5 Ways to use leftover Easter ham

Anyone else have lots of delicious ham or ham bones after the weekend?  I can never decide which I like better, the freshly baked ham, or all the ways to use the leftovers!  Here's 5 of my favorite ways to use leftover ham:

1.  Creamy Ham and Wild Rice Soup - This is one of my favorite soups, and a great way to use leftover ham.  You can also cook it with the hambone in, then remove the bone and cut off any remaining ham to add back in to the soup.

2. Split Pea Soup - The classic leftover hambone recipe!  So inexpensive, feeds an army, and tastes delicious, especially with extra freshly ground pepper.

3. Ham & Bean Soup - Ok, so we really love soup around here!  Here's a comfort food classic that's always a hit!

Pierogi Lasagna

This little creation was thought up/seen somewhere by my dear husband and since it's way less time consuming than actual pierogis (which he's been excited to try making since he got me a pasta attachment for my mixer), I decided to humor him and give it a shot.   I mean, carb overload aside, what can go wrong by mixing noodles, mashed potatoes, and sautéed onions?  I say win/win.  So, the result of my Saturday experiment is this yummy comfort food classic, pierogi lasagna. It would also be a great use for leftover mashed potatoes (though probably on a smaller scale). Here's how Mama makes it:

Pierogi Lasagna

Total time: 90 min
servings:  8




Ingredients:
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 6 T. butter
- 4 medium onions, thinly sliced
- 1 t. salt
- 1/2 t. black pepper
- 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
- 6 c. garlic mashed potatoes* (see my recipe below)


*garlic mashed potatoes:
- 3 lb. bag red potatoes, washed, peeled, and quartered
- 4-5 whole garlic cloves
- 6 T. butter
- 3/4 to 1c. milk
- salt/pepper, to taste

Creamy Ham and Wild Rice Soup

Call me crazy, but I jumped at the opportunity to host Easter less than a week after we moved in to our new house.  I was eager to show the house to everyone and it made for a great excuse to make sure my kitchen was painted ASAP.  I used this ham glaze from the Pioneer Woman and IT WAS AWESOME!!  Everyone really liked it, but as usual, I over-cooked so we had a good amount of leftovers.  Based on a Betty Crocker recipe, here's how I used some of the leftovers to make a soup for my mom, grandma, and aunt who came to visit a few days later.  It was a big hit, too!

Creamy Ham and Wild Rice Soup

Cook in a lined or greased slow cooker over low heat for 7 to 8 hours:

- 2 c. chopped cooked ham

- 1 c. chopped carrots

- 2-3 small red potatoes, sliced

- 1 medium onion, chopped

- 2 c. chicken stock

- 1 can low sodium cream of celery soup

- 3 c. water

- 1/2 c. wild rice

- 1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper

add last 15-20 minutes before serving:

- 1 c. half-and-half

- 2 T. dry sherry, optional

- 1/4 c. sliced almonds

- 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

printable recipe
And here's some cute kiddo pics to look at while you're waiting for your soup to cook:

Curried Chickpea Salad

When I saw this recipe for curried chickpea salad on Pinterest, I just knew we had to try it!  Chickpeas and curry are two of our absolute favorites, and with a couple little tweaks, it was a perfect weekday meal with lots of leftovers.  Paired with whole wheat pitas and some fresh fruit, I was obsessed with this stuff.  Here's how Mama and her little helper make it:

Curried Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

- 1 apple, chopped

- 3 medium carrots, chopped

- 1/2 c. raisins

- 1 bunch green onions, chopped

- 1/2 c. mixed nuts, coarsely chopped

- 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

- 3/4 c. hummus

- juice of 1 lemon

- 2 T. curry (we like a lot, so start with less if you prefer)

- 1/2 t. garlic powder

- 1/2 t. cumin

- 1 T. cilantro paste or 2 T. freshly chopped

- 2 T. cider vinegar

- salt and pepper, to taste

Freeze Ahead Meals: Meatloaf, Taco Meat, Enchiladas, and Loose Meat Sandwiches

One of the strangest things for me with my second pregnancy has been the nesting instinct.  With Annalyn, it was easy - I had to get the nursery ready, clothes washed/organized, essentials purchased/cleaned/organized and reorganized when I decided my original method made no sense (mostly because I had no idea what would make sense once she was actually here), books to read, blankets/booties/hats to knit, and impending parenthood to ponder/look forward to/stress about.  I definitely had plenty to keep me busy. 

