Easter Traditional Meals and Delicious Ham Leftovers

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Hopkinton Patch is running Lisa Stukel's Busy Mom's Corner early this week in time for Easter.

Although colored hard-boiled eggs are probably the first Easter food to come to mind, other foods factor into traditional Easter meals around the world.

Hot Cross Buns are an Easter favorite in many areas.

The tradition is supposedly derived from ancient Anglo-Saxons who baked small wheat cakes in honor of the springtime goddess Eostre. After converting to Christianity, the church substituted the cakes with sweetbreads blessed by the church.

Around the world, sweet cakes such as Czech bobobka and Polish baba are served. The Greeks and Portugese serve round, flat loaves marked with a cross and decorated with Easter eggs. Syrian and Jordanian Christians have honey pastries.

The roast lamb dinner that many eat on Easter Sunday goes back earlier than Easter to the first Passover of the Jewish people. The sacrificial lamb was roasted and eaten, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

In the United States, ham is a traditional Easter food. In early times, meat was slaughtered in the fall.

There was no refrigeration, and the fresh pork that wasn't consumed during the winter months before Lent was cured for spring. The curing process took a long time, and the first hams were ready around Easter. (About.com)

My family Easter tradition includes a spiral, honey-glazed, roasted ham which provides a hearty dinner with plenty of leftovers.

Ham leftovers can be made into ham and bean soup, ham salad sandwiches, orzo ham salad, or casseroles. This year I plan to turn our ham leftovers into a delicious, easy, ham and swiss casserole. My family devoured it the last time I made it.  Here is the recipe:

Easy Ham and Swiss Casserole

2-1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles

1 (10 oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup white wine

1/4 cup water

2 cups chopped cooked ham

1-cup shredded Swiss cheese

1-cup seasoned stuffing mix (course-crumb style)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a (9 x 13) inch baking dish.

2. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a boil, stir in egg noodles and boil until noodles have cooked through. Drain in colander and set in sink.

3. Combine the cream of mushroom soup, white wine, and water in a large bowl. Stir in the cooked egg noodles, ham, and Swiss cheese. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkile the dry stuffing mix over the dish. Bake uncovered until the casserole is bubbling and browned, about 30 minutes. Hint: you can also top with parmesan cheese.

From: allrecipes.com

Enjoy!