I took a day off from Ham yesterday and it was a good thing. Pizza makes a nice change. But now it’s time to do some serious thinking about how to use up all that leftover New Year’s Dinner Ham! Good thing I have a trunkful of recipes designed to make it fun…
Scalloped Potatoes with Ham: A side magically becomes a main!
My first rule for using leftover ham…
…Is easy to remember and even easier to implement: Make any side dish an entrée by tossing in some cubed leftover Ham. For instance:
- Mac and Cheese with Ham (and any leftover firm veggies you have. Think: Carrots, Brussells Sprouts, Green Beans…)
- Ham Scalloped Potatoes
- Ham Hash Browns (or, even better, a Ham Hash Brown Casserole)
- Hawaiian Fried Rice (with Ham and Pineapple)
- Green Bean and Ham Casserole
New Dishes from ‘old’ Ham…
- Add Ham to any clear Soup based on Poultry Stock
- Split Pea Soup with Ham
- Ham Breakfast Bake
- Ham and Cheese Fritatta
- Ham Omelet
- Ham Salad
- Hawaiian Pizza (with or without Pineapple)
- Eggs Benedict (with Ham rather than Bacon)
- Ham Stir Fry
- Ham Pad Thai
The list is as long as your imagination is wide.
Not your ordinary Ham Sandwich…
Anybody can slap together a quick Ham and Cheese Sandwich, and call it ‘special’ by adding a schmear of French Mustard. But these classic hot Sandwiches have stood the test of time as elegant, festive implementations that elevate the noble Ham Sammy to gourmet heights:
- Croque Monsieur
- Croque Madame
- Monte Cristo
That should be enough to get you started…
There are as many ways to use up leftover Ham as there are stars in the sky. As the late cosmologist Carl Saga would have said, “Bil-e-ons and bil-e-ons!” Get on that leftover Ham today. You might wish you had more by the time you’ve worked your way through these great recipes!
~ Maggie J.