Cheesy Potato and Ham Casserole

I think it's ham week in my house.  It seems to be the theme.  I love being able to buy diced ham at the grocery store.  It makes it so simple to make dishes like this for dinner.  Who doesn't like ham, potatoes, and cheese for dinner.  This is a perfect winter's night dinner choice.  

4 cups thinly sliced potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes)

1 1/2 cup diced cooked ham

1 chopped white onion

2 cups shredded cheese of your choice, divided

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Pinch of garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13" baking dish.

Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan.  Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly.  Gradually whisk in milk until smooth and thickened (about 4 - 5 minutes).  Gradually whisk in milk until smooth and thickened (about 4 - 5 minutes).  Stir in 1 1/2 cups of cheese, salt, pepper, and seasonings until melted.  

Layer half of the potatoes in the prepared dish.  Tope with half the ham and onions.  Pour half the cheese sauce over the layer.  Repeat with remaining potatoes, ham, onions, and sauce.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.  Remove foil and bake 15 - 20 minutes more, until golden brown and bubbly.  

Let sit 10 minutes before serving so sauce thickens.  

Just add a green veggie and you have a perfect comfort dinner!

Savory Ham & Veggie Strata

This is the perfect snowy day dinner.  It's like bread pudding with meat and veggies.  It's delicious, comforting and filling.  Perfect for a cold winter night dinner.  

4 - 5 cups bread, cubed (day-old is perfect)

1 1/2 cups diced ham

1 cup carrots, diced small

1 cup green beans, cut small

1 cup celery, diced

6 large eggs

1 1/2 cups milk or half and half

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup shredded cheese, your choice

Pinch of thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9 x 13" baking dish.

Melt butter in a skillet.  Sauté carrots and celery 4 - 5 minutes until just softened.  Add green beans and cook 1 - 2 minutes more.  Remove from heat.

Spread 1/3 of the bread cubes in the baking dish.  Top with half the ham and veggies and sprinkle with half of the cheese.  Repeat layers, finishing with bread on top.

Whisk eggs, milk, salt, pepper and thyme.  Slowly pour evenly over the dish.  Press bread gently so it absorbs.  

Cover loosely with foil.  Let sit for 30 minutes or refrigerate overnight for deeper flavor.

Bake for 25 minutes leaving foil in place.  Remove foil and bake another 20 minutes until puffed, golden, and set in the center.  

Rest 5 - 10 minutes, then slice and serve.  

Healthy, comforting, and delicious . . . all in one dish.

 

Crisp Apple Slaw

Slaw

3 cups shredded green cabbage

1 large crisp apple, julienned or thinly sliced

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Dressing

3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp honey

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine cabbage, apple, red onion, and parsley.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, honey, Dijon, salt and pepper.

Pour dressing over slaw and toss well. 

Let sit 10 - 15 minutes before serving to soften slightly and meld flavors.

Taste and adjust -- more honey for sweetness or vinegar for extra tang

Lemon-Garlic Zucchini & Yellow Squash

Zucchini and yellow squash are two veggies I have in abundance all summer and fall thanks to my garden.  I'm always looking for new and creative ways to use them.  This dish is very tasty and makes a good side for my favorite steak dinner night. 

2 medium zucchini and/or yellow squash
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Zest of one lemon

Juice of one lemon

1/4 cup breadcrumbs (panko works best)

Grated Parmesan

Heat a dry skillet over medium heat.  Add breadcrumbs and toast, stirring often, until golden and fragrant (2 - 3 minutes).  

Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

Slice squash into 1/4 - 1/2" rounds or half-moons.

Pat dry with a paper towel (helps avoid sogginess).

In the same skillet, heat olive oil and butter over medium-high heat.

Add squash in a single layer (work in batches, if needed).

Let cook 2 - 3 minutes without to get light browning.

Flip and cook another 2 minutes until just tender.  

Reduce heat to medium- low.  

Add garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice

Season with salt and pepper

Transfer to a serving dish.

Sprinkle with toasted breadcrumbs.

Finish with a dusting of grated Parmesan.

 

Old Bay Garlic Butter Shrimp Skillet

 

Shrimp is one of my favorite foods.  I find myself paring this down to make a serving for 1.  It's simple and delicious -- my favorite combo when it comes to making dinner.

1 lb large shrimp (peeled and deveined, tails off)

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning 

1/2 tsp paprika

Juice of 1 lemon

Fresh parsley (optional)

Pat shrimp dry and lightly season with Old Bay and paprika.

Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add shrimp in a single layer.  Cook 2 - 3 minutes per side until pink and just cooked.

Add garlic during the last minute, stir just until fragrant.

