Posts Tagged ‘ham’

Last week our daughter Megan, her husband Jim, and their son Drew drove down from Michigan to spend a few days with us. We had a wonderful time with the whole family. This visit was a brief one, so we tried to make the best of it. Here are a few pictures of the fam:

We celebrated three birthdays while we were all together. Here Jim and Megan are celebrating at a birthday party for Topher:

Here is Drew:

Nora and Topher are planning to be married in April, so some wedding planning was going on during the visit. Here they are while we were waiting for lunch at Hubba Hubba Barbecue in Flat Rock, NC:

Mark and Katie were waiting for their lunch there too. They are also awaiting the birth of their first child in April. We are thrilled that we will have another little grandchild.

And, finally, here's a picture of Rob and me during the birthday celebration:

While everybody was here I baked a ham. We had a couple of meals from it with the family and now Rob and I are finishing up the leftovers. I made this casserole with a portion of it. It is sort of like a cheese souffle, but much less fussy. It will "fall" after you remove it from the oven and let it sit for any length of time, but it still tastes good and the leftovers can be reheated in the microwave. I cut the recipe in half for the two of us.

Cheese Puff

6 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever you like and have on hand)
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup cubed or ground ham

Beat eggs. Add flour and baking powder, then milk. Beat until smooth and then fold in the cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, and ham. Pour into a greased two quart casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the mixture is set. If you insert a knife in the middle of the dish it should come out clean. Serve immediately.

We usually have this for supper, but it would work for a breakfast or brunch if your family is apt to arrive at the table promptly.

Becka

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DH was at a conference at church Friday night and nearly all day and evening on Saturday, so I puttered around the house. Here are a few things I worked on:

I made another batch of granola. This time I tried a tropical blend with chopped dried pineapple, coconut, banana chips, and chopped cashews. I didn't know if we would like this combination, but we've found it to be quite tasty.

I worked on quilting another baby quilt. This one is made from a remnant of Thomas the train fabric and an old curtain from DS Mark's bedroom. I just need to add the borders and it will be finished. I adapted an idea from this book:

I had read about the book on a sewing blog and checked it out of the library. It was still in print and DH got it for me for Valentine's Day. All the quilts are simple without a lot of fussy piecing and are planned to go together quickly and easily.

I made a Ham Loaf for our Sunday dinner using some of the leftover Easter ham that I had ground up and frozen. My Aunt Nana used to make Ham Loaf and it had been years since I had eaten any. I made the loaf on Saturday and cooked it in the Crock Pot on Sunday.

DH got up at 5:30 AM to turn it on. It was perfectly cooked by lunch time. I had read this tip about putting the strips of foil in the crock pot in one of those little Pillsbury cookbooklets.

This is all that was left when I remembered to take a picture!

Here's the Ham Loaf recipe:

Ham Loaf

1 1/2 lbs. ground ham (about 3 cups) (I chopped it in the food processor)
1 lb. ground fresh pork
1 cup dry bread crumbs or cracker crumbs (can use graham cracker crumbs)
1 cup milk
2 eggs
dash pepper
1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion

Topping Sauce
1/4 cup catsup
2 Tbsps. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. dry mustard

Mix all ingredients well and form into a loaf. Top with some of the sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours or in crock pot for about 7 hours on low. (I added another portion of the sauce about 1/2 hour before the cooking time was up.)

I served the Ham Loaf with these green beans, which are also very tasty:
(note, I hadn't added the bacon in at this point.)

Skillet Green Beans, Tomatoes, and Bacon

6 slices bacon
1 large onion, sliced or diced
1 bag frozen green beans or about 1 lb. fresh, cleaned and snipped
1/2 cup chicken broth
dash pepper
1 large tomato, chopped (in the winter I use about 3/4 cup drained, diced canned tomatoes)

Cook bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble. Set aside. Sauté onions until slightly browned. Add beans, broth, and pepper. Cook until beans are tender, about 10-15 mins. Add tomatoes and cook briefly. Add bacon and serve. These are very tasty and attractive.

I hope your weekend was equally full and blessed.

Becka

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Do you ever get hungry for ham but find the prospect of utilizing a large piece of ham rather daunting? I have the perfect solution for you:

The Ham Slice

This nice little slice of ham costs about $4-5 dollars but can provide at least three meals for two people. I like to cut it into about five pieces. The meatier pieces can be browned in a skillet for a quick, easy meat serving and the piece with the bone in it can go into soup (such as corn chowder, ham and bean soup, or potato soup) or it can be diced up and used in scrambled eggs, egg casserole, or scalloped potatoes.

Here are a couple of pieces which have been browned in a skillet:

Here's a slice ready to be eaten:

This is delicious with a baked sweet potato!

Here's a bowl of bean soup:

So, keep this in mind the next time you get a hankering for ham.

Becka

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