Tortellini Summer Salad

Tonight was one of those nights.  I looked into the refrigerator and tried to figure out what I could cook for dinner that was not too complicated, not too hot, not too much effort.

I spied a package of fresh tortellini.  I thought, “Hey, I could boil that and throw in some vegetables and some meat and cheese.  It would be a main course salad!”

Uncooked Tortellini. Image via Flickr by Scott Feldstein CC license

I put some water on to boil.  I started to gather ingredients.

1 small white onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained
4 carrots, grated
1 box cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
several slices of deli ham, diced (1/4 to 1/3 of a pound)
1/2 jar Muffuletta olive salad (use a fork to dig it out of the jar)
Most of a bottle of creamy Caesar dressing (or could use vinegar and olive oil)

Boil a package of cheese tortellini according to the package directions.  Undercook just slightly.  Rinse with cold water.  While pasta cooks, combine the rest of the salad ingredients in a large bowl.  Add the pasta.  Toss and mix.

Diced celery, carrots and onion

Marinated Artichoke Hearts: Look for something like this

Muffuletta Olive Salad: Look for something like this near the pickles.

Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

image by jeffreyw via Flickr CC license

My mom used to make these yummy hot ham and cheese sandwiches for special events. They are quick to make and taste really good. Figure about 4 to 6 sandwiches per pound of ham, depending on how much ham you put on each bun.

This is what you need:

• sliced ham — any kind is fine: shaved, spiral sliced, leftover.
• sliced baby swiss cheese (1 or 2 slices per sandwich; or any kind of cheese you like)
• hamburger buns — poppy seed, onion, sesame seed, Hawaiian buns or plain
• mustard (any kind) — I like spicy brown or horseradish mustard best.
• finely minced onion (or use onion powder)
• butter

Soften 4 Tablespoons of butter. Add 2 T of mustard.
Mix in about 1 to 2 T. of minced onion (or more to taste).
Some recipes include 1 or 2 teaspoons of Worchestershire sauce in the mix as well. Mix all together.

Spread the butter/mustard/onion mixture on both sides of each hamburger bun, laying all the buns out on a cookie sheet or other flat surface.

Onto each bun bottom place a slice (or 1/2 slice of cheese) and your desired amount of ham (sliced or shaved). Top the ham with another slice of cheese (or 1/2 slice). Put a bun lid on each sandwich. Hopefully they all match up!

Wrap each ham and cheese sandwich in foil, sealing each little package tightly.

Place all the foil wrapped sandwiches on a cookie sheet. It is okay to stack them if you have too many.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Unwrap carefully. Enjoy!

I like to serve these with vegetables (carrots, celery, cucumber, radish) and dip (ranch, dill or spinach). They are also good with home made soup of any sort.  Crispy green salad?  You bet.

image of open faced ham and cheese fondue sandwich by Chris Gallevo via Flickr CC license

Okay, the photo above is not of this recipe.  But it does look like a pretty amazing hot ham and cheese sandwich, right?

Here are some links to similar recipes:

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/hot-ham-n-cheese
http://andreadekker.com/delicious-baked-sandwiches/
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/hot-colby-ham-sandwiches

This sandwich is not similar but this guy’s site has many delicious looking recipes for many different kinds of sandwiches:  http://whats4dinnersolutions.com/2015/03/03/sammich-pr0n-pulled-pork-with-slaw/

 

 

 

Aunt Helen’s Ham Loaf

ham loaf

2 lb. ground ham
1 lb. ground pork (can be sausage)
3/4 c. milk
1 c. dry bread crumbs
2 eggs
Mix all and form two loaves. Put in a 9 x 13 pan. Bake 2 hr at 300*. Baste often.
Baste with one of these options:

1 1/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. vinegar
1/2 to 1 t. dry mustard

OR
1 c. pineapple juice
1 1/4 c. brown sugar

This is one of my favorite family recipes.  I remember Mom (and Aunt Helen before her) making this for special dinners.  If you aren’t from the Midwest you might not have ever heard of ham loaf.  Even if you are from the Midwest, but are from an area where there were not a lot of German immigrants, you might not have heard of ham loaf.  It is similar in technique, shape and texture to meatloaf but it is made with a mixture of ground ham and ground pork (sausage or plain). This is a good recipe to use of leftover ham after Easter or Christmas (if you are a holiday ham eating family, that is!).

