Ham Lentil Potato Soup

Something I made to use up leftover boiled ham. I did not expect hubby to like this, and I was preparing a TV dinner for him and stepd. He tasted some (because the aroma of simmering soup had been enticing him), and he actually liked it! He said, "I should have this instead of the TV dinner. Next time you fix this, remind me that I liked it."

Ingredients:
2 cups cubed ham (fat trimmed off)
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup dried lentil
1 cup cubed carrots (I used leftover from boiled ham, so I placed these in the pot toward the end of cooking)
5 cups water + 2 cups tomato juice* (or just use plain water)
1 cup leftover mashed potato (mix this well with some of the water before placing in the pot
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
dash of ground basil leaves
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions:
Dump everything (if using uncooked carrots) in a big pot and stir. Let boil then lower heat and simmer covered for 1-1/2 hrs, stirring occasionally. Enjoy with freshly baked bread (and rice for you Filipinos). (If you are using the bread machine, prepare your bread before you start fixing this soup.)

*Note: The tomato juice I used was from canned raw tomatoes, which I drained to use for lasagna. I always save the juice and use it for things like this, or for sweet and sour sauce of escabeche.

Baked Mac&Cheese with Ham & Brocolli

From Baked Mac&Cheese with Ham & Broccoli

The ham I used in this baked mac&cheese was leftover from New Year's Eve supper. In this part of the USA, we do not really celebrate NY. But the great contrast in comparison with Philippines where NY is celebrated with big bang (and also greeted with gunshots and sirens of fire trucks or ambulance), along with a bountiful table to invite prosperity to one's home, made me want to prepare a

From Christmas

small special supper, which consisted of roasted ham, black eyed peas sautee, and rice and potatoes. With this small "feast" we still ended up with lots of leftovers (what can you expect with 4 eaters?). Over the next days I ate the black eyed peas which I cooked like how I would mung beans (munggo guisado), and so was getting better and better the longer it sat in the fridge.

But the ham remained for some time in the fridge...waiting to be re-invigorated.

From Ham & Onion Omelet

One of the ways I cooked the ham was as omelet, with chopped onions as its companion.My sons loved this.

Another way I cooked ham leftover was to add

From fried rice with ham cubes

it to fried rice along with frozen veggies (carrots and peas). Actually, my older son was the one who cooked this.

I had lots of cheese leftover too, from having eaten chili, plus I always have Velveeta and parmesan cheese in the fridge. And so, I looked for recipes for homemade baked mac&cheese (since my husband is so fond of boxed mac&cheese, I figured he would love the homebaked more). I found one video showing how to cook it, and the cook also used leftover ham and some New England cheeses (Cabot brand).

I just added the broccoli leftover also (from that post on porterhouse steaks). As I expected, it was a hit with my hubby, as well as the kids (well, even stepd is a big fan of mac&cheese).

Ingredients:

6 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1&3/4 cup half and half cream
1&1/4 cup shredded cheese
1&1/4 cup Velveeta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
3 cups diced ham
5 cups cooked macaroni
1 cup bread crumbs divided in two

Instructions:


Cook macaroni per package directions and drain.
Cook the rest of the ingredients as instructed in the slide show. Stirring CONSTANTLY is the key to avoiding making lumps.
Transfer to baking dish and bake at 350 deg F for 20 minutes.

This post is an entry to LaPiS with the theme Leftover.

Ham

The only form of Pork that really appeals to my husband is the HAM. We usually get this Ham Steak to break the monotony of beef. I just cook it on skillet-fried in minimal oil, served with mashed potatoes and either boiled greens or salad greens. This is good enough for the four of us.



If we are having my stepdaughter with us, Hubby prefers this Smithfield Hickory Smoked ham. I cook it longer than that written on the instructions, and I have not considered glazing it (I am not sure if this kind of ham would be good with a glaze) until I read Stel's post on glazes in WK.





I cook it longer to warm the core very well, then just slice it and usually we eat it with mac&cheese (Krafts is the favorite of hubby and his daughter). However we can't finish all this ham in one meal, so what I do with leftover is convert it to a kind of quesadilla but which I would rather label as Ham & Tortilla Stack.



What I do is, I slice them thinly, then place on a flour tortilla, layer them alternately with cheese (white, mozarella, or cheddar or a mixture of these), sprinkle with chopped veggies like bell peppers and onions for that side from where I would slice off my sons' and my shares. I repeat the layers until all the flour tortilla or all the ham slices are used. I top with another flour tortilla so that it appears like stacked pancakes. Then I microwave this for a minute or until the cheeses are melted. Then I divide them into slices much like you would a pizza. I serve it with sour cream and tomato salsa in separate containers, not on the slice itself. Though my older son only likes my home-made regular (not hot) salsa, my younger son, hubby and stepdaughter like to eat the ham-tortilla stack plain, and I like it with both hot salsa and sour cream.