Mini Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

I made these delicious little sandwiches from Beantown Baker a long time ago, but I didn't want to post them until now.


Actually, kind of a funny story: when I was working on my worcestershire sauce recipe for HighLowAha's Superbowl competition, I had decided on these sandwiches. I made them, served them during a brunch, photographed them, and was all set to blog them.

I then realized where they came from, and since Jen was a guest judge in the competition, I figured that it wasn't really appropriate to use one of her recipes.

That, however, didn't stop me from loving these; I just figured I'd wait a bit to post them. I changed them just slightly, so visit her site for her original.

They were so easy to put together, and definitely something "different." They were perfect for the New Year's brunch we had with my family, especially since you prep them the night before and then just pop them in the oven. How much more convenient can you get?


Ingredients

• 1 c (2 sticks) butter
• 1 1/2 Tbsp dried minced onions
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp honey mustard
• 1 package slider rolls
• 1 pound cooked ham slices
• 12 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese

In saucepan, mix butter, onion, Worcestershire sauce, & mustard and stir until blended and melted. Pour 1/2 of mixture into bottom of baking dish.

Assemble sandwiches with ham and cheese slices. Arrange rolls in single layer in baking dish, spreading them around to soak up suace in pan. Pour rest of sauce over tops of sandwiches, cover dish and refrigeragte up to 24 hours for suce to soak in.

Preheat oven in 350 degrees, bake rolls for 10-12 minutes until rolls are lghtly browned and cheese is melted.

Superbowl Snack Throwdown: Mini Aloha Calzones

Happy Friday!  You can celebrate the weekend's arrival by clicking here to vote for your favorite pineapple recipe in HighLowAha's weekly Superbowl Snack Throwdown!  Hopefully, your favorite involves cute little umbrellas... ;)

I never had pineapple pizza until our honeymoon.  We found a little pizza place in Lahaina on Maui, and they had this amazing pineapple and ham deep dish pizza.  I'm not usually a fan of ham OR pineapple (well, except for when I was pregnant with Ryan and ate pineapple like it was my job) but this pizza was absolutely amazing.  More than 6 years later, I still remember it.

I've had similar (but not as yummy!) pies since, though most involve a red pizza sauce.  While those variations are good, I much prefer the delicious flavor combination of the ham and pineapple to stand out on its own and not be masked by tomatoes.

When pineapple was selected as the secret ingredient, I knew I wanted to replicate the yumminess of that pizza.  While you might choose to serve these with a tomato sauce for dunking, I prefered to leave them plain.

One of the things I love about this recipe is how versatile it is depending on your cooking ability - or how much time you have.  You can make your own pizza dough or use store-bought.  Fresh pineapple or canned.  Diced deli meat or last night's leftover ham.  This is truly a recipe that will appeal to all ability levels in the kitchen!

They are very fast to whip up and are sure to disappear quickly.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 1 batch pizza crust
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1 cup mozzarella
• 1 cup diced ham
• 1 cup diced pineapple (if using canned, drain first!)

Preheat oven to 400.  Lightly coat a 9x9 baking dish with oil.

Roll out pizza dough and divide into 16 pieces.  Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl.

Take a piece of dough and flatten.  Place a spoonful of the pineapple mixture into the dough and wrap the corners around to seal.  Place seam side down in the baking dish.  Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Bake uncovered for 16-20 minutes.

Ham and Shells Casserole

Oh, this was one yummy dinner!

This recipe from This Girl's Food was delicious. I ended up having to make some changes, the biggest being the fact that I didn't bake it. I preheated my oven, and my kitchen started to fill with smoke. I peeked in and saw that whatever I had made last had apparently spilled and I didn't notice. So... no baking!

I really enjoyed the creaminess of it, and while I wonder what it would be like out of the oven, I'm not sure I'd try. Why mess with a good thing?

Ingredients

• 1 pkg (16 oz.) medium pasta shells
• 3 large onions
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 9 oz. package fresh spinach, torn
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3-1/2 cups skim milk
• 1 cup park-skim ricotta cheese (I omitted because I didn't have any)
• 1 cup (4 oz.) crumbled goat cheese (I used mozzarella)
• 2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350°

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, saute onions in oil for 15-20 minutes or unitl golden brown. Add spinach and rosemary, cook for a few minutes until spinach is wilted.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and pepper until smooth and cook for a few minutes. Gradually add milk, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses until blended.

