Hams were on sale: 99 cents/lb. Being new at this “homemaker” thing (how long can I claim “novice” status?!?!), I don’t really know whether that’s a good deal or not, but I bought a 10-lb. ham, not really knowing what size to buy. That sounded like enough ham to have company over for dinner, with some leftover.
I was not prepared for the vast amount of leftovers we had, but I was determined not to waste any of the meat. So right away I began searching my favorite “leftover-converter” site allrecipes.com.
We ended up with over a dozen meals from one ham! Thankfully the recipes were diverse enough that we didn’t feel like we were eating ham for two weeks, although we were! In fact, we enjoyed the various meals so much that I am going to buy a large ham on sale again. At this point, our family consists only of a my husband and me, a 2-year-old and an 8-month-old (who isn’t eating ham yet!), so maybe this would make 6 or more meals for a family of four.
Here are the meals we enjoyed:
- Obviously, first we had a ham dinner with sweet potatoes and broccoli and invited another couple over to join us.
- I love scalloped potatoes, so I found a super-easy recipe called “End of the Line Ham Casserole” at allrecipes.com. Basically, it’s diced ham, cream of celery soup, potatoes (sliced), an onion, milk, and pepper. I made a couple of modifications: doubling the recipe (except for the onion) and using 2 cups of cheddar cheese (in place of the parmesan cheese). I was afraid it would be too bland for my husband, but he said they were some of the best scalloped potatoes he’s had! (And this is coming from a guy whose mom makes everything–biscuits, bread, cheesecakes, pie crusts, strawberry jelly, syrup–only from scratch!!) This recipe made us 3 meals (two dinners & one lunch).
- Another very easy recipe (Garlic Potatoes & Ham) takes red potatoes cut into wedges, frozen broccoli (I used fresh), cubed cooked ham, and a package of herb & garlic soup mix. All of this is cooked together in a skillet. LOVED it!! The soup mix made it so simple, yet delicious! This only made one meal, even though the recipe says four servings–maybe that’s because even my 2-year-old daughter ate so much!
- Then: Delicious Ham and Potato Soup. Wow, the name is accurate, although I would prefer a superlative somewhere in the title: “Most Delicious Ham and Potato Soup . . .” or “To-Die-For Delicious. . .” I chose this recipe based on the 5-star rating out of 2,161 reviews! Amazing! When we tasted the soup, we knew why! It was fabulous! I love a good potato soup, especially during these bitterly cold winter days! I made a few modifications: I didn’t have celery; I added a couple chopped carrots; I had some heavy whipping cream leftover that I used in place of some of the milk; and I decreased the amount of chicken bouillon since it sounded really high to me. Despite my modifications, it was still incredible! I also increased the servings to 12 before printing the recipe. We got 6 servings out of it (but we used a bowl of soup as the main course in our meal). If we had used it as a side dish, we certainly would have had 12 servings.
- I had never used an entire ham, all the way down to the bone! So I was curious. I decided to find a recipe that called for a ham bone. Since I also had a package of 15-bean soup in the cupboard, this recipe worked out well for me. We had to freeze some of it, because there was no way we could eat it all. I like it, but I like bean soup. And wow, the ham really fell right off the bone! I was so pleased that I had used the entire ham!!
Besides the ham, the main things I had to buy (for all these recipes) were a bag of red potatoes, a couple onions, some broccoli, and some milk. Most of the other ingredients were things I already had on hand.
1 Ham, 12 Meals! This Works for Me!
Hop on over to Rocks in My Dryer to find many many more tips on Works-for-Me-Wednesday!
Thanks for sharing the recipes!! They sound wonderful.
I love to make tons of meals out of a ham. I usually make 15 Bean Soup one of the days. Sometimes I make extra and freeze it for another time.
Wow! My wife loves all recipes. We’ll have to try some of those.
Great tip! We also like to buy a ham every so often when they are on sale and work our way through it. Although, I have to admit that by the time it is almost gone, we are ready to be done with it. LOL
I love being able to utilize leftover meat in a variety of ways. Thank you for the links to the recipes.
Sherry
http://lampuntomyfeetandalightuntomypath.blogspot.com/2009/02/works-for-me-uplifting-music.html
I just bought a ham this week myself so thank you for passing along the recipes!
Aesome! I am really impressed – partially because you tackled this, and partially because you had the confidence to alter the recipes. I love trying new recipes, but am nervous about tweaking them. I do appreciate the ideas though because ham is a staple here.
I’m making the soup tomorrow. I have a ton of ham in my freezer from Christmas!
thanks for giving me great ideas just recently bought a large ham myself and was not sure how to use it all. SO thanks for sharing
Good for you!! I have a ham bone in my freezer just waiting for another cold day for soup!
I got a good laugh out of still claiming novice status! I’ve been married umpteen years (eh-hem) and I am right there with you.
Another great idea for using up ham is to dice up some of the really tender center slices and bag in small amounts for use in omlets. My whole family just loves them!
Thank goodness you posted this! I’m having the same ham issues! Mine was also a .99/lb deal! Such a bargain but so much ham for 2 adults & 2 kiddos!
I am so happy you posted about this. I was just telling a friend that I want to buy a big ham next time I go to Costco and see how many meals I can get out of it! Thanks for sharing the recipes you used.
I always have trouble using up an entire ham. Thanks for the great recipes!
I always do a ham when I’m doing Once a Month Cooking – or stocking up my freezer when ham goes on sale. Store the cubes in a zip-top baggie and freeze them. They take up little space but can be pulled out of the freezer to top homemade pizza, use in omelets, or put in a soup or casserole. There’s a particularly yummy way of preparing a whole ham by slow cooking it in maple syrup. We even take leftover slices of that and freeze them (so we’re not eating ham every day for weeks on end). The leftovers can be reheated in foil in a low oven and they don’t dry out. I love to stock up when things go on sale and utilize my freezer to its fullest potential.
Thanks for the recipes! I am always looking for ways to magically transform leftovers into something that my family doesn’t think are boring leftovers.
Thanks for all the recipes. Just made a ham so was looking for some ways to use it. These looks delicious!
I’m so proud of you! I’m ashamed to say that a thought ran through my head as I was reading down at first and you began talking about your scalloped potato recipe: “I should share my scalloped potato recipe with Becky so she won’t need to use a canned soup.” As I kept reading, though, I realized I didn’t need to share any recipes with you at all. You’re doing great on your own. Thanks for sharing your ideas with the world. Isn’t the internet wonderful! You no longer have to collect recipes–just either remember what they were called or what website you found them on. I do have lots of other good ideas of things to do with ham bones–in case you can’t find them online. Maybe google “bones”?