Tag: HAM

BAKED HAM & CHEESE SANDWICHES

These little gems have become an ALL TIME tailgating appetizer favorite for any gathering!  You can change up the meats and cheese for your own liking 😀

BAKED HAM & CHEESE SANDWICHES
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons HEINZ yellow mustard**
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
3 teaspoons sugar
1 package King’s Hawaiian rolls (I use the 8 pack small burger size)
8 slices COLBY cheddar cheese, halved
8 thin slices of deli ham, halved
8 slices Provolone cheese, halved

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the butter, mustard or mayonnaise, onion, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and poppy seeds.
  • Place the bottoms in a 9×13 baking dish.
  • Brush each bottom with butter mixture.
  • Top each bun with layers of Colby cheese, deli ham and Provolone cheese folded to fit accordingly.
  • Brush with half the butter mixture.
  • Put roll tops on. Brush with remaining butter mixture.
  • Bake, uncovered 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted.

NOTE: I’m deathly allergic to mustard and substitute mayonnaise for the mustard and then put mustard on the serving table for others to use at their pleasure.

HOW THE DATE FOR EASTER IS DECIDED

Easter is going to be late this year! Do you ever wonder how the date is decided? Well, let me tell you what I found with a little research.

Unlike Christmas, the date of Easter Sunday changes every year and can fall anytime between March 22nd and April 25th.  Why is this you ask?

Because Easter Sunday is decided by complex calculations based on the moon.  Early on in Christianity different churches used different methods.  This led to disagreements that still exist today in some cultures.

Easter celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus which according to the Bible happened around the same time as Jewish Passover.  Passover typically begins the night of the first FULL moon AFTER the spring equinox (usually March 20th or 21st) EXCEPT in months when it is the SECOND full moon.  This most recently occurred in 2016.  The FULL moon can vary in each time zone so the Church calculates Easter from the 14th day of the ecclesiastic lunar month which is known as the paschal full moon.  Easter is the Sunday that follows the paschal full moon that falls on or after the equinox so can be from 1-7 days later.

In 1818 the full moon fell on the equinox, Saturday March 21, so Easter was the next day, March 22. Easter will not be this early again until the year 2285.  The earliest recent Easter was March 23 in 2008.  In 1943 a full moon fell on March 20, just before the equinox, so the paschal full moon was the next one on April 18 which was a Sunday so Easter was seven days later on April 25. It will not be this late again until 2038. The latest recent Easter was April 23 in the year 2000.

This year Good Friday will be April 19th and Easter Sunday will be April 21st.   You can find a table for upcoming Easter Sundays here.

CREAM OF POTATO HAM SOUP

CREAM OF POTATO HAM SOUP
1 pound YUKON gold potatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 ½ cup water
1 teaspoon FRESH ground Pink Himalayan salt
1 teaspoon FRESH ground tri-color peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
3 tablespoons butter
1 large shallot, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons Wondra flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups small diced ham steak
Grated sharp cheddar cheese for garnish

  • Bring water and chicken broth to a boil in a dutch oven.
  • Add potatoes and cook JUST until fork tender.
  • Remove potatoes and save 2 cups of the broth. Set aside.
  • When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, dice one third of the potatoes.
  • Toss the diced potatoes with a pinch of salt and set aside.
  • Mash two-thirds of the potatoes with 1 cup of the steaming broth, whisking until smooth.**
  • Melt butter in large sauce pan.
  • Add shallot, sauteing until soft.
  • Add the garlic, sauteing until fragrant.
  • Sprinkle in flour, stirring to blend until golden.
  • Slowly whisk in the whole milk, heavy cream and remaining 1 cup of broth.
  • Stir in Cream of Sherry and thyme.  Simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens.
  • Stir in potato puree.
  • Season to taste.
  • Add ham pieces, cooking a few minutes until ham is heated through.
  • Top with grated cheese.
  • Serve immediately.