This time around, I have more than enough to keep me busy (things like a two yr old, full time job, etc.), but in terms of getting ready for baby, not so much.  The nursery's already done, including a big girl bed for Annalyn so she doesn't resent baby for taking over her crib.  I've gone through all the giant tubs of baby clothes and made room for them.  I even finished knitting her blanket last week (big relief!) and bought cute little matching outfits for the girls for the day we bring her home.  Michael has a list of things to retrieve from the attic (car seat, burp clothes, etc.) and hopefully with nagging he will get them down within a couple weeks.  We've hired our new nanny and made plans with friends/family for when baby makes her arrival.  I've even started collecting items for my hospital bag since Annalyn came 3 weeks early.  Truly, we are almost ready!  Yet, I feel like I should be doing more. 

So in an effort to feel productive and do something, I decided to start making a few freeze ahead meals for my last weeks of pregnancy/first weeks of new baby.  I made a few of these before Annalyn and along with meals that our friends/family/neighbors brought, we were so grateful for them.  Since my time is much more accounted for these days, I decided it would be best to carefully plan the preparation of these meals to be as efficient as possible.  So day one of freezer meals included all ground beef recipes:  meatloaf, taco meat, beef enchiladas, and loose meat sandwich meat.  To be honest, I was very impressed with how quickly and easily these all came together.  Take a look at how our day went:


Day one of my last vacation before Emelina arrives:
- 10 am:  OB appointment with Annalyn (and office was running about 40 min behind)
- 11:30 - 12:30pm:  groceries (to buy the ingredients) and birthday treat delivery to Tammy at the pharmacy
- 1 - 3pm:  lunch and snuggles with Peanut
- 3 - 5pm:  naptime for Peanut and cooking like mad for Mama!  I successfully made 6 freezer meals all while she was napping.  Whew!  Talk about a feeling of accomplishment.  Special thanks to my Michael for helping clean up the mess and grilling brats for dinner.

Here's how Mama coordinated it:

Ground Beef Freezer Meals

Ingredient list:  (includes 1 meatloaf, 2 qt. bags taco meat, 2 pans of 6 enchiladas each, and 1 qt. bag loose meat sandwich meat)

- 6 lbs. ground beef
- 3 large or 4 medium onions, chopped (can be done ahead!)
- 2 cans black beans
- 1 (7 oz.) can chopped green chiles
- 1 (5 3/4 oz.) jar sliced green olives
- 2 ( 3.8 oz.) cans sliced black olives
- 4 pkg taco seasoning
- 2 T. mustard
- 2 T. cider vinegar
- 1 T. brown sugar
- 1 pkg Ritz crackers, crushed
- 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 t. Lawry's seasoning salt
- 2 eggs
- 24 oz. white Velveeta cheese
- 1 1/2 c. fat free sour cream
- 12 tortillas
- 2/3 c. shredded cheddar
- salt and pepper as needed
- quart freezer bags
- 8 inch square foil pan
- two 9x13" foil pans
- aluminum foil and plastic wrap

Last Minute Thanksgiving Menu Planning

Since I just haven't gotten around to cooking up any exciting new Thanksgiving recipes ahead of time this year, I figured I would give you a list of my favorite turkey day recipes.  I did a whole series of plan ahead recipes last year, so they are just ready and waiting to be compiled!  Here's how Mama does Thanksgiving:

1.  The turkey:  This lemon herb turkey recipe is my favorite way to roast the bird.  Try it with clementine oranges for a twist on this classic.



