HAM & CHEESE SCONES

~ A Beautiful Bite

3 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
8 T. butter, at room temperature
1 c. & 1 T. milk
1 c. cheddar, shredded
1/2 c. Canadian or any other type of ham, diced
1/2 large onion, diced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with pastry cutter or fork tines. Add milk and stir until flour mixture is just moistened. Fold in cheese, ham, and onion.

Turn dough onto floured surface and knead gently for several minutes. Press dough into 1 1/2-inch circle and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes: If I don't cut and separate the scones before baking, then it takes longer than 30 minutes for the center to not be doughy. 

BRUNCH EGG BAKE

~ adapted from allrecipes

2 c. shredded cheddar
2 c. shredded mozzarella
2 T. butter
4 oz. chopped mushrooms
1/3 c. sliced green onions
1/2 c. chopped red bell pepper
2 c. diced cooked ham
1/2 c. flour
2 T. minced fresh parsley
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 3/4 c. milk
8 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cheeses in a bowl, then place three cups of the mixture in the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan.

Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add mushrooms, green onions, and bell pepper, stirring until vegetables are tender; drain. Spread vegetables over cheese in pan, top with ham, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper. Slowly add milk, pouring a little at a time and whisking until smooth before adding more. Beat in eggs. Pour egg mixture into baking pan.

Bake 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes: I wanted a breakfast casserole that didn't have bread or potatoes and everyone loves this one, even our mushroom haters. I've used fresh basil instead of dried when I had it handy and just increased the amount.

GLAZED HAM

~ allrecipes

8 lb. bone-in shank ham
4 c. water
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 T. liquid smoke
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch ground cloves

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Place ham in a roasting pan and pour water to a 2-inch depth.  Cover with foil or a tight fitting lid and bake 6-8 hours.

Remove from oven, pour off drippings and set aside.  De-bone ham, removing any excess fat, and return to roasting pan.  Skim fat off the top of drippings and discard it.

In a small bowl, mix one cup of drippings with honey, brown sugar, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, and cloves.  Pour over ham, then cover and return to oven.  Remaining drippings may be discarded or reserved for other uses.

Bake 30-40 minutes longer, then remove and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Notes: Our pan is only about two inches deep, so I use about one inch of water and it turns out fine.  I use all the leftover liquid to cook beans in.

CHEESY HAM & ASPARAGUS BAKE

~ allrecipes

1/2 c. chopped cooked ham
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped red bell peppers
10 oz. package frozen cut asparagus, thawed
8 eggs
2 c. milk
1 c. flour
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
3/4 t. tarragon
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 c. shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Mix the ham, onion, red bell peppers, and asparagus in the prepared baking dish. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, flour, Parmesan, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Pour over the ham mixture.

Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with cheese and continue baking 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Notes: I use fresh asparagus that I've blanched and mine bakes closer to 30 minutes before a toothpick came out clean.  

SLOW COOKER LENTIL & HAM SOUP

~ allrecipes

1 c. dried lentils
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped carrots
1 c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 c. diced cooked ham
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 t. black pepper
32 oz. chicken broth
1 c. water
8 t. tomato sauce

In a 3 1/2 quart or larger slow cooker combine the lentils, celery, carrots, onion, garlic and ham. Season with basil, oregano, thyme, the bay leaf and pepper. Stir in the chicken broth, water and tomato sauce. Cover; cook on low for 11 hours. Discard the bay leaf before serving.

Notes: I double this for our family, using one can of tomato sauce and one cup of water instead of doubling the amounts called for. It's perfect, neither too watery nor too thick. Our soup is ready to eat in 9-10 hours, so just keep an eye on yours. While the taste won't change, you don't want your lentils to overcook to the point of disintegrating.

WESTERN OMELETTE CASSEROLE

~ Tiffany/Eat at Home & Sonlight Forums

1/2 - 2/3 loaf of French or Italian bread
2 T. finely diced onion
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1-2 c. diced ham
1 c. shredded cheddar
10 eggs
2 c. milk
1 t. dry mustard
salt and pepper, to taste

Grease a 9×13 casserole dish. Tear the bread into pieces and place in the dish. Sprinkle the peppers, onions, ham, and cheese over the top of the bread. Beat the eggs with a whisk. Stir in the milk, dry mustard, salt and pepper. Pour over the ingredients in the pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Notes: I've made two loaves of simple bread and used one of them for this, which worked out well. 

