Ham Bone Soup

For Christmas Eve we served a ham because it was super easy. We also served baked potatoes that didn't cook long enough. Where do you get small russet potatoes anyway?

We had a lot of leftover ham even after giving away a few pounds so we decided to utilize the ham in many ways. We made a delicious quiche and then we used the bone to make our very own ham stock and soup.  The soup is pretty low calorie, delicious and something to add to our freezer stash of soup.

By the way, if you do freeze soup, we recommend putting it in gallon and quart sized bags. Leave space for expansion and then place them on a rimmed baking tray and freeze on the tray. Once frozen, transfer to the freezer alone. They lie flat and don't use all your extra tupperware! You can heat from frozen too, it just takes a bit longer.

Ham Bone Soup

Ingredients
1 ham bone, meat removed
Any meat scraps (anything with skin, fat, whatever)
1 onion, diced
1 russet potato, diced
2 large carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Cup pinto beans
1 T fresh rosemary
1 T fresh thyme
salt
pepper
2 T olive oil
2 Cups diced leftover ham


Directions
1. In a large stock pot or dutch oven place the ham bone and ham scraps and cover with water.
2. Bring to a boil and turn down the heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until fragrant. *tip - step outside and back inside to see if it smells great yet*
3. Taste the broth and confirm it tastes like something other than water
4. Remove ham bone and skim out scraps
5. In a large skillet, heat olive oil
6. Add potato, carrot, onion and garlic. Saute until onion is translucent about 3 minutes
7. Add the onion mixture, ham, spices and beans to the broth
8. Bring to a boil
9. Lower heat and simmer at least 10 minutes or until dinner is served

Mine made at least 10 servings

Egg Sandwiches made at home are better

Last weekend we wanted to have some breakfast and we really had very little. So I made an egg sandwich with ham, egg, cheese and English muffins. It was fantastic.  Now that I have a favorite sandwich, I made something similar for lunch on Wednesday when I had bookend meetings to the lunch hour.  This time I omitted the cheese and added avocado.  Pure deliciousness.

This is the easiest thing to make and it takes hardly any time at all. By the time your muffin is toasted the egg is done!

Ingredients
1/2 small avocado
1 slice ham off the bone
1 egg
butter
1 whole wheat English muffin

Directions
1. Preheat pan to medium.  Break an egg into a bowl and then slide into the hot pan. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Fry the egg a few minutes until the white is opaque and the yellow looks slightly done. Be careful not to break the egg yolk on the transfer.
2. Toast the English muffin in the toaster or on the side of the pan.
3. Add ham to pan and heat til warm
4. Spread butter on the muffin, add ham, egg and avocado
5. Eat immediately and watch out for the egg which will break

Homemade Buttermilk Bread

 When we were at Epcot in February I had this delicious ham sandwich in France.  It was just ham, butter and cheese on a very fresh baguette. It was fantastic. I recall it as one of my favorite meals while there.  Ever since we returned I have been craving a similar ham sandwich.  So today, since I was at home I decided to make some bread.  The thing about bread is that it's like 10-15 minutes of hands on time and hours of hands off time. Perfect when you are working from home!

This bread uses buttermilk and that is primarily the reason I chose to make it--because I already had buttermilk!  The bread may not have worked exactly how it was intended to work because it was really dense and a little spongy possibly because of the Pam I sprayed on the pan and bowl a little bit greasy. Regardless it was a really hearty dinner! It is fun to make bread and then use it right away!  I recommend it. And if you are lucky, your yeast might be more active than my yeast.

I used this recipe. But with my perpetual fear of other blogs going away I am reposting it here.


Ingredients
1/4 C water, warmed
1 package active dry yeast
pinch of sugar
4 1/2 C flour
1 t salt (use regular because I think Kosher was too salty)
2-3 t honey
1 1/2 C buttermilk, warmed
1 egg, whisked (for baking)

1. Place yeast and sugar in the warmed water and let sit 10 minutes until foamy. Note - If it is not foamy after 10 minutes your yeast is not active and you must try again, always buy extra yeast!

2. Meanwhile, measure out all other ingredients into a mixing bowl.  Add yeast mixture and mix with the dough hook until a soft ball forms.

3. Remove the dough and place on a well-floured board and knead about 10 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise 1 hour/

4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead about 5 minutes. Shape into a loaf and place into a loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 40 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 375.  Remove plastic wrap and brush bread top with egg.  Bake 45 minutes.  Wait a tiny bit for your hot bread to cool before enjoying.  We loved it with ham sandwiches for dinner!

Hawaiian Pizza

The holidays have ended and we have a half ham hanging out in our fridge begging to be eaten. Not a fan of straight-up ham, I scoured the internet today in search of recipes in which to use the leftovers. The problem is that a lot of leftover ham recipes look disgusting or bring back painful memories. Ham salad is not my friend.

While searching the internet I came across a Von's ad telling me ideas to do with my leftovers. What a great idea! I searched the site and came across Hawaiian Pizza. The recipe seemed easy enough so I went to the store (and felt bad because Von's wasn't on the way so I didn't go there), got the ingredients and set to work. Our pizza didn't cook perfectly and for the second time I opened a can of Pillsbury Pizza Dough with a hole in it. I totally should've gone for the store brand. But, the pizza turned out edible and a "pretty good" from the toughest critics.

Next time I will:
Better drain the pineapple and make sure they aren't extra wet
Bake the pizza at 450 (instead of 400), despite my pan being non-stick it doesn't qualify as dark
Make sure the cheese is melted

Hawaiian Pizza
1/2 cup pizza sauce (I used the pre-made kind near the Boboli display)
2 C mozzarella cheese
1 C diced ham
1 can chopped pineapples in their own juice
1 pizza crust
Crushed Red Pepper (optional)

Directions:
-Pre-heat the oven to 450
-Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Spread the refrigerated dough in a rectangle on the prepared sheet.
-Spread pizza sauce (you may want a little more) on the dough leaving a half inch or less edge.
-Reserve 1/4 cup of cheese. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the sauce. Add the ham and pineapple chunks on top. Sprinkle with the reserved cheese.
-Bake according to the can directions 13-17 minutes until crust is golden and cheese is melted
-Slide off the pan to a wood board and let sit a few minutes before cutting, serve.

Anita's Ham Sandwiches

My parents came over on Tuesday so that my dad could paint one of the bedrooms. We offered to help, but he turned down our help so instead we decided to make sure he felt comfortable and at home. I worked all day so I was unable to really foster this comfort, however we tried.

For lunch, my mom made Anita's Ham Sandwiches. These sandwiches were a favorite of mine when we went to Michigan to visit our friends at their vacation cottage. Everything about that vacation cottage I loved, but these sandwiches stand out in my mind. They remind me of summer, and the beach, and coming in from a swim or a game of Old Maid just in time for lunch.

Anita's Ham Sandwiches
Ingredients
1 package plain boiled ham, thinly sliced (I used Farmer John's)
White Hamburger Buns (if you wanted mini sandwiches I think it would be excellent on those Hawaiian Sweet Buns)
1 package Swiss cheese
2 T finely chopped onions
2 t poppy seeds
1/4 C yellow mustard
1 T butter
Tin foil

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Melt the butter in the microwave. Combine with mustard, onions, and poppy seeds.
3. Spread mustard mixture on buns.
4. Top with ham and cheese and closing bun.
5. Wrap each sandwich in foil, place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
6. Serve immediately with carrot sticks