2.  Garlic mashed potatoes:  For me, there's only one way to do mashed potatoes - skins on, whole garlic mashed in, sour cream, butter, and lots of lumps.  Not a fan of garlic?  Leave it out, the potatoes won't mind. 

Pie Crust Cookies

In honor of my mom's birthday today, here's one of her favorite recipes that she used to make a lot when we were kids.  (Minus the honey of course, because she's not a fan.)  It's simple, yet oh so yummy and will satisfy any cinnamon/sugar craving.  I decided to make some the other night as a special treat for my family with the extra pie crust I had in the fridge.  Annalyn and Michael definitely approved!  Here's how Mama makes it:

Pie Crust Cookies

Ingredients:
- 1 pastry for 1 crust pie (I used an extra Pillsbury roll out crust I had on hand)
- 2 T. yogurt butter
- 2 T. cinnamon/sugar
- 1 T. honey

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment.  Roll out the pie crust and place on the prepared pan.

2.  Spread butter evenly across the pastry, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

3.  Fold the pastry in half and cut into slices.   Sprinkle with a little more cinnamon and sugar.  Separate slices slightly, then bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

4.  Remove from oven and drizzle with honey.  Serve warm alone or with a little ice cream or whipped cream.

printable recipe



Peanut was pretty excited for her evening treat!  Especially when we handed her a whole one - "Big one!  Mmmm, delicious!"  (one of her latest and most adorable sayings!)





The Return of Chili Season!

For the first time in awhile, I actually waited until official Fall to make a big pot of chili.  Usually the first day under 70 degrees, I get excited and go for it, but with all the wedding craziness in the past month, I had lots to distract me.  So imagine my excitement over this delicious chili on the third day of Fall. 

In our house, we make all kinds of chili.  A couple of our favorite (and most frequently made) ones are chicken chilies (like this and this one), but this time I decided to make a good old-fashioned beef chili like both of our mamas always made.  Well, sort of...  I started with a good old-fashioned typical chili base - beef, tomato, beans, onion, and chili powder, but added some Eddie favorites, too.  We have unique tastes in our household, so green/black olives, garden jalapenos, and a little Cajun seasoning were also involved.  All three of us LOVED it!  Here's how Mama makes it for her loves:

Family Favorite Beef Chili

Ingredients:

(8 WW pts per 1 c. serving)

- 1 lb. ground beef (5% or less fat)

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 2 T. minced garlic

- 1 jalapeno, chopped and seeded

- 7 oz. can chopped green chilies

- 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

- 14.5 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

- two 15 oz. cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

- two 2.25 oz. cans sliced black olives

- 1/3 c. sliced green olives

- 2 c. chicken stock

- 1/4 c. chili powder

- 2 T. Cajun seasoning

- 1 t. cumin

Serving suggestion:  top with small amount of reduced fat shredded cheese (may affect WW pt values)

Chicken Sausage & Mushroom Casserole

Here's a delicious, hearty Weight Watchers meal that was a hit with the whole family.  The portions are big and it combines veggies, meat, whole grains, and dairy all in one dish.  Not to mention, it yields lots of leftovers for the rest of the week - a definite plus for a working mama!  Here's how Mama makes it:

Chicken Sausage & Mushroom Casserole

Ingredients:
makes 8 servings, 9 WW pts each
- 12 oz. uncooked whole wheat rotini
- 1 t. olive oil
- 1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
- 2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 t. Italian seasoning
- 8 oz. cooked Italian chicken sausage, thinly sliced
- 1 medium yellow pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 medium uncooked onion, chopped
- 1 lb. sliced mushrooms
- 1/4 c. sliced black olives
- 2 T. water
- 4 c. marinara sauce (I didn't have this much, so I used 3 c. marinara, 1/4 c. tomato paste, and 3/4 c. water to make up the difference - this does not affect point values)
- 1 c. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Leftover Lasagna Apple Dumplings

