Beans and Ham Hock Soup

This recipe sounds kind of gross, but it's actually really good (especially for beans!). I got it off the bob's red mill bean package.

Ingredients:
2 cups bean blend
2 1/2 quarts water (best with broth)
ham hock or ham shank
1 cup chopped onion
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce or 1 qt tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp- 1 TBSP chili powder
garlic, minced


Directions:
Wash beans then soak overnight. In the morning drain, rinse and bring water, beans and ham hock to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered, 3-3 1/2 hours. Add onion, tomato sauce/tomatoes, and seasonings. Simmer 30 minutes.

Once everything is cooked, I take the ham hock out and pull off the meat and put it back into the soup, throwing away the bone and other non edible parts.

Chive-Ham Brunch Bake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 Tbs butter

1 can (5 oz) chunk ham, drained (or any left over ham)

1 medium tomato, chopped

2 cups biscuit/baking mix

1/2 cup water

1 cup (4 oz) shredded Swiss or Cheddar cheese

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp dill weed

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

3 Tbs minced chives

Directions:

In a small skillet, sauté onion in butter until tender. Stir in the ham and tomato; set aside. In a small bowl, combine biscuit mix and water; mix well. Press onto the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Spread ham mixture over the crust; sprinkle with cheese. In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk, dill, salt, and pepper; pour over cheese. Sprinkle with chives. Bake uncovered at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

When I make this, I add anything on hand that I would to an omelet. More tomatoes, bacon, mushrooms, olives, etc. I then add an extra egg or two and increase the milk. Delicious.

From The Taste of Home Cookbook

Fried Rice

Make white rice.

While that is cooking, saute small-cut celery and carrots until soft. (Add any other veggies like peas, too.) Add the rice when it is done cooking and add butter and soy sauce to taste (I add about 1/2 a stick of butter for about 3 cups cooked rice). After mixed together scoot everything to edges of pan and scramble 2-3 eggs in the middle. Once they are cooked mix everything together.

Done!

Romano Ham Linguine

12 oz linguine

2 T flour

12 oz evaporated milk

1 1/3 c water

4 c cooked ham, cubed

1 red bell pepper, sliced

2 T butter

1/2 t salt

4 oz mushrooms

1 chicken bouillon cube

1/2 c romano cheese, grated

1 T veg oil

Melt butter in saucepan, stir in flour and salt, adding evaporated milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir one more minute. Add liquid from mushrooms, water and bouillon cube. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until slightly thickened and bubbly. Add ramono cheese and stir until melted and smooth. Add ham and mushrooms. Cool and place in freezer bag. To serve, thaw and reheat. Serve over linguine.

Baked Chicken Saltimbocca

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs/crushed stuffing mix
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto or deli boiled ham (opt)
1 jar marinara sauce
mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
spaghetti, cooked and drained

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Dip chicken in egg, then bread crumbs, coating well. Arrange chicken in 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake 20 minutes. Top chicken with prosciutto, then 1-1/2 cups pasta sauce. Bake 10 minutes more. Top with mozzarella cheese and cook until melts. Serve over hot spaghetti tossed with remaining heated sauce.

Ham Balls in Pineapple Sauce

1 recipe Ham loaf.

Roll meat into 1 inch balls. Set aside.
Make sauce.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup white vinegar
• 1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 1 Tbs ginger
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup brown sugar

Pour sauce over balls and bake 350 for 1 hour. Cover first 30 minutes with tin foil and uncover for remaining 30 minutes.

Ham Loaf

Breno's friend from school gave us this recipe. It is delicious with left over ham from the holidays.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground ham (I grind this myself)
• 1 lb ground pork (for a spicy loaf substitute in 1 lb sausage)
• 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs (I use stuffing mix as I always have it on hand)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk (I use water with the stuffing mix and it turns out fine-for diary free)

Mix all ingredients. Put in loaf pan. Bake 350 for 1 hr (160 degrees inside). Cover with foil first 30 minutes and then remove remaining 30 minutes (optional). Spread with ham glaze afterwards (store bought) or 15 minutes prior to finishing, I sprinkle top with brown sugar and squirt on some ketchup.

