Hamming It Up



Scrhambled


    Dan picked up a ham at the market for 99 cents a pound and boy did we get a lot of mileage out of it.  First he baked it in the oven and served it with boiled potatoes and carrots.  The next day I added chopped bits of ham to scrambled eggs.  We reheated some ham and potatoes for another meal and then it was time for a new spin on the leftovers.

   I got out the cookbook and looked in the index under ham.  I couldn't decide between scalloped potatoes or ham and broccoli pie.  I took what I had available from both recipes and mashed it together. 

    I sliced the boiled potatoes and carrots.  I layered the pototoes, carrots and ham lasagna style. I had a couple heads of broccoli so these were chopped and in they went. I prepared the white sauce as directed for scalloped potatoes.  I scrambled 4 eggs and stirred in the white sauce to blend. 
  
     Now instead of having a side dish I had a potato casserole with eggs and vegetables all in one dish.  My cooking time was a quick 30 minutes since only the eggs and broccoli needed cooking.  It turned out to be a big hit and we even had leftovers, again!

The Original Ham Recipes from Betty Crocker Cookbook

Impossibly Easy Ham and Broccoli  Pie
1 cup cut up cooked ham
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup Bisquick
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 large eggs
1 cup small curd cottage cheese
2 cups frozen broccoli cuts

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease pie plate.
2. Sprinkle ham, cheese and onions in pie plate
3. Beat remain ingredients with fork until blended. Pour into pie plate.
4. Bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle 1/2 shredded cheese evenly over top. Bake 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Stand 5 minutes.

Scalloped Potatoes

3 tbsp butter
1 small onion, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 cups milk
6 medium peeled or unpeeled potatoes, thinly sliced (6 cups)
1 tbsp butter

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and side of 2-quart casserole with butter.
2. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion in butter about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly remove from heat.
3. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.
4. Spread potatoes in casserole. Pour sauce over potatoes. Cut 1 tablespoon butter into small pieces; sprinkle over potatoes. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 1 hour loner or until potatoes are tender. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving (sauce thickens as it stands).

Leprechaun Soup



     On Saturday night I had a dinner avoidance crisis.  I really felt it would be easier to find a sitter and go out to eat than to attempt to make dinner.  I hadn't taken anything out to defrost and there were no leftovers to use up.  I called a friend and they had plans so the sitter was out.  I was about to call another friend when I realized I didn't even know when Dan would be home.  He was helping out a neighbor with kitchen renovations.  I didn't feel like finding a sitter when I didn't know what time we would need them, where we were going or what time we would be back.  It's hard to plan with no plan at all.

    Without much hope I opened the refrigerator door.  There was half a large cauliflower that had been on sale for ninety-nine cents, a bunch of asparagus, and half a baked chicken breast.  Okay so that's not a lot to go on to feed four people dinner.  

  I filled the small stockpot with roughly four to six cups of water plus a half gallon bag of chicken stock leftover in the freezer.  I added the cauliflower, asparagus, a dash of garlic salt and about a tablespoon of vegetable flakes consisting of potato, carrot, parsley and onion .  I let it simmer for about twenty minutes until the cauliflower was soft. Dan popped home for a minute and pureed the concoction with my immersion blender.   I whisked a tablespoon or two of arrowroot in one half cup of water and poured the mixture in to thicken the soup to a creamy texture. This would be a great meatless meal on it's own, but I chopped up the chicken into cubes and threw it in to warm it up for about five minutes. 

   I am the only big fan of asparagus in my house.  When the crew walked in asking, "What's for dinner?" I told them it was leprechaun soup.  Perhaps a wee elf on a spot of mischief had stopped by to turn our soup green.  They devoured their brimming bowls and asked for seconds.  I must have had some leprechaun magic that night since my paltry pickings turned into a popular meal.  Leprechaun soup may turn into a March tradition!

Snowy Day Soup

Steamy Sausage Soup for a Snowy Halloween  Week

   Dan brings in the last of the white eggplant from the garden, 3 medium and one tiny.  We also have two straggler tomatoes. As I am cooking up the last of our summer harvest in October, fat snowflakes are starting to fall.  When I heard the weather forecast, I assumed that it was one of those storms that may bring in snow and after all the excitement and lines at the store it just blows out to sea leaving us with a little rain and stocked pantries. As I simmer the sausage the snow is really starting to come down.  By the time I finish cooking dinner it is actually piling up on my car.  It's a good thing I didn't leave anything in the garden to freeze!
  
Summer Soup (on a Snowy Day)

1 package of hot sausage (5 double links)
3-4 white eggplant
oregano, garlic, basil
2 tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes

This is not from a cookbook so bear with me as I estimate amounts.  Saute the sausage for 20 minutes while peeling and dicing the eggplant into tiny squares.  Add the eggplant with the olive oil, garlic, basil and oregano and cook everything for another 10 minutes, until soft.  Remove the sausages and slice in circles, then put them back in the pot to cook thoroughly another 10 minutes.  Add the crushed tomatoes and fill the can with water letting that simmer for another 10 minutes.  Dice the tomatoes and add towards the last 5 minutes to keep them from getting mushy.

Popeye's Special- 2 Recipes For the Price of 1

   Whenever I ask for a vote for dinner, the answer is usually "Caldo Verde."  This new recipe has become a favorite in the weekly menu planner.  This filling soup is great for a chilly or rainy day.  Even those who profess to not eat onions gobble it up since the onions are pureed so there is nothing to pick out.  Using my hand blender makes the job much easier than transferring batches to the food processor. The recipe says spicy sausage can be added as well, but we have been very pleased without it.  A few simple ingredients make a very satisfying soup. I use fresh or frozen spinach in lieu of the kale, chard, or collards.  This summer I will have to try it with Swiss chard when the garden starts producing.

Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup)  from Vegan Kitchen by J. Bennett
1 diced onion
1 minced garlic
6 potatoes, sliced not peeled
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 lb kale, chard, or collards

Saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes. Add potatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add 2 quarts cold water, boil. Simmer 10 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Puree potatoes. Roll greens into cigars and chop.  Add greens and simmer for 5 minutes until greens are bright and tender.

Bonus Hidden Spinach Recipe #2
    My second recipe is not new to me but is another popular spinach dish in my house.  In fact this has been my son's favorite meal since he could eat table food.  When he was a baby I became a fan of Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals and actually tried some of the recipes. It's a great way to get those extra greens in my diet.  I like it with the feta cheese, but I often make it without it as well.  I sometimes skip cooking the onion and just throw everything in the mixer. The original recipe calls for the turkey burgers to be served on a bun with roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, and pepperonchini.  I usually skip the bun and serve smaller burgers with a big Greek salad. You could try pairing it with a steaming bowl of CaldoVerde. They are awesome cold if you manage to have any left.

Spanakopita Burgers
from Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals

3 cloves garlic
1/2 red onion, chopped
10 oz frozen spinach, defrosted
2 tsp oregano
1/4 lb feta crumbles
1 1/3 lb ground turkey or chicken
1 tbs grill seasoning

    Sautee garlic and onion for 5 minutes and set aside to cool. Wring defrosted spinach by twisting it in a clean kitchen towel over your sink. To the spinach add the cooled garlic and onion and oregano. Add feta crumbles then ground turkey, grill seasoning and a drizzle of olive oil.  Mix and form into 4 patties, 1 inch thick. Raise heat to medium high and cook 6 minutes on each side.