Ham. Ham. And more ham.

[DottyG]

When I was at the grocery store the other day, they were having a sale on hams.  For those of you who know HEB - it was the "Fully Cooked" line.  I got the smallest one they had, but it was still quite large - as I found out last night when I heated it up!

So, I now have ham.  Lots of ham!  I had some last night for supper.  And, I'm now eating a ham sandwich for lunch (just a basic one - bread, ham and mustard).

I'm going to use the bone for some beans - of course!  I'm a Southern female; what else would I do?!

But, what do I do with all this ham I have now?  I need recipes (easy ones) that will help me use this up before it goes bad.

How do you make ham salad, for instance?  Any good recipes out there?

What else can I do that'd be tasty - but not expensive or time-consuming?

[MDefarge]

I love ham chopped up and tossed in with Macaroni and Cheese - either homemade or the boxed stuff.

[Rei-chan]

My Mom used to make ham salad that was fantastic!  I went and dug up her old recipe box and here's what I came up with:

Ham Salad Sandwich Filling

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup ground ham
1 tablespoon minced green pepper OR 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
2 teaspoons yellow OR dijon mustard

Blend well and serve on white or rye bread.

I have always used pickle relish and dijon mustard personally, and it came out great.  The recipe box is a little unorganized (I think it tumbled around after our last move) but I will look through it and post more if I find anything.  My Mom was a great cook, and I am glad to be able to share her recipes somewhere!  Hope you find a use for all that ham!   

[sillysquirrel]

I use ham in my breakfast casserole.

grease a regular size (9x11??) casserole dish.

1-2 cups cooked ham
1 bag frozen hasbrowns, diced or shredded
1 can mushrooms (not required)
1 cup cheese (I like colby jack)
mix in the casserole dish.

In a bowl mix together:
3/4 cup Bisquick mix
2 eggs
1 cup milk
Pour this mixture in the casserole dish and bake,
at 400 for 45 minutes.

For a healther recipe use Bisquick reduced-fat, egg beater, and skim milk.

[White Dragon]

According to my cookbook, the definition of eternity is "two people and a ham".

We make "ham a-la king". Not fancy, but it works.

Make a basic white sauce (butter, flour, milk)
Or, open a can of Alfredo sauce.

Dice:
pepper
onion
mushroom
tomato
celery
(any vegetable you like)
plus a cup or so of ham.

Mix with sauce and serve over linquine or other pasta.

Another thing we do is dice up the ham into measured amounts ( 1 or 2 cups) and freeze it. They can be used in soup, omlettes, a-la king etc. We mix it with leftover diced chicken for jambalaya too.
Need to whip up some ham pate for that party? Defrost some diced ham and carry on!

St Monica

[ITSJUSTME]

I also add ham to mac & cheese and to au gratin potatoes.

Ham Hash
Dice a potato or two and some onion and cook these in oil, butter or bacon fat, whichever you have or prefer, until the potato is tender and just about done.  Add some diced, minced, cubed or however you like to chop it ham and continue to cook until the ham is hot and maybe even getting brown and crispy around the edges.  Season with pepper and salt, if it's not already too salty, and ketchup or hot sauce.  Good with eggs and toast or just by itself.

Find a recipe for spaghetti carbonara and use ham instead of bacon or pancetta.

While the pasta is cooking, DH cooks garlic in olive oil with a little crushed red pepper flakes, adds ham, and in a separate bowl mixes a couple eggs and lots of grated parmesan cheese.  When the pasta is done he adds the eggs and the pasta to the pan with the ham and tosses it all together.  The hot pasta cooks the eggs and it makes a creamy sauce.  Very tasty.  Be sure to cook the ham and garlic in a pan huge enough to hold the pasta and eggs.

[DottyG]

These are all great!  THANKS, y'all!

How long will my ham stay edible (if I don't freeze it)?

It came "fully cooked" so all I had to do was heat it for an hour and a half.  I did that Monday night.  How long do I have before I have to throw it out or worry about food poisoning?

(It's in the fridge, of course.)

[sillysquirrel]

Ham never lasts long at my house  , so I'm guessing give it up to 5 days.

[Bethalize]

What else can I do that'd be tasty - but not expensive or time-consuming?

I wonder if you're talking about what I call gammon.

Do you like leeks?

Slice ham thinly. Cook two leeks per person. Wrap leeks in ham. Wrap large chunks of cheddar or similar hard cheese in ham. Make cheese sauce from favourite recipe (I like a roux made with butter) and pour over wrapped leeks and cheese. Heat in over for 13-20 minutes at 380.

HTH

[DottyG]

Guess what I had for lunch today!


NOT HAM!!!!!  I'd had ham every meal since Monday night, and I was just about sick of it.  It felt wonderful to actually eat something else for lunch today!

[VorFemme]

Ham - how to eat ham, let me list a few of my favorite things.......

Slices of ham in sandwiches.  Slices of Swiss, mozzarella, or other cheese optional.  Hot ham & cheese, cold ham & cheese, or ham on a bun with lettuce & tomato.

Chopped ham in an omelet with cheese, onion, and tomato.

Ham with brown sugar and crushed pineapple with some mashed potatoes, a salad, and a veggie.

Diced ham in macaroni and cheese.

Ham stir fry with carrots, celery, bean sprouts, bamboo slivers, and onion in soy sauce, apple jelly, and cooking sherry sauce over brown rice.
Ham steak with eggs, toast, and jelly.

Rolled thin slice of ham with cream cheese & chive filling piped in.

Ham slice with macaroni & cheese and some applesauce (or other hot apple dish).

A nice salad with ham slivers - cheese optional.

FREEZE some ham for another day.

[Summrs]

This might sound weird, but it's yummy.

Top slices of ham with a fair amount of ketchup, then with a healthy topping of brown sugar.  Then broil.  Use foil under the ham. We used to love this with breakfasts when we were kids... (now it's more of a late night snack, lol)

[jamiescudder]

I had a friend make a delicious casserole with ham, rice and cheese.  The rice needs to be precooked (great if you have leftover rice) and then you just mix in the ham and cheese and bake until it's hot clear through.

I like to make sweet and sour sauce and put it over my ham. This one's good with rice too.