Holiday Leftovers - Ham

We had an 8.5 lb. ham for dinner this past Sunday and I have been trying to find delicious new recipes to use it. I came up with a couple of recipes of my own and my husband threw another one together the other night.

Mini Quiche Appetizer

1/3 c. cooked ham, finely chopped

1/3 c. mushrooms, finely chopped

1/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese

5 eggs

1/4 c. half-n-half

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon dried minced onion

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic

pinch of pepper

1 lb. pizza dough (or you could use biscuit dough, crescent roll dough, etc.)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough into 24 balls. Roll each dough ball into a 3" circle. Press into the bottom and up the sides of 24 greased muffin cups.
2. In a medium bowl, combine ham, mushrooms, cheese, herbs, and spices. Place 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture into each muffin cup.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and half-n-half. Pour 2 tablespoons over the ham mixture in each muffin cup.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.

Holiday Leftovers Breakfast Pizza

1/2 c. sour cream

1/4 c. ranch dip (I made some for Thanksgiving and only had 1/4 c. left)

1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard

1 c. ham (you could also use crumbled bacon or sausage, or a combination of all three, just don't exceed 1 cup total)

1/2 a medium onion, cut into 1"x1/4" strips or so

2 c. fresh mozzarella, finely crumbled and/or shredded (I did a little bit of both)

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I prefer sharp or even extra sharp)

8 eggs

1/2 c. milk

1 teaspoon parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried chives

1/4 teaspoon garlic

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

pizza dough (my recipe is enough for a 16" hand-tossed style pizza crust)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, spices, and herbs. Pour into a large buttered sauté pan (we're making scrambled eggs), cook till just firm. Remove from heat; add ham and onion (this is also where you would add mushrooms, peppers, cooked hash browns, etc. if you chose), stir till combined.
3. In a small bowl (I just used the dip container), combine sour cream, dip, and mustard.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 16" circle. Place on a greased pizza pan. Spread the sour cream mixture over the dough evenly up to 1/4" from the edges. Top in this order: 2 1/2 cups of the cheese, egg mixture, 1 1/2 cups cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Some other good toppings: mushrooms, green peppers, hash browns.

Yield: 12 - 4" squares (feeds 4-6 people)

If you make this for dinner like I did, the leftovers make for a delicious breakfast the next morning.

Twist on Potatoes Au Gratin and Ham

I had planned to make potatoes au gratin with ham for dinner, but then the hubby got home from work just a little early (and the munchkins were still napping). We had just gotten about 2"-3" of snow and I'm a work-at-home mom all but one day of the week. So we decided to trade duties, the hubby made dinner and I shoveled (it felt good to get some fresh air and exercise in the peace and quiet of shoveling). Because of this trade, I do not have the exact measurements for most of ingredients, but you can play around with the ones that I have listed.

6 medium Idaho potatoes, sliced to 1/4" or so thick

6 Tablespoons butter

oil for the pan

1 to 1 1/2 cups cooked ham, chopped

1-2 teaspoons hot sauce (yes, my husband LOVES including Tabasco sauce in everything from eggs to casseroles)

2 teaspoons or so yellow mustard

1 cup whole milk or half-n-half

1-2 cups cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon each parsley, basil, and chives

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

1. Layer 1/2 potatoes, 1/2 the herbs, garlic, salt, pepper, 1/2 butter, hot sauce, 1/2 potatoes, 1/2 the herbs, garlic, salt, pepper, 1/2 butter, and hot sauce in a large sauté pan or skillet. Cover. Cook till al dente, stirring every 5 minutes or so.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together milk/cream and mustard. Add mixture, ham and cheese to potatoes, stir. Cook another 3-5 minutes, then transfer to a 2-qt. casserole. Place under the broiler (on low) for about 5 minutes. Remove and serve.