Tag Archives: ham

Oh Ham!

Ham. Erase the “h,” put a “d” in its place, and add an “n” after the “m” and you get the word that truly describes what I’m feeling after reading a new report about the dangers of eating ham. My preschooler adores ham. So much in fact that I typically purchase a 7-pound ham every other week. It feeds our family for about three days (that includes leftovers for breakfast and lunch). I could purchase a smaller ham, but the larger ones are more economical. Plus, it doesn’t pay to bake a small ham twice a week when I can … Continue reading →

Ideas for Easter Leftovers

Easter may be over, but you’d never know it looking in your refrigerator. If you made enough food to feed an army, then you might be dealing with a mountain of leftovers, especially if your guests filled up on Easter chocolate before sitting down to dinner. Don’t let those holiday goodies go to waste. Instead, consider using the following recipes to breathe new life into Easter leftovers, including eggs, ham and asparagus: EASY OMELET Ingredients: 1/4 cup yellow onion, caramelized 3 sausage links, cooked and diced small 3 slices bacon, cooked and chopped 2 tablespoons clarified butter 6 large eggs, … Continue reading →

Easy Easter Recipes

Easter is less than a week away. Do you know what you’ll be making to celebrate? If you prefer sticking with traditional Easter dishes, then the following simple yet delicious recipes should come in very handy. To save time in the kitchen look for short cuts. For example, with the ham recipe, consider purchasing a fully cooked ham and dressing it up with the glaze listed below. In addition, for the Easter Petit Fours you can cut down on prep time by using store-bought pound cake. EASTER HAM Ingredients: Whole ham 1/2 cup peach or apricot preserves 1/2 cup honey … Continue reading →

Unbeatable Brunch Recipes

For many families today marks the end of winter break. Kids are back in school and leisurely mornings are a thing of the past. That said I know a group of moms who commemorated the day with a back-to-school brunch. The meal involved quick and easy recipes that minimized time in the kitchen and maximized time chatting about how the holidays were spent. I skipped out on the day’s festivities, but I did get a rundown on the mid-morning menu and the recipes that received the most raves: HAM AND EGG CASSEROLE Ingredients: 6 cups cubed bread (about 12 slices) … Continue reading →

Autumn Recipes: H is for Ham

Ham and bananas… they are among my preschooler’s favorite foods, regardless of the season. However, I would have never dreamed of pairing the two in a casserole. That is, until I saw Food Network chef Paula Deen do so with her usual aplomb on TV a few months ago. I swear that woman can make dirt look good enough to eat. Deen’s Cheesy Ham and Banana Casserole is a hit in my home (mainly due to the crushed potato chips that dot it) and is the prefect dish to pass at a fall potluck. It also makes for a wonderfully … Continue reading →

Pony Up to the Table for this Unique Sandwich

This is not your ordinary stick-in-your-kid’s-school-lunch-box type sandwich. The following culinary creation takes a bit of time and effort to prepare, but your taste buds will thank you for it (though your waistline might not). The “Ponyshoe” sandwich is considered the signature dish of Springfield, Illinois because it was created by two local chefs employed by the city’s Leland Hotel back in 1928. The sandwich is not for the faint of heart—-literally. It starts out with two slices of thick toasted bread. Those are topped with a monstrous piece of fried ham steak or two large hamburger patties. Add to … Continue reading →

Incorporating Asparagus into Everyday Dishes

In a previous guest blog I excitedly told you about the notice I received from our local farm announcing that the asparagus season had begun and that my share of the crop was ready to be picked up. Well, I just got back from the farm and I am now the proud owner of six pounds of fresh asparagus. (At $2 a pound how can you go wrong?) My mom was flabbergasted that I bought six pounds given that I am the only one in my family who really enjoys eating asparagus. “You’ll have to eat asparagus morning, noon and … Continue reading →

Hearty Ham Salad

If you have leftover ham in your refrigerator this is the ideal recipe for you. My dad loves ham and even when he was cooking for our family of eight he would make sure he had enough leftover to make ham salad the next day. Growing up I was never that fond of ham salad. Then I was introduced to the following recipe and all of sudden I became a devoted fan. No offense to my dad (who happens to be an incredible cook), but his ham salad was rather bland and uninspired. (Sorry Dad!) It wasn’t until I was … Continue reading →

Graduation Potluck: Fruit Muffins and Hearty Ham Bakes

My daughter is not even in school yet so graduation day is a long ways off. However, my friend’s daughter is graduating from eighth grade in a couple of weeks and to celebrate she is hosting a brunch following the morning ceremony. For a variety of reasons (not the least of which is the fact that she has six other children and most of the people attending the party are very close friends and family members) she decided to make the brunch a potluck. Which means I had to find recipes to make that could be doubled (or tripled) and … Continue reading →

Ham and Hashbrowns—A New Twist on an Old Favorite

I’m still trying to figure out ways to get my family to eat the leftover Easter ham that is taking up a ton of space in my refrigerator. Yesterday I shared a recipe that helped use up a nice chunk of ham, not to mention the leftover asparagus I had from the tasty Easter side dish that went with it. The following recipe is ideal if you are looking to get rid of a large portion of ham (if you double the recipe you could probably use up all your leftovers). It also calls for hashbrowns and eggs, which are … Continue reading →