After a holiday weekend there is often plenty of food to be used up. On Easter weekend I cooked both a ham and a turkey, so I had plenty of ingredients for recipes. Jean Pare’s latest cookbook from Company’s Coming, Recipes for Leftovers, is now available to help try something new while making best use of extra food.
The first recipe I tried from this cookbook was the ham and pasta bake. Although I substituted extra old cheddar cheese, I believe the white cheddar would taste even better.
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Ham and pasta bake
2 cups chopped sweet 500 mL
potato (yam)
2 teaspoons cooking oil 10 mL
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 mL
3 tablespoons hard margarine 45 mL
(or butter)
11/2 cups chopped leftover 375 mL
cooked ham
1/3 cup chopped green onion 75 mL
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 45 mL
31/2 cups milk 875 mL
1/2 cup sour cream 125 mL
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 15 mL
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 mL
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 mL
3/4 teaspoon pepper 3 mL
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen spinach, 284 mL
thawed, squeezed, coarsely chopped
5 cups cooked penne pasta 1.25 L
(about 31/2 cups/875 mL, uncooked)
11/2 cups grated sharp white 375 mL
cheddar cheese
Combine sweet potato, cooking oil and first amount of salt in small bowl. Arrange in single layer on greased baking sheet. Bake in 400 F (200 C) oven for 35-40 minutes, stirring once at halftime, until tender and golden brown.
Melt margarine in large saucepan on medium. Add ham and green onion. Cook for five to 10 minutes, stirring often, until ham starts to brown. Add flour. Heat and stir for one minute.
Gradually stir in milk until boiling and thickened. Add next five ingredients. Stir.
Add spinach. Heat and stir until heated through. Put sweet potato mixture, ham mixture and pasta into large bowl. Toss. Transfer to greased three quart (3 L) casserole dish. Spread evenly. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, in 375 F (190 C) oven for about 35 minutes until cheese is golden. Serves eight.
Soup’s on
The ham bone made us a delicious soup, although I used precooked lentils and pinto beans in place of canned beans.
Hearty ham bone soup
10 cups water 2.5 L
1 leftover meaty ham bone
4 celery ribs (stalks), diced
3 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium onions, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon parsley flakes 15 mL
2 teaspoons salt 10 mL
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground 1 mL
pepper
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced 1 can (19 oz.) mixed beans, 540 mL
rinsed and drained
1 can (14 oz.) navy beans, 398 mL
rinsed, drained and slightly mashed with fork
1 cup chopped fresh spinach, 250 mL
stems removed, lightly packed (optional)
Put water and ham bone into large pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Boil, uncovered for five minutes. Carefully skim off and discard foam from surface. Return to a boil.
I boiled the bone for a couple of hours, let the broth cool and put it in the fridge overnight, and then skimmed off the hardened fat the next morning.
Add next seven ingredients. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover. Simmer for about two hours until ham is falling off the bone. Remove all meat from bone. Discard bone. Chop meat. Return to soup. Remove and discard bay leaf.
Add potato, mixed beans and navy beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Add spinach. Cook for five minutes. Serves eight.
Turkey time
With the leftover turkey, I made a stroganoff for supper.
Stroganoff
1/4 cup hard margarine or butter 60 mL
3/4 cup chopped onion 175 mL
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 50 mL
2 cups milk 500 mL
1 can (10 oz.) of sliced 284 mL
mushrooms, with liquid
1/2 cup hot water 125 mL
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon 30 mL
powder
2 teaspoons parsley flakes 10 mL
1/2 teaspoon paprika 2 mL
1 teaspoon salt 5 mL
1/2 teaspoon pepper 2 mL
4 cups chopped leftover turkey 1 L
1 cup sour cream 250 mL
Melt margarine in large saucepan on medium. Add onion. Cook for five to 10 minutes, stirring often, until softened. Add flour. Mix well. Gradually stir in milk until boiling and thickened. Add next seven ingredients.
Simmer, uncovered, for three to four minutes. Add turkey and sour cream. Heat and stir until heated through. Makes six cups (1.5 L).
Barbara Sanderson is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@producer.com.
