Recipe Monday: Ham and Spinach Casserole

My husband hates ham, but my kids love it. This dish, they all enjoyed (even though I totally burnt it...a little).

• 1 pound cavatappi, corkscrew pasta with lines or macaroni with line in any short cut
• Salt
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive (EVOO), divided
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• Black pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole or 2 percent milk
• 1/2 pound sliced capocollo (hot ham), halved then sliced into thin ribbons
• 1 box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and excess liquid squeezed out
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (a few large handfuls), divided
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground or freshly grated (eyeball it)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (a couple pinches)
• 1 pound ball fresh mozzarella – buy a piece wrapped, not packed in water, then cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup plain or Italian breadcrumbs
• A generous handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Directions:

Pre-heat the broiler.

Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the pasta, salt water and cook to al dente, with a bite.

While the water is coming up to a boil for the pasta, heat a medium, deep skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, and the butter. When butter melts into the oil, add onions and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes then dust the onions with flour and continue to cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk. Gently bring milk to a bubble, allow the milk to thicken a bit, then stir in the capocola, spinach and 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Season sauce with nutmeg and cayenne and remove from the heat. Taste and add a little salt, if you like.

Combine the cooked pasta and the cubed mozzarella with the sauce, stir to coat completely by turning over and over. Transfer dressed pasta to a baking dish.

To make the breadcrumb topping, combine the breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons of EVOO and the remaining 1/2 cup Parmigiano. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the top to cover the pasta from edge to edge. Transfer the baking dish under the broiler and broil until golden brown and crispy. Garnish with chopped parsley.

 

Recipe Monday - Hawaiian Ham Quesadillas

I felt like mixing up my quesadillas, so I gave this a try. Not half bad for a really quick meal, and, honestly, great for kids.

Ingredients
8 oz. cream cheese (I used ricotta)
1 cup shredded mozzarella
3 sliced green onions
⅛ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 (15 oz.) can pineapple chunks in juice (I used fresh pineapple)
½ lb. smoked ham
1 pkg (of 8) 8 inch flour tortillas

tablespoon of vegetable oil

Instructions

Allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature before you begin. Combine the cream cheese, shredded mozzarella, sliced green onions, and red pepper flakes in a bowl. Stir until well combined.

Drain the pineapple chunks as much as possible. Roughly chop them into smaller pieces. Roughly chop the sliced ham into small pieces. Add both to the cheese mixture and stir to combine.

Place ¼ to ⅓ cup of the filling in each tortilla and spread to cover half of the surface. Fold the tortilla in half to close. Cook each quesadilla in a skillet over medium heat in oil until brown and crispy on both sides.









 

Recipe Monday - Ham and Lentil Soup

Look, there's just no way to make this look appetizing. But it's delicious, so I tried my best.

1 cup dried lentils
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups diced cooked ham
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
32 ounces chicken broth
1 cup water
8 teaspoons tomato sauce



In a 3 1/2 quart or larger slow cooker combine the lentils, celery, carrots, onion, garlic and ham. Season with basil, thyme, oregano, the bay leaf and pepper. Stir in the chicken broth, water and tomato sauce. Cover and cook on Low for 11 hours. Discard the bay leaf before serving.

Boom. That's it. You're done. It's so good, lasts forever, and we served it with grilled cheese. Yes.

 

Recipe Monday - Easiest Baked Ham

Yesterday was a trainwreck, and I had a huge ham to cook, and I just did not want to. The only reason that ham got made was this recipe. It was so easy, and the ham came out great! (So great I forgot to take a finished picture...we were too busy eating!)

Easy Baked Ham: (Now, the recipe calls for a 15 lb. ham. Haha. No. I used a 5 lb. half-bone-in ham, and we'll still have leftovers for a week. I halved the recipe for the glaze, and there was just enough.)


15 lbs whole bone-in ham
1 lb brown sugar
1/2 cup yellow mustard
aluminum foil

Directions:

1 In a medium size mixing bowl, mix yellow mustard and brown sugar until you have a thick"paste".
2 Take all wrappers off of ham and trim away excess fat. (I...don't know what this means.)
3 Line baking pan with Aluminum foil.

4 Place ham on foil and spread brown sugar/mustard paste on top.

5 Fold and seal foil.

6 Do not open again until ham is done.
7 Bake at 350° for 4 hours. (I did 325 because I had so much less meat)
8 Let set for about 1 hr then carve. (didn't do this.)

And that's it. Two ingredients, four hours. Amazing, melt-in-your-mouth ham.


___


If you like this blog, please vote for it here at Babble's Top 100 Blogs list.