I wanted a good ham for Easter, but the locally-smoked, bone-in variety I was looking for didn’t come in a small size. Even a half ham weighed in at nearly 8 pounds, which is, well, a lot of ham, even for our family of five. After cooking up the […]
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I wanted a good ham for Easter, but the locally-smoked, bone-in variety I was looking for didn’t come in a small size.
Even a half ham weighed in at nearly 8 pounds, which is, well, a lot of ham, even for our family of five.
After cooking up the beautiful specimen on our pellet grill, I was left with way more than more than half of it, and most of my family is not a fan of leftovers.
Instead of throwing it in the freezer and forgetting about it, I took this as a challenge. I planned out a week of dinners using the remaining ham, and I didn’t tell my kids what I was doing.
I usually make split pea soup from leftover ham, which my husband and I love but is usually met with a hearty “meh” from the kids, so as much as I love it, I decided to forego it this year in the interest of leftover science.
Ham is the perfect vehicle for such an experiment, because curing extends its life (if properly refrigerated) for a few days over other cuts of meat.
On the weekly meal planner, I listed our meals as follows: casserole, chicken cordon bleu soup, fried rice with pineapple and pasta primavera. No mention of ham whatsoever.
Because each of the recipes I was planning would use cubed ham, we chopped the ham into bite-sized bits right after Easter dinner. That way, I could just grab a cup or two for whatever I was making that night.
Honestly, the week went so smoothly (and the kids didn’t complain too much) that I’m considering making a giant ham more often.
CREAMY HAM PASTA PRIMAVERA
Serves 6 generously
My kids love alfredo — I’m not really a fan unless there are a lot of vegetables involved. This was a great compromise. We all liked it quite a bit.
16 ounces dried spaghetti
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups low-sodium or homemade chicken broth
1 cup half and half
1 cup good Parmesan cheese, shredded, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
1 pound asparagus, ends snapped off and cut into one-inch pieces
2 cups frozen peas
2 cups diced ham
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced, for garnish