CRUNCHY HAM & POTATO CASSEROLE

2 lbs. southern style frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. butter, melted (optional)
1-2 c. cubed, cooked ham
1/3 c. chopped onion (optional)

TOPPING:
2 c. crushed corn flakes
1/4 c. butter, melted

Combine all casserole ingredients and mix well. Place in 13"x9"x2" baking dish. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle on casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour*.

*I used fresh, grated potatoes and had to cook them for a lot longer than 1 hour, so I'm not sure how hash browns will cook.

Ham Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• Cooked rice (day old rice is best!) 
• Cooked ham, diced
• 1/4 cup onion, diced (opt)
• 1/4 cup bell pepper, diced (opt)
• Mixed veggies (frozen or fresh, I like broccoli, carrots, peas, and corn)
• 2-4 eggs, beaten
• Soy Sauce
• Brown Sugar (opt)
• Salt/pepper

Directions:
Cook rice (do not over cook!). Sauté onion and bell pepper in some olive oil in a large frying pan. Add veggies and stir fry until mostly done (add more oil as needed). Add the ham and cook until hot. Cook eggs in separate pan and add (or in same pan if there's room). Add some soy sauce and 1-2 Tbs brown sugar (decreases the salty taste of the soy sauce); mix. Add the rice, mix and sauté. Add salt/pepper; Add more soy sauce to taste (careful not to add too much!).

Asparagus with turkey or bacon

Ingredients:

• Asparagus
• Oil
• bacon or turkey sandwich meat

Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Rinse Asparagus and snap off ends using hands. If using bacon, cook in frying pan for a few minutes (until halfway done). Place bacon in baking sheet. Saute asparagus in bacon fat, or if using turkey, saute asparagus in 1/2 Tbs oil. Place asparagus on baking sheet in between bacon, or wrap in turkey/bacon (1-3 asparagus for each piece of meat). Cook in the oven at 400° for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:

• 8 cups cold water


• 1 small ham hock (I usually use precooked ham)


• 1 lb split green peas (about 2 cups)


• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced


• 1 large celery stalk, diced


• 1 medium onion, diced


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• small bunch parsley


• 1 tsp dried thyme


• 1 bay leaf


• ground black pepper


• croutons

Combine water, ham and split green peas in a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. Stir in carrot, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, thyme and bay leaf. Simmer until ham hock and peas are tender, about 1 hour more. Season with lots of ground black pepper to taste. Remove the ham hock. Discard bone, skin and fat. Dice meat and return to soup. For a thicker soup, simmer to desired consistency. Garnish with croutons.

Ham and Pasta Casserole

Ingredients:
8 ounces spaghetti, cut into small lengths
1-2 cups diced cooked ham
3 tablespoons butter
4 to 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
4 to 6 green onions, trimmed, thinly sliced (I use regular onions instead sometimes)
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon garlic seasoned pepper or other pepper blend
dash cayenne or other hot pepper, as desired
more seasoning and pepper, to taste
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese plus additional for topping if desired

Preparation:

Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water, following package directions. Drain and rinse in hot water; put in 8X8 casserole dish. At the same time, do the following:

Heat butter over medium low heat; add sliced mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are tender; add green onions. Gradually stir in most of chicken broth and milk reserving some to mix with flour. Whisk remaining broth/milk with flour then add to the rest of the mixture. Add seasonings. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Taste and add more seasonings, if needed. Add in ham and cheese and pour over spaghetti and mix together. I like to put a little extra cheese on top (with tinfoil on top of the dish while baking). Place in an 8X8 casserole dish and Bake at 325° for 25 to 30 minutes, until bubbly and cheese is melted.