Drain pasta, place in a large bowl. Add the ham, onion mixture and sauce and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes until bubbly.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I think this is one of the easiest and yummiest meals I've made in a long time. Another success courtesy of Erica's Kitchen Adventures!


This could be an ever faster meal if you used Perdue Shortcuts and those microwaveable envelopes of rice. And I bet it'd be awesome to sub some pasta instead of rice. But honestly, it doesn't matter how you cook it - just cook it. This was just so freaken good.


Ingredients

• 2 T EVOO
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 bell pepper, diced (I skipped the pepper, don't like it)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb diced ham (I just used pre-packaged, pre-diced)
• 2 c cooks, shredded chicken breast (used 2 fairly large chicken breasts)
• 4 T butter
• 1/4 c flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 14 oz can chicken broth
• 3 cups cooked rice (I used brown)
• 1 c shredded cheddar
• 1 c shredded mozzarella or swiss (I used a bit of both, and I never measure cheese, I use a lot)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

I precooked the chicken by cutting it into thin strips (to cook faster) and throwing it into a skillet with a bit of oil. Then I shredded from there.

Heat oil in a large, rimmed skillet over medium heat.

Add the onions and peppers and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender.

Then add the garlic, chicken and ham and cook for another 5 minutes until heated through.

Add the butter until it is melted, then stir in the flour, salt and pepper until combined.

Slowly stir in the chicken broth, then mix in the rice.

Transfer mixture to a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle the top with your cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. For the last 10 minutes place aluminum foil overtop for oozing cheese.

Creamy Ziti with Peas and Ham

Although my dinner didn't turn out quite as creamy as Rachel's, I am still glad that I cooked this dinner from Culinary Kicks. I really love the taste of ham and peas together, and, well, if you haven't figured out yet that I am in desperate need of a 12-step program for pasta-holics, then we have a problem.

I think next time I would reserve a little extra cooking water, or perhaps add a little bit of cream. But other than that, this dinner was really good.


Creamy Ziti with Peas and Ham
(adapted from America's Test Kitchen)

• 1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 4 ounces thick sliced ham, diced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb small pasta (I used mini ziti, the recipe called for mini shells)
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (half of one lemon squeezed)

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil for the pasta.

2. Combine the ricotta, Parmesan, butter, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, in a serving bowl large enough to hold the pasta.

3. Cook the ham in the oil in a 12 inch skillet until the ham is cooked through and browned. Drain onto a plate lined with paper towels, reserving the oil.

4. Cook the onions in the oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Remove from heat and add to the ricotta mixture, stir to mix well.

5. When the water is boiling, stir in 1 tbsp salt and the pasta. Cook stirring often, until the pasta is almost tender, but still a little firm to the bite. Add the peas during the final 30 seconds of the pasta cooking.

6. Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking water and then drain the shells and peas. Whisk the lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water into the ricotta mixture until smooth. Add the shells and peas and toss to coat. Add the reserved ham, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Save the remaining 1/4 cup pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce before serving.

Sweet Potato, Ham, and Marshmallow Casserole

Every year for Thanksgiving, Nana makes a sweet potato casserole w/ little marshmallows on top. YUM! While I know I could never replicate hers, I was excited to try this version for dinner (I believe she got the recipe from tasteofhome.com).

It was just okay. I thought it was too dessert-ish and not really hearty. I ended up just eating the toasted marshmallows (not that there's anything wrong with that... hee hee!). This is something that maybe I'd do for a side, but not for an actual meal. Rather than ice cream, I felt like I needed a salad for dessert.



(Oh, and I doubled this! We threw out the rest because neither of us said we'd eat it again. Definitely don't double this, and use it as a side!)

Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato, about (10 ounces)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 fully cooked ham slice (1/2 pound and 3/4 inch thick)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/3 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks, drained
• 1/3 cup miniature marshmallows (I used jumbo because, well, they looked tempting in the store!)
  

Directions:
Peel sweet potato and cut into chunks. Place in a microwave-safe dish; add water. Cover and microwave on high for 7-9 minutes or until tender; drain and set aside.

Cut ham into two pieces. In a skillet, brown ham in butter on both sides. In a bowl, combine pineapple juice and brown sugar; stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour over ham. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Transfer ham to a greased shallow 1-qt. baking dish. Place sweet potato and pineapple around edge of dish. Pour brown sugar mixture over the top.

Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle marshmallows around edge. Bake 3-5 minutes longer or until the marshmallows are golden brown. Yield: 2 servings.