Ham, Cheese and Crafts

While grocery shopping last week, I spotted spiral-cut hams on sale for a great price. Being thrifty, I simply could not pass up the opportunity to save a few pennies. We had a wonderful Sunday dinner with mashed potatoes, fresh butternut squash and hot rolls out of the oven. It was simply delicious.

The only problem was, it was a 8.5 pound ham for four people. Yes, in my attempt to save some pennies I may have been a bit over zealous.  I did not take into account exactly how much ham I was buying. Truth be told, I bought two. I have only cooked one so far; the other one can sit patiently in the freezer and wait for its time to shine. 

I have copious amounts of ham for leftovers. I put two slices into quart-size bags; I filled eight bags and then put the quart-size bags into a gallon size bag.  I will take them out as I need them: perfect for ham and eggs, omelettes, additions to soups, stews or a great sandwich.  I also wrapped up and froze the bone, being sure to leave a generous amount of meat on it for a pea soup. I also set aside some to stay in the fridge for  a casserole and also for sandwiches. Ham from the deli counter just can not compete with a ham baked in your own oven as far as taste and freshness go. 

I will share the recipe I used for the casserole—a last minute, throw everything in type of casserole. It was a hit, though some of the kids picked out the potatoes and others picked out some of the vegetables. As a whole, it went over very well.  I am sure you can add or subtract as you like as long as the basics are there. I literally put in what I had in the fridge and did not go to the store for anything. I was finally able to use up the last pieces of cheese blocks that I had left from the holidays, some miscellaneous vegetables, pasta and potatoes. I think I'll add it to my "go to" last minute dinner list.

In addition to trying new recipes, I have been encouraging my kids to make some crafts to keep them busy through this harsh winter. As there is no major holiday to decorate until Valentine's Day, I have asked my kids to use their imagination and help make some "winter" decorations to brighten up the house during these dreary days. Together, we have come up with some cute colorful mittens out of construction paper. They can be hung on the window in "clothes line" fashion. They also made some old-fashioned snowflakes out of plain white paper, which is always a favorite of mine.  

Ham and Cheese Casserole

I used ingredients I had on hand for this recipe. Other than the ham and the cheese sauce all other ingredients can be exchanged for something else if you prefer. For example: I used 2 cups potatoes and 1 cup pasta; you could use all of one or the other instead of both.

Ingredients:

3 cups ham cut up into bite size pieces

1/4 cup diced onion (optional)

2 cups potatoes

1 cup dried pasta (I used rotini)

1 1/2 cup frozen or fresh vegetables of your choice

1/2 sleeve butter type crackers or 1/2 cup plain or seasoned bread crumbs

Cheese Sauce:

2 1/2 cup milk

2 cups cheese (I used 1 cup monterey jack and 1 cup cheddar)

1/2 cup flour

1/4 +2tsp butter

Directions:

Cook potatoes and pasta until just tender, I cooked them together in the same pan. Drain and pour into a greased 9x11 baking pan. Combine ham, vegetables and onion in same pan and mix well. I seasoned with garlic powder and pepper.

For the cheese sauce, place butter in a sauce pan and cook over medium low until melted. Add flour and stir until blended well. Gradually add milk, stirring continuously. Bring to a low boil and remove from heat, add in cheese sauce and stir until melted.

Pour over ham mixture and stir to evenly coat everything.  Sprinkle the top with seasoned bread crumbs or crumbled crackers. Place several pats of butter on the top and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. I turned the oven to broil for five additional minutes as I like my topping crunchy.

Colorful Mittens

Supplies:

construction paper, any colors

glue or glue sticks

hole puncher

ribbon to hang

Directions:

Have your child trace their mitten or if they don't have any mittens, have them make a mitten shape with their hand and help them to round it out. Cut out the pattern and encourage your child to decorate, they are only limited by their imagination. Hearts, circles, glitter, paint, markers, gems, squiggly lines etc. Using a hole punch or scissors, make holes in the mittens to string the ribbon through to act as a clothes line. Hang in a window to brighten dark winter days.

Paper snowflakes out of plain white paper always are a favorite of the kids to make during the winter. Start with a square piece of paper. Fold diagonal corner to corner, then in half and half again. Draw a random pattern with points and different shapes or make no pattern and let them cut as they like. Make sure that the kids do not cut through the center point. To help my little one, I colored in the area on the folded piece of paper he is not to cut. Unfold and hang from ceilings, on walls or in the windows.