CREAMY PASTA SHELLS WITH BROCCOLI AND HAM

~ All You - December 17, 2010

1 lb. small pasta shells
4 c. small broccoli florets
2 T. unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 oz. cooked ham, chopped
3/4 c. heavy cream, warmed
1/2 c. grated parmesan
salt & pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, 8-10 minutes. Add broccoli for last 2-3 minutes of cooking time. Drain and return to pot.

While pasta is cooking, melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onion and saute until soft. Add ham and cook, stirring, 2 minutes longer. Stir in cream. Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally for 3-5 minutes or until thickened.

Pour cream mixture over pasta and broccoli. Add cheese and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Notes: Yummy comfort food! I always add more broccoli and ham than the recipe calls for, which means I also need extra cream to keep things from being too dry. I usually use leftover roasted broccoli (easy on the salt, as ham is already salty) instead of cooking it with the pasta and never pre-warm the cream.

EASY BAKED HAM

~ allrecipes

4lb. fully-cooked spiral cut ham
20 oz. can sliced pineapple, drained with juice reserved
1 c. dark brown sugar
1 liter ginger ale

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove as much of the ham from the bone as you can. Layer one third of the ham in the bottom of a 6 quart casserole dish. Top with a few pineapple rings and 1/4 of the brown sugar. Repeat the layers two more times.
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Pour any juice left in the pineapple can over the ham. Then pour in enough of the ginger ale to fill the dish about half way. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 of brown sugar over the top.
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Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Uncover and cook for an additional 20 minutes.

Notes: I've made this with a couple 2-ish pound, fully cooked turkey hams that I sliced up. I also like to use crushed or chunk pineapple instead of sliced because every slice of ham gets some pineapple with it. The liquid/sauce in the pan is great served over mashed potatoes or rice!

GRILLED LEFTOVER HAM & PINEAPPLE SANDWICHES

~ allrecipes

4 T. cream cheese, softened
8 slices bread
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple rings, drained
4 slices leftover baked ham
2 T. butter

Spread cream cheese onto 4 slices of bread. Top the cream cheese with a slice of pineapple and a slice of ham. Cover with the remaining slices of bread. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry sandwiches in butter until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes total.

Linked up at: Eat at Home - pineapple

SWISS HAM WREATH

~ Amy Alonzo

1 can crescent rolls
2 t. mustard
1 T. minced dried onions
1 1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese
1 1/2 c. chopped ham
10 oz. frozen chopped broccoli, thawed or

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet. Lay crescent rolls out like a star with fat ends in the middle. Smash the fat ends together so that there is no empty space. Should look like a solid, eight point star with none of the cookie sheet showing underneath. Mix all other ingredients in bowl and then scoop into center of star. Spread tips as wide as possible and then pull up to center. Do not allow any cracks where filling could seep out. If there is a hole, then tear the tip off another area and use it as a patch. Pour parmesan cheese on top and baked for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Notes: This is called a wreath, because some people actually make it in a wreath shape. Mine is more like the Swiss Ham Blob and often covered with patches. It's not pretty, but my family gobbles it up like it was going out of style!

As our family has grown we've had to make a double batch of this. I take dough sheets from one tube and lay them across the bottom of a 9x13 pan, smashing the ends together to make a solid base.  I dump a double batch of filling on top of that, then top with the sheets from the second tube of dough, though those pieces have gaps between them, and sprinkle with parmesan before baking.  It takes about 30 minutes that way.

 Another option is to make the filling, then mix it with cooked rice. You can heat it on the stove or bake it in the oven. Delicious!  If Swiss isn't in the budget, then use a less expensive cheese. We like a combination of jack or mozzarella and pepperjack.  I sometimes chop some roasted broccoli, rather than using frozen.

Linked up at: Eat at Home - canned dough recipes