be dusted with ground Swiss, cheddar, blue, Parmesan, grana padana, smoked Gouda, etc., and allowed to brown in the last minutes of baking.

Baking? Yes, mix together and set in a 350 degree oven for a minimum of 30 minutes. Or, use the ham bone as the basis of a potato soup. Add either carrots or chopped spinach for vegetable nutrition and color.

I always slice several servings of ham and put them into ziploc bags. I freeze them and get them out to fix my family a quick fried ham to go along with our breakfast or a quick evening meal. Just add veggies and other side dishes to make a quick meal. I also usually grind up some and make a ham salad for a quick sandwhich! You can also cut the ham into cubes for salad garnishing or even to put in mac and cheese or for omelettes

I make soup with my ham, instead of hamburger meat. Add onions, potatoes, butter beans, shoe peg corn, tomatoes with seasonings.