Making the Most of a Tasty Ham

[mpillow]

The last time we had ham this is what I did.....

Day 1-2
7-9 pound ham ($8 on sale)

Place ham (frzn is fine) in a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and then set between med.& low heat. 1hr

*Note---don't add salt to these dishes....the ham broth has plenty!

Use the quick soak method (or soak overnight before cooking ham) on 2# of dry beans (cranberry, pinto, navy etc) after draining---> cook beans in broth from ham pot with a few chunks of fat that is trimmed from the ham. Cook 2-3 hrs until beans are done....you can add onion, crushed red pepper and black pepper to the beans if you like while cooking. I used about 2 tsp crushed red and 1/2 tsp pepper. ($2)

This was enough for 10-12 generous servings. We ate it for 2 days with ham on the side.

With leftover ham, I trimmed and cut into chunks....for lunch on Day 3 we had western omelet sandwiches. (Eggs(6) onion and ham) store cost $1.50

Next I took some of the broth from the ham pot and boiled about a pound of cubed(1inch) potato, chopped onion and celery (about a cup each)....put in about a pound of chunked leftover ham and the ham bone. Boil until potatoes are nearly done....then I added about 12oz frzn corn, 6oz frzn broccoli, a pint of green beans, a quart of carrots (you could use frzn mixed veg. from the store about 2#) and about a pint of leftover beans adding enough ham broth to cover as I added to it. I also added about a cup of leftover mashed winter squash.A few shakes of garlic powder and pepper. I simmered this for 10 min or so and then thickened it with cold water and flour (in a Q mason jar about 2c cold water and 1/2c flour shake well and pour into boiling soup, return to boil turn off/low). This made about 1.5 gallons of soup/stew. Remove ham bone and serve. Freeze excess. (the price of this is hard to calculate as we grew the corn/broc./greenbeans/squash/potato.....but store purchased I would guess around $5) 16 servings (1.5 cups)

I gave the rest of the fat trimmings to the dog and chickens but I'm sure that freezing them and using them to flavor another pot of beans would work as well. I plan to freeze some broth, too. A lot of meals and flavor for $16.50. Add in some biscuits and cornbread....still under $20.

[AngieM2]

Nice work, and I'd have liked to have been at your house that week for meals!

Angie

[Kmac15]

Very good, my mom has started giving me the ham bone at Easter, says I make the best use of it out of all the girls LOL

[unregistered29228]

Very thrifty, and sounds tasty too! We try hard not to throw out any food, even if the dog ends up with the last of the scraps. But I think you take the prize for making a dollar go farthest!

[Alice Kramden]

The last 30 minutes of cooking time, drizzle a couple of tablespoons of honey over the ham. This will give it that "store bought" flavor that you pay a ridiculous price for at their stores.

30 minutes is long enough for the flavor to cook in, longer will cook the honey to a black crust, which doesn't hurt anything, it just doesn't look appetizing.

You can do the same with maple syrup.

[doglover]

in my opinion its the best money spent. Ham can be used it so many ways.Its rarely you want find at least one ham in our freezers. Always bought far ahead of any holiday. Lots of times we buy half hams if the price is right. The family never wanted me to add the toppings on a ham. Just bake it very slow all night.

[Trixters_muse]

I always try to tuck back a little money after the holidays and usually ask that my family give me grocery gift cards for the holidays instead of stuff I don't need so I can buy the turkeys and hams on sale after the holidays.

We use the ham the same as you did and we also make quiche, ham salad, and breakfast biscuits stuffed with fried ham slices. I also cube up ham and add it to mac and cheese, scalloped potatoes, casseroles and to top baked potatoes.

Good job on stretching that budget!

[unregistered29228]

I've also made fried rice with leftover ham (eggs, onions, carrot and celery chopped, peas, chopped spinach, soy sauce, a little sesame oil). That's a cheap meal too.

[mamita]

oh wow...you have me REALLY craving ham & navy bean soup now! I agree..and kudos to you for stretching the budget! I say the same about turkey...still inexpensive, and we get quite a few meals out of one. my hubby keeps saying he hopes everybody just thinks of it as 'Thanksgiving food' so the price stays down. you'll find ham and turkey stocked up in our house, too.

boy...an omelet would be so good right now....LOL (I should never read any thread that pertains to any food!)

[RVcook]

Great job on the meal stretching!

We also love ham at our house and use every scrap. The only thing is that a 7-9 lb. ham is just simply too big for the two of us so we always ask the butcher to cut the ham into smaller hunks. That way, we can enjoy our ham, use all the leftovers and not fret over wasting any.

RVcook