Finish with lemon juice and a small extra pat of butter if you like.  

Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

Suggest serving with roasted baby potatoes and sauteed green beans.

Homemade Rich Chocolate Chex Party Mix

 This is a good one.  It will become your new favorite.  Trust me!

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup malted milk powder

(it's found near the coffee and creamer)

2 Tbsp unsweetened baking cocoa

4 cups Rice or Corn Chex cereal

4 cups Chocolate Chex

1/2 cup butter

6 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 cups chocolate covered malted milk balls

1/2 cup vanilla baking chips

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.

Line large rimmed baking pan with waxed paper.  

In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar, malted milk powder and baking cocoa and set aside.  Add cereals to a large bowl.

Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in sugar.  Heat until sugar is dissolved.  Pour over cereal and stir to coat and combine.

Split cereal evenly between two 1-gallon resealable bags.  Split the cocoa mixture between both bags and shake to coat evenly.  

Spread cereal onto the lined sheet pan.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Sprinkle the malted milk balls and baking chip on top and allow to cool.  

Store at room temperature in covered container.

London Broil with Roasted Garlic and Herb Butter

 

London Broil is an affordable steak option and it's easy.  It's a great blank slate when it comes to flavor with a marinade before cooking and a little bit of roasted garlic and herb butter after cooking.

1 1/2 lb top round, flank, or flat-iron steak (about 1 1/2" thick)

1 Tbsp dark brown sugar

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp fish sauce

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp olive oil, divided

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 Garlic cloves

4 Tbsp butter, softened

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 Tbsp thinly sliced chives

Place steak on a cutting board and pat dry.  Using a fork, poke holes all over meat, 10 - 15 on each side.  Transfer to a large resealable plastic bag. 

In a small bowl, whisk brown sugar, mustard, fish sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire, and 1/4 cup olive oil.  Pour into bag and seal, pressing out air.  Refrigerate, flipping the bag every few hours so marinade is evenly distributed, at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

Place a rack in upper third of oven, heat broiler to high.  Remove steak from marinade and wipe off any excess.  Season all over with salt and pepper.  Arrange meat on broiler pan.

Broil steak 5 minutes, flip, and continue to broil, watching closely, until desired doneness is reached.  Let rest on a cutting board 10 minutes, then thinly slice against the grain.

While steak is resting place garlic on a baking sheet and drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  Broil, watching closely, until garlic browns and softens, 2 - 3 minutes.  

In a small bowl, mash roasted garlic, butter, parsley, and chives until mostly smooth and combined, season with salt.  

Transfer steak to a platter.  Serve with garlic butter alongside. 

Make-Ahead Gravy

Gravy is something of a staple in our house.  This recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving dinner or chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy on a Wednesday night.  It's positively delicious and so easy to make.  

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups of stock (chicken, turkey or beef)

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

5 - 6 oz additional stock (optional)

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat; whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, 3 - 4 minutes or until mixture is light brown and smooth and smells nutty.

Reduce heat to medium; stir in seasonings.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 - 15 minutes or until desired thickness.

This is particularly good using homemade stock if you have the time.  

To make ahead, cool gravy completely.  Cover and chill up to 3 days.  Cook gravy and, if desired, 5 - 6 Tbsp of stock in a Dutch oven over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 15 - 20 minutes or until hot.  

Pan-Seared Rainbow Trout with Lemon Herb Butter

I'm gonna tell on myself.  There are nights when I get home from work and I just can't decide what to make for dinner.  Lately, I just open up Chat GPT and tell it what primary ingredients I have and ask for dinner ideas.  This post is a recent suggestion, and it was super-good.

4 rainbow trout fillets (skin on)

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

1 lemon sliced into 4 slices, if desired

Pat trout fillets dry, season with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

Place trout skin-side down and cook 3 - 4 minutes until skim is crisp.  Flip and cook another 2 minutes.  Remove to a platter.

In the same pan, melt butter.  Add garlic, cook 1 minute.  Stir in parsley and lemon juice.

Spoon sauce over trout fillets before serving.  Top with lemon slices. if desired.

Suggested side dishes were Garlic Roasted Baby Potatoes, Sauteed Asparagus & Cherry Tomatoes.

It was perfect!

 

Make Your Own Hot Honey

Honey has become very expensive, and the specialty honey is over the top.  I decided it would be more cost effective to figure out how to make my own hot honey.  I like to use it to add a sweet and spicy kick to fried chicken, salad dressing and lots of other dishes/sauces.  

1 cup honey

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and heat slowly over medium-low heat.

Simmer, stirring frequently, until honey is fragrant, about 5 minutes.  

Remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes. 

Store up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.