Here's a dish that combines two of my favorite things - creative leftover solutions and well, dessert!  I don't know about you, but I always find myself with leftover lasagna noodles.   Whether they are cooked and not used or just the odd ones left in the box, I never seem to have just the right amount.  So what to do with the rest?  Recently, I saw this idea, and decided I had to try it.  In the name of quick 'n easy, I decided to use canned pie filling, which is tasty, easy, and leaves you with lots of options as far as flavors (I bet peach would be delicious, too!).  Serve on it's own, with ice cream, whipped cream, or granola for a little crunch.  Any way you cut it, it's definitely better than throwing away those leftover noodles!  Here's how Mama makes it:

Leftover Lasagna Apple Dumplings

 

Ingredients:

- 6 cooked lasagna noodles (adjust the recipe to what you have)

- 1 can apple pie filling

- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 1/2 - 1 t. cinnamon
- 1/2 c. water

- serving suggestion:  ice cream, whipped cream, granola, powdered sugar, etc.

Crockpot Red Curry Lentils

Here's an amazing recipe from Pinch of Yum - Red Curry Lentils.  The flavors and texture are excellent and the smell is divine!  Not to mention, it can all be thrown in a slow cooker and feeds an army.  Like most curry recipes, it's great as leftovers and Annalyn LOVES it!  This will definitely become a regular at our house.

 

Crockpot Red Curry Lentils

 

 

Ingredients:

- 4 c. regular brown lentils

- 2 onions, diced

- 4 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 T. minced ginger

- 4 T. butter (optional)

- 5 T. red curry paste

- 1 T. garam masala

- 1 1/2 t. turmeric

- 2 t. sugar

- a few good shakes of cayenne pepper

- 2 cans tomato puree (29 oz. each)

- 1 t. salt plus more to taste

- 1/2 c. coconut milk or cream

- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (keep some for garnish)

- rice for serving

Spinach Pesto Polenta

Here is my version of this Savory Polenta recipe by Alton Brown.  By adding pesto and a little spinach, you can incorporate some beautiful color, great taste, and a few important nutrients.  The best way I can describe polenta is cornmeal risotto.  Like risotto, it requires lots of stirring to make this grain into a beautiful creamy dish.  Here's how Mama makes it:

Spinach Pesto Polenta

Ingredients:
- 2 T. olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 c. chicken or vegetable stock
- 1.5 c. coarse ground cornmeal
- 5 T. unsalted butter
- 1/3 c. basil pesto
- 3 t. kosher salt
- 1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
- 3 oz. parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 c. chopped spinach

Chicken Fried Brown Rice

Here's one of the healthier fried rice recipes I've ever read or tasted.  I love recipes that cut down calories without sacrificing flavor- genious!  Based on this Brown Fried Rice with Chicken and Vegetables recipe by Liz DellaCroce of The Lemon Bowl, one of my favorite healthy food blogs I've recently discovered.  In the post, she encourages you to use whatever vegetables you have on hand, which is exactly what I did.  In fact, by using frozen vegetables, I was able to make this dish without buying a single ingredient.  Versatile, simple, quick, and tasty... sounds like a workin' mama meal to me!  Here's how this Mama makes it:

Chicken Fried Brown Rice

Ingredients:

- 8 oz. chicken breast, diced (I used 2 out of a 3 pack, so probably closer to 12-16 oz.)

- 1 medium onion, diced

- 1.5 c. frozen broccoli, cooked and chopped

- 1 c. frozen mixed veggies, cooked and chopped

- 3/4 c. edamame, shelled and cooked

- 1 egg

- 2 c. leftover brown rice (preferably cold - making it the night before allows you to greatly reduce the cooktime, too.  I put it on the stove after work and by the time we went to bed it was done!)

- 1 T. sesame oil

- 2-3 T. soy sauce

- 1 T. rice vinegar

- 1 c. scallions, minced (I didn't have these, but I think it'd be delicious!)

