Whether you have leftover ham from Christmas or Easter or just a regular “everyday” family dinner, there are many great recipes that use ham. Simply wrap up what is left and serve it again in a couple of days and you will have a brand-new meal.
Instructions:
To prepare a Ham and Egg Brunch Casserole, start by making a white sauce. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter with some minced onion, shallot, or scallion. Do not allow it to brown. Slowly add 6 tablespoons of flour and then slowly whisk in 3 cups of warmed milk and slowly heat the sauce until it is thickened.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, spray or butter a baking pan, and assemble the casserole. The bottom layer will be thinly sliced and fully cooked ham. For the next layer, slice some hard cooked eggs that you had previously cooked and cooled. This can be between 6 and 12 eggs, depending on how many people you will be serving. (If you are only using 6 eggs, you may want to cut the white sauce recipe in half).
Sprinkle the top of the casserole with shredded Swiss cheese and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until heated through and the cheese is melted and light brown. Serve the casserole over toast or biscuits.
Another great way to use up some leftover ham is to mince it and add it to your favorite biscuit dough recipe. Try substituting apple juice for the liquid you usually use. If you use the usual 2 cups of flour, the amount of minced ham should be about 1/2 cup. Don’t forget that you can add diced ham to any number of “plain” meals, too, such as scrambled eggs or omelets, cold salads, casseroles, or grind it up for ham salad.
If your family enjoys quiche, this recipe makes two of them. Use aluminum disposable pie plates and you will be able to freeze one of them. Or cut the recipe in half to make just one “Ham Quiche with Asparagus.” You won’t need a traditional crust for this one, it makes its own.
First of all, grease your two pie plates and then put asparagus spears (make sure they have been cooked first!) into the bottom of the pie pans. Next add cooked (leftover is great) ham that you have chopped fine, 1 1/2 to 2 cups of Swiss cheese, and 1/2 cup of diced onion. Remember that these ingredients are to be divided between two pans, so each would get 1/2 pound of ham, about 1 cup of the cheese, and 1/4 cup of the onion.
Beat six eggs in a medium sized bowl and then slowly add 2 cups of milk. Add 1 1/2 cups of baking mix (buttermilk is best for this), salt and pepper to taste. Pour half of this mixture into each pie pan on top of the asparagus, ham, cheese, and diced onion.
Bake in a 375-degree oven that you have preheated for half an hour to 40 minutes. You will know when it is finished because it will be set and a knife that you put into the filling in the center will come out clean.
