Peachy Ham Quesadilla

We almost always have grilled cheese sandwiches with my homemade soups. I decided to throw this together with a few "leftover" ingredients I had on hand instead.


Ham, Swiss cheese, honey mustard and peach preserves in a flour tortilla grilled on the sandwich press/grill.

I used to get something like this at a Roly-Poly sandwich shop. If you're not familiar - they make about 50 different wrap sandwiches. The menu always seemed so overwhelming. I'm not sure mine is exactly the same, but the combination turned out great!

Cuban Wrap Sandwich

We had leftover Pork Loin the other day and this is what I did with it...



It holds traditional Cuban Sandwich ingredients wrapped up in a flour tortilla and grilled on my indoor grill/panini press/sandwich press (you know, it's like a George Foreman grill, but George didn't make this one).

Sandwich includes pork loin, ham, Swiss cheese, dill pickles and mustard. That's all. It's a simple combination, but, oh, so yummy.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

Another great recipe I found at Cassie Craves. That girl knows what I like to eat!

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU BAKE

2 cups cooked chopped chicken (about 2 large boneless breasts)

8 ounces diced ham

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

1 box stuffing mix for chicken

butter and water called for on stuffing box

Cook stuffing according to package directions; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, ham, cream of chicken soup, and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Go light on the salt, since the cream of chicken soup and ham are pretty salty on their own.)

Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Sprinkle cheese evenly over the chicken mixture. Carefully add stuffing in an even layer on top of the cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Yield: about 6 servings

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I haven't made this recipe in about 10 years, so I felt the need to try it again just as it was written. It calls for Ritz crackers for the coating, but I think I'll use Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs or Panko bread crumbs next time. And more Swiss cheese inside.

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 pound honey cured ham, sliced thin
4 slices Swiss cheese
2 cups crushed Ritz crackers
1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs

Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness. Place ham and Swiss cheese slices on each breast and roll up tightly securing with toothpicks if necessary (I used about 5 toothpicks on each roll, tried to close up the ends, too, so the cheese wouldn't leak out). In a medium bowl, mix crushed crackers, basil and Parmesan cheese. In another bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Dip rolled chicken breasts into egg and coat well, then dip into crumb mixture until completely coated. Place in a greased 9 x 13 baking pan and sprinkle any remaining cracker crumbs on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings

Ham and Cheese Biscuit Cups

Sometimes, when hubby buys the wrong ingredient, you just have to improvise...

I usually make these in miniature muffin pans and that's the recipe I'm giving you, but these in the picture were made in full size muffin pans. Eddie bought Grands biscuits instead of the normal, smaller size biscuits. Still delicious, just not as cute. I like cute food!

Also, the recipe makes alot, but it's easy to make less, measurements aren't real important here.

Ham and Cheese Biscuit Cups

1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated flaky layered biscuits (like Hungry Jack)
1 (5 ounce) can refrigerated flaky layered biscuits
2 cups diced ham
2 cups shredded cheese (any kind you like)

Separate each biscuit into 3 thinner biscuits. Lay each biscuit piece over a mini-muffin pan cup. Press each biscuit into the cup like a pie crust. Fill each cup with ham and top with cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from pans immediately and serve warm.

Yield: 45 (see why you may want to make less)

Variation: Instead of ham, use crumbled cooked sausage or bacon.

Also good with a squirt of honey mustard in the biscuit before adding ham and cheese.

Split Pea Soup with Ham

Sorry, I'm not sure you can make Split Pea Soup look pretty. But, don't worry, it tastes really good if you like this sort of thing.

I guess a garnish of some kind or a cracker might have made this look a little better.



SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH HAM

1 pound split peas, rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks)
1 cup chopped carrots
1 bay leaf
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped ham (divided)
8 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper

Place the peas in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and set aside for 1 hour. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and bay leaf. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and 1 cup of the chopped ham. Cook for about 5 more minutes.

Drain the peas and add them to the vegetables along with the broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently until the peas are softened, about one hour. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Transfer some of the soup to a blender, filling it no more than halfway. Puree until smooth. Repeat with the remaining soup. (I used an immersion blender right in the pot instead of transferring soup to blender.) Return the soup to the pot, add remaining 1 cup of chopped ham and place over medium heat until warmed through, about 10 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper.

Yield: 6 large servings or 8 smaller servings

I found this recipe at myrecipes.com and revised it by adding the ham.

Hash Brown Bake

Here's a great breakfast/brunch casserole I've made for several years. I used to take it for early morning tailgating when UGA had a football game at noon or 1:00. It travels well.

We had breakfast for dinner one day last week.

HASH BROWN BAKE

1 (20 ounce) package refrigerated shredded potatoes
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup finely chopped cooked ham
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped green and red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Press potatoes into bottom of an ungreased 2 quart rectangular baking dish. Drizzle with butter.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for about 10 minutes. Combine ham, cheese, bell pepper and onion and spoon onto potatoes. Combine eggs and next 3 ingredients in small bowl, stirring well. Pour egg mixture over ham mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: 4 - 6 servings

Note: Hash Brown Bake may be prepared, omitting egg mixture, and refrigerated overnight. In the morning just add egg mixture and bake.

Note: You may pre-cook shredded potatoes and butter in the microwave and eliminate the first portion of baking time.

Bean and Ham Soup

Here's another soup you can make ahead and freeze for use at a later date. This one also comes together pretty quick so it's good for a weeknight meal, too.

I buy Cumberland Gap ham steaks for this. They come two in a package and are very lean and boneless. I get them at Publix. The recipe calls for 2 cups of diced ham. I use both ham steaks in the package (about 3/4 lb.), I think that's more like 3 cups of ham.

The recipe makes just four servings, so go ahead and double the recipe if you want.

Cooking it...



Preparing to freeze it...

You can see that it makes a rather thick soup. You can add some water or more chicken broth if you want it a little soupier.

BEAN AND HAM SOUP

3 (15 ounce) can Great Northern Beans
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup diced onion
2 cups diced cooked ham
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Rinse and drain beans. Process one can of beans and half of chicken broth in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and ham; cook and stir until onions are tender and ham is lightly browned. Add bean puree, remaining beans and remaining chicken broth. Add some water here if needed for soupier consistency. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in pepper.