White Chicken & Artichoke Lasagna Roll Ups

After the amazing white chicken lasagna my sister, Emily, made for us last time we visited, I've been inspired to make my own version.  Since I was feeling creative and fancy, I decided to make lasagna roll ups instead of traditional lasagna (which you could absolutely make with this recipe, too!).  After some brainstorming, I came up with this delicious alternative.  It will probably blow your socks off.  Just like traditional lasagna, it makes for awesome leftovers, too! Here's how Mama makes it:

White Chicken & Artichoke Lasagna Roll Ups

Ingredients:
- 2 c. shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 c. part-skim ricotta cheese
- 2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided (reserve 1 cup for topping)
- 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
- 1 t. salt
- 1 t. black pepper
- 2 T. minced garlic
- 1 (14 oz.) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
- 1/4 c. chopped sundried tomatoes
- 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil (about a handful, keep a couple of the smaller leaves for garnish)
- 8-10 lasagna noodles (only 8 will fit in a 9x13 pan, but it never hurts to make a couple extra in case one gets broken or dropped or licked by a dog or bitten by a baby or any other combination of animal/baby destruction!)
- 1 T. olive oil
- 2 c. alfredo sauce (store bought or homemade)



Mama's alfredo:
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1 1/2 c. whole milk (or cream)
- 1 c. grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/4 t. pepper (black or white)
- pinch nutmeg



Comfort Food Classic: Ham & Bean Soup

Here's a comfort food classic for leftover ham.  I found this great dried bean mixture made specifically for ham soup, so I decided to give it a shot (you can also use the dried bean mixes for bean soup).  From there, add veggies and spices of your choice and you've got a perfect way to use leftover ham.

Ham & Bean Soup

Ingredients:

- 1/2 bag dried bean mix

- 1/2 lb. leftover ham or hambone with some ham left

- 1 onion, chopped

- 2 celery stalks, sliced

- 1 green bell pepper, chopped

- 2 T. minced garlic

- 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes

- 1 t. chili powder

- 1/2 t. black pepper

- 1/2 t. dill weed

- 4-6 cups water (I had to add a couple more cups while simmering because it cooked down so much)

Spinach Potato Soup with Tomato & Basil

As long as we have soup ingredients, I say let it snow! let it snow! let it snow!



Here's a warm delicious soup inspired by our recent snow day.  Using leftovers and items from my pantry, I came up with this creamy nutritious soup recipe.  We ate it alone for a light lunch, but it would also go great with grilled cheese sandwiches.  Once again, it turned out to be a great dish to share with Peanut - after eating some of her own lunch, we gave her some soup to try and she ended up eating a whole little bowl full of it!

Spinach Potato Soup with Tomato & Basil

Ingredients:

- 2 T. olive oil

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 2 c. leftover garlic mashed potatoes

- 1 carton chicken stock (4 cups)

- 3 c. packed baby spinach (I only had about 1.5 - 2 c., but I think it could use more)

- 2 T. basil (paste, dried, or fresh)

- 1 t. Italian spice mix

- 1 t. salt

- 1/2 t. black pepper

- 1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes

- 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

6 Creative Ways to Use Leftover Turkey

Every year, I'm excited to have leftover turkey, but I never want to just reheat and serve it like we did the day before.  So then comes the question - what to do with leftovers?  Leftover mashed potatoes is easy - in fact, I often make mashed potatoes just so I can use the leftovers to make this cheddar potato soup.  But with turkey, the possibilities are endless.  This year, we have somehow managed to come out of two Thanksgiving dinners with no leftovers.  I guess we'll have to chalk it up to careful planning!  So instead of showing you what I did with leftovers, I figured I'd give you a list of some recipe ideas (honestly, you can use just about any chicken recipe and substitute turkey).  Here are some of our favorites:

1.  Turkey Chili Verde - add a little spice to your Thanksgiving weekend with this delicious turkey chili made with salsa verde.