Ham and Walnut Pasta

I have one more recipe here to help you use up some of that leftover Ham from the weekend. This one came about because I was in the mood to try something new so I began searching through my cookbooks. I came upon a recipe that looked interesting but I had less than 1/3 of the original ingredients on hand. However, the concept (browning some breadcrumbs to add to the pasta) intrigued me. I read through the recipe then headed into my kitchen. I then made choices from what was available in the cabinets, fridge and pantry and this is what I came up with. It really in no way resembles the recipe I saw in the book but we loved it. In fact my daughter and I fought over who got the leftovers for lunch the next day. (We reached a compromise and split it)

Ham and Walnut Pasta

1 pound spaghetti

¼ cup chopped walnuts

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs

½ pound cooked ham, cubed

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 cloves garlic, chopped

10 ounce bag fresh spinach

½ cup cooking water from the pasta

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Start by getting your water to cook your pasta in boiling, you will want to be cooking you pasta while you are making the rest so go ahead and add the pasta when the water boils. Drain pasta when it is cooked. Be sure to reserve ½ cup of the pasta water.

Meanwhile, in a sauté pan toast the walnuts until they just begin to turn a bit brown and you begin to smell them. Add the olive oil and breadcrumbs and cook until the mixture browns. Remove this from the nut mixture to a bowl to save for later and wipe the pan out.

In the same pan combine the ham, crushed red pepper, and garlic and cook to brown the meat and toast the garlic a bit. Add the spinach and ½ cup of water that the pasta is cooking in (this will not only cook the spinach but there is starch from the pasta will help the sauce to form) and cover to cook the spinach.

Toss the pasta, the spinach mixture, the nut mixture and lemon juice to combine. Top with some parmesan cheese if desired.

Ham and Cheese Pancake Roll-Ups

I know that many of us will be eating a ham on Easter so I decided to dust off one of my favorite recipes to use some of the leftover ham. First let me say that I love ham just about any way you fix it, but this is a real hit with the entire family. The amounts are flexible so you can tailor it to what your family likes and the amount you have left over.

This time I was in a hurry when I made this and to be honest I used pancake mix to make the pancakes and that is the way I am presenting the recipe. If you would rather to make your pancakes from scratch or any other favorite method feel free to do them that way. Just add the onion and an extra pinch of salt to your batter before you cook them.

Ham and Cheese Pancake Roll-Ups

3 cups of cooked ham, diced

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup all purpose flour

Salt and pepper to taste

3 cups milk

2 Tablespoons mustard (spicy brown or Dijon)

4 dashes of Tabasco sauce

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups of pancake mix (the kind you just add water to)

1 1/3 cups water

1 medium onion, finely diced

Begin by combining the ham and oil in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until the ham begins to brown. Add the flour, salt and pepper and stir over until bubbly. Add milk gradually stirring to combine. Heat to boiling stirring often, boil for about 1 minute then add the mustard and Tabasco sauce. Stir in cheese until mostly melted then turn off heat leaving pan on burner to stay warm. Continue to stir making sure cheese is melted completely before serving.

Meanwhile combine the pancake mix, water and onion mixing to combine. You want to have a slightly thin batter. Cook in a hot skillet using about ½ cup of batter for each pancake (I use a ladle to portion out the batter)

As pancakes cook move to a plate in a warm oven to keep warm until serving time.

To serve spoon ham and cheese sauce mixture onto pancake and roll up.