Off The Grid News Better Ideas For Off The Grid Living
Last week we issued a called for recipes for those leftovers at Christmas. We received several suggestions from generous readers and we appreciate you taking the time to write in. In today’s Letters to the Editor section, we’ll be sharing those emails with you. Wishing you all a very prosperous and blessed 2012!
Dear Editor,
Here is another way to use up some of your leftover ham.
E-
Creamy Potato Lasagna
(You can use ham or smoked turkey)
1 12 ounce jar Alfredo sauce
1 cup milk
3 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced lengthwise about 1/8 inch thick
5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ cups diced ham
1 10 ounce package chopped broccoli, thawed
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese, or cheese of your choice
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13 inch baking dish. Whish together the Alfredo sauce and milk. Spread ¼ cup of the sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Then layer 1/3 of the potatoes over the sauce. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
Combine the ham, broccoli and 1 ½ cups of the Swiss cheese. Mix well and spread 1/3 of this mixture over the potatoes in the baking dish. Top with another layer of potatoes, followed by the ham mixture and rest of potatoes, topping all with the remaining Swiss cheese and Parmesan cheese.
Pour the remaining Alfredo sauce over all. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake at 350 degrees for an additional 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
I make my own Alfredo Sauce:
½ cup butter
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 cups milk
6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Melt butter over medium heat. Add cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add mild, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long.
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Dear Editor:
We’ve never had much trouble with ham being left over. Turkey, however, took some creativity. Then we discovered our best simple sandwiches.
On a cookie sheet or just the oven rack, place slices of bread on which bite sized left over turkey pieces have been arranged. Cover those with a slice of American cheese and slide under the broiler. Broil until the cheese melts and bread edges toast.
Serve with tomato or V-8 juice, sprigs of celery, pickles or favorite out
of hand veggies.
W-
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Dear Editor:
Our family’s favorite recipe for After Christmas Ham is… Bean and Ham Soup… Place white beans in cold water and let soak over night. In the A.M. drain and rinse. Cover with water, bring to a boil then cut the heat down and simmer. Place a meaty ham bone in with the beans at the beginning and simmer until the beans are done. Chop an onion a couple of carrots and a green or red (or both) pepper (or any other vegi you think would taste good) and add to the pot. When beans and vegis are soft, take the bone out of the pot and chop all the meat off it then place back in pot. Add more meat from the fridge (if there isn’t enough from the bone), heat thru and serve with left over rolls and a green salad made from the left over vegi plate. If you let the bean soup sit in the fridge overnight it always tastes better the next day… You can make almost the same recipe using split peas. The difference is in in cooking time. The split peas don’t have to be soaked overnight and they take a lot less time to cook.
Another is…Ham and Noodle Casserole… Cook 3 cups or noodles. When done, rinse in cold water, drain and place in casserole dish. To this add 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1/4 cup chopped pepper, 3/4 cup chopped celery. Mix 1 can cream of mushroom soup with 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup mayonnaise (weird but delicious) and 1/2 tsp. salt together and add to the noodles. Stir in 1 cup shredded cheese, and 1 cup frozen peas. Bake uncovered in 425 degree oven for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving. Yum!
B-
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If you have a recipe that uses leftover ham, share it with us at [email protected]. We may feature it in our recipes section later this week!
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