I have a grinder attachment on my mixer so I can grind my own ham.  If you have a good meat shop nearby, or a store that has a butcher you can probably find it there, too.  Other than that there is nothing fancy in this recipe.

For the glaze I prefer the vinegar and brown sugar option, but the other option is good, too.  I have cut the glaze ingredients in half (to cut down on the sugar), and it works just fine.

Ham loaf goes very well with sweet potatoes of any sort — mashed, baked, pan-fried (and glazed).  Add a nice salad and your favorite veggies (grilled asparagus for me, please!) and you are all set.

I looked around for some other ham loaf recipes for comparison.  Here are some family recipes I found from other sources:

http://missoulian.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/ham-loaf-the-darling-of-pennsylvania-a-great-way-to/article_fe931486-9c16-11e2-9eb5-001a4bcf887a.html

http://jbortel.typepad.com/grandma_mimis_recipes/2005/11/ham_loaf.html

http://lasvegasfoodadventures.wordpress.com/2010/12/25/ham-loaf/

Ham loaf #3

Ham Loaf Superb

Ham Loaf

http://www.twistedbranches.com/cookbook/viewrecipe.php?id=1067368112&category=

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/Any-Good-Recipes-For-Ham-Loaf-Out-There-m313206.aspx  (read the comment section for recipes)

I found this recipe posted in the comments section on the roadfood link just above:

This is one I use from Marcia Adams Cooking from Quilt Country, I love her cookbooks:

Church Supper Ham Loaf

1 lb ground ham
1 lb lean sausage
2 cups soft bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 TB lemon juice
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp powdered mustard
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp paprika

Basting Sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 tsp pepper

Combine meat and crumbs in a bowl by hand, in another bowl mix rest of ingredients well, pour over meat mix and blend well. Put mix into loaf pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour

Prepare basting sauce by combining sauce ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil

When ham loaf has baked for 45 min, remove from oven and drain off fat, pour sauce over loaf and continue baking another 15 min, basting with pan juices. Unbaked this freezes well

Enjoy! Some scalloped potatoes, spinach salad and pineapple upside down cake !

Another hamloaf from the roadfood link:

I wanted to revive this, as I found my moms recipe from the 60’s in my recipe box.

Evelyn’s Ham Loaf
—————–
2 lbs cooked ham (ground)
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb bulk pork sausage
1 1/2 cup tomato juice
2 cups soft breadcrumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 medium onion, minced
2 eggs well beaten
1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup & 2 tbs firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup catsup
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Combine 1st 9 ingredients… Mix well.
Spread into 2 QT greased casserole dish.

Combine sugar, catsup, mustard and nutmeg.
Mix well.
Spread over meat mixture.
Set casserole dish into shallow pan of water and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hour.

Creamy Mustard Sauce..
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup prepared mustard
2 cups whipping cream (edited by me)
(that seems to be optional according to the way mom wrote the recipe) 

And one more:  This one is for Ham BALLS!  🙂 and it uses graham cracker crumbs instead of bread crumbs.  Interesting!

This is the recipe we use at our restaurant for our Monday lunch special, HAM BALLS. You should be able to make a fantastic ham loaf with this, also.

BALL MIX
2 ½ lb ground ham
2 lb breakfast sausage
1 lb ground beef
2 cups milk
3 eggs
3 cups crushed graham crackers

SAUCE
1 can tomato soup
1 lb. brown sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tsp dry mustard

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all Ball mix ingredients.
Form into balls using a #12 scoop. Place in a sprayed 2” pan.
Combine sauce ingredients & cover balls.
Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes or when internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/611795

And this one from the chowhound link with this information:

I have a recipe that was written by my grandmother. It’s titled Mrs. Whipple’s Ham Loaf. This has been a staple in our family for generations. It’s a combination of ground pork, ground ham, breadcrumbs, eggs and milk. Formed into a loaf and glazed w/ a brown sugar glaze (w/ cider vinegar, dry mustard, ground cloves & water). It’s sooooo good and was always served w/ scalloped potatoes, green beans and pineapple souffle. Simple comfort food. The Italian deli, back home in PA, sells the loaves ready to bake. I’ve never seen ham loaf anywhere else and few folks I’ve met have heard of it. But those that have had it (or are from my hometown) seem to love it.

I no longer live in PA and so I have family bring me frozen loaves when they visit. I’ve spoke w/ a few butchers in the area and they cannot (will not) grind ham to blend w/ the pork. A NY butcher recently opened up shop here and he said he’d make the loaves if I give him the recipe.

