Crockpot Green Beans with Ham, by Diane

I'm obsessed with this type of green bean at BBQ joints as a side dish, and a friend recently told me she makes them easily in the crockpot with a ham bone. I couldn't find a ham bone so I used ham chips (preseasoned cuts of fatty ham) and diced ham. These were so easy and came out really good, but I would eliminate the ham chips next time as it was WAY too salty and there was no seasoning in here. 

Ingredients:

2 large unsalted cans (38 oz) of cut green beans, drained (reserve 1 cup)

1 pack of ham chips or 1 pack diced ham or bacon 

1 sweet onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:

Put all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours, stirring gently every hour or so. Discard ham chips if using.

Protein Crustless Quiche Lorraine, by Diane

 

I saw a recipe for cottage cheese added to eggs to make them more high protein and it gave me an idea to add it into a new egg bake- I love egg bakes for great easy lunches for the week! This week I decided to create a lorraine-style bake and honestly this was really good!

Ingredients:

12 eggs

1 8oz container high protein cottage cheese (I like Good brand)

Salt and pepper

cooking spray

1/2 lb thin sliced ham, cut into squares

1 small pack sliced baby bella mushrooms

1 bag spinach

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced into rings

EVOO

1.5 cups shredded parmesan

Directions:

1. Caramelize onions in a large saucepan over medium high heat with EVOO and salt until golden brown and wilted. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 375 and spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray.

3. Whisk together eggs, then add in seasonings and cottage cheese. Use an immersion blender until smooth.

4. Add in squares of ham (make sure they aren't clumped together), mushrooms, spinach and onions and mix until combined.

5. Bake for 45 minutes or until the middle is set, then top with parmesan cheese and bake for 10 min at 350 until golden brown on top.

Ham and Potato Chowder, by Diane

 

I made this for the first week it got cold a few weeks back, and honestly it was one of those dishes that should have come out great but actually turned out just okay. I had some ham that I had made bone broth from to use as the base of this, and chopped up the remaining ham to use in the chowder. Overall I would not make this again, but A for effort!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp coconut oil

5 carrots, sliced (I used rainbow carrots)

2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 leek, sliced green parts only

2 cups ham, diced

Seasoning: I used a combo of herbs de provence and poultry seasoning

3 cups broth, I used ham bone broth

Salt as needed

3 tbsp arrowroot flour

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot over medium high heat, add oil, carrots and potatoes into a pot. Stir often and cook until they soften.

2. Add in leeks and ham, cooking until leeks wilt.

3. Add broth and seasoning, let cook for an hour over low heat

4. Taste for seasoning and salt, then add a slurry of flour and some broth whisked together in a small bowl into the soup to thicken.

Ham and Cheese Sliders, by Cheryl

I don't know how this came about or why I had two out of three main ingredients, but this was super easy to put together and delicious! It was especially great dipped in the tomato soup that I made. Also, the sauce that is brushed on top is key to kicking this up from just a plain slider to something very special. Yum!

Ingredients:

Thinly sliced ham slices (I used honey ham)

Thinly sliced Swiss cheese

One 12- count package of Hawaiian sweet rolls 

1/2 stick unsalted butter

Some honey Dijon mustard

Salt, to taste

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. 

2) Slice the rolls in half so you have a large top half and large bottom half. Don't pull them apart. Place bottom half on pan. 

3) Evenly layer the cheese, then the ham, and then the cheese again. Add the top half of the rolls. 

4) In a small bowl microwave the butter. Stir in 1-2 tbsp of Dijon honey mustard. Pour the mixture over the tops of the rolls, letting some pool in the middle, and use a brush to make sure the tops are covered. Let stand for about 5 minutes.

5) Cover with foil and bake, covered, for 20 minutes. Take foil off and bake uncovered for about 2-3 minutes. Slice into individual sliders and enjoy! 

Ham, Sweet Potato and Egg Bake, by Diane

I found this recipe from @pennysprimal on Instagram, and it seemed like a quick and easy way to have a few protein packed brunches this week. I literally chopped and tossed everything together, this was so quick to whip up!


Ingredients:

10 eggs (I had to use 12 to cover ingredients)
2 cups spinach
1 small pack grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
2 small ham steaks, cubed
1/2 red onion, diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled
Salt and pepper


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 casserole dish.

2. Precook the sweet potato by piercing it with a fork and microwaving it for 3 minutes.

3. While the sweet potato cooks, assemble the veggies in the pan. Chop the sweet potato and add it to the pan.

4. Whisk together eggs and salt and pepper, and pour over the veggies.

5. Bake for 45-50 min until eggs are set.

Split Pea and Ham Soup, by Diane

If I've said this once on this blog I've said it a million times, it is incredibly hard to get a good photo of soup. Especially thick, green soup that isn't clear so you can't see the delicious ingredients below the surface (I tried putting some of them on top and they sank...). So you're going to have to trust me that this was amazing and total comfort food. I made it as part of my post-surgery recovery, and only 6 days out of surgery so you know it's super easy to make :)

What made this soup so good was the smoky ham flavor. Whenever I come across an occasion where there is a spiral ham, I save the bone and boil it in water for a few hours. After straining the broth and skimming the fat when it cools, I freeze it so I have it to add for soups just like this. The original recipe called for a ham bone, so I just used some old bone broth from a spiral ham that we had at Chrismukkah this year instead. For the ham in this soup, I would highly recommend using an actual spiral sliced ham in this, as it seriously enhances the flavor, but a store bought ham steak or two is also fine. I also added carrots and sweet potatoes to this for some extra veggies, and some bay leaf and garlic for extra comfort soup flavor.


Ingredients:

2 tbsp oil (I used coconut oil)
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 bag carrots, chopped
2 small sweet potatoes, chopped
2-3 cups ham, cubed or shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1lb bag dried split peas
1 bay leaf
1 large ham bone (or leftover ham bone broth if you have that)
Water or broth (definitely recommend broth, I used chicken bone broth!) to cover all ingredients


Directions:

1. Add oil to a large soup pot, and cook the onion until translucent.

2. Add in the carrots and sweet potatoes, cover and cook until the veggies begin to soften- about 5-10 min. Stir often so they don't brown.

3. Add in the ham, garlic, peas, bay leaf, and ham bone. Add in enough liquids (water or broth) to cover all ingredients.

4. Cover and reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally, until the peas dissolve and the soup becomes thick and green (approx. 2 hrs). Remove ham bone and bay leaf, and season if needed (mine didn't need a thing).

5. Remove from heat and let thicken until cool.

Winter Bean and Ham Soup, by Diane

This soup is one of my favorite, go-to recipes. It's simple, delicious, healthy, and filling- and the BEST to eat and reheat on cold days. It gets better over time, so leftovers are definitely something to look forward to. The batch makes quite a bit as well, so you can be eating and enjoying it for days, which means a break from cooking and packing lunches!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. EVOO
1 sweet onion, chopped
7 stalks of celery, sliced
1 bag of carrots, peeled and sliced
2 large smoked ham steaks, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 cans northern beans
3 cups chicken stock
1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce
2 tsp. bay leaves (or 2 whole bay leaves)

1. Heat soup pot to medium high, pour in EVOO. Cook onion, carrot, and celery until slightly soft.

2. Add ham and garlic, cook for two minutes.

3. Pour in chicken stock, tomato sauce, stir and add half of the beans, along with bay leaves. Cover and reduce heat to low.

4. Blend remaining beans and soup broth in blender until a thick paste is created, then combine with soup and reduce to warm.

5. Cook for one hour.