**NOTE: DO NOT use a food processor.  Your potatoes will become gummy.

SPLIT PEA SOUP

When I went to bed last night it was a balmy 73 degrees.  As I lay there watching the news I was astounded that the weatherman said today’s high would be 46 with wind and rain.  Actually I didn’t believe him, but lo and behold I woke to thunder, rain, wind and 46 degrees.

That’s when I decided it was time to pull the Honey Baked Ham bone out of the freezer and make some split pea soup for dinner.  We’ll probably split a grilled cheese sandwich to go with it.

I’ve been making this recipe exactly the same way for over 20 years.  It’s that good – needs no updating. It’s smooth, creamy, chunky, slightly sweet and savory too! The beer gives it a pungent punch too.

I wrote and prepped this recipe and then forgot to post it so last night refers to last Sunday LOL 🙂

SPLIT PEA SOUP
1 Honey Baked Ham Bone
2 cups ham pieces
3 quarts water
1 small bag baby carrots, chopped
5 large stalk celery, leaves included, chopped
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
2 cups split green peas
2 cups split yellow peas
1/4 cup barley
1/4 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper & white pepper mix
1 bottle beer – Mystery ingredient – choose your favorite flavor
crispy bacon pieces for garnish

  • In a large stock pot, bring ham bone* & water to a boil. Boil until the meat is falling off the bone, about 1 – 1 1/2 hours)
  • Remove the bone and let cool enough so you can cut the meat off the bone. You should have about 8 cups water left.
  • In the mean time add the carrots, celery, onion (4 cups total) and seasonings to the water and return to a SLOW boil for 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
  • While the vegetables are boiling, rinse the peas and pick out any bad ones.
  • Cut the ham pieces off the bone. Refrigerate the ham pieces and discard the bone.
  • After the vegetables have cooked 45 minutes or until tender, add the peas and barley, cooking for another 1-1 1/2 hours or until peas are tender.
  • Add the beer and ham pieces back in and cook another 30-45 minutes.

NOTE*: I always save my honey baked ham bones after the meat is all cut off. I then freeze them and save them for future soups. I always get at least 2 cups of meat off when I boil the bone.

This makes a huge batch and I always freeze it in several batches (3-4) for future easy weeknight meals.  We usually pair it with a grilled cheese sandwich.

TODAY’S TRIVIA as heard by hubby on an old game show – Campbell’s soup used to fill the bottom of the bowl with marbles so the vegetables would be at the top giving the appearance of more vegetables in each bowl of soup. That trick was not done here – what you see is what you get.

Linking to SOUPER SUNDAY at Kahakai Kitchen and FULL PLATE THURSDAY at Miz Helen’s Cottage.

NAVY BEAN & HAM SOUP with GARLIC CHEESE BISCUITS

NAVY BEAN & HAM SOUP

1 ham bone with meat on it
2 stalks celery, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots, chopped
1 large shallot, chopped
3-4 fresh thyme sprigs
cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
Frank’s red pepper hot sauce
1/4 cup finely grated cheddar cheese

  • Soak the beans in room temperature water overnight.
  • Cover ham bone with water. Sprinkle generously with cayenne pepper, salt, thyme sprigs and black pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours or ham falls off the bone.
  • Strain the stock and separate into 2 separate 8 cup portions. Freeze 1 portion for your next batch of soup.
  • Return the stock to your pan and add the vegetables.
  • Bring to a boil. Add beans and ham pieces. Lower to a simmer for 2 hours.
  • Sprinkle with a few drops of Frank’s red pepper sauce and some grated cheese.
  • Serve with Garlic Cheddar Biscuits.

GARLIC CHEESE BISCUITS
2 cups biscuit baking mix
1 1/2 cups finely shredded Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup milk
1 clove finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons margarine, melted
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons butter

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
  • In a large bowl, combine baking mix, 1 1/4 cups of the Cheddar cheese, minced garlic and garlic powder.
  • Stir in milk.
  • Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
  • Brush biscuits with melted butter, and sprinkle with parsley, garlic salt and remaining cheese.
  • Bake for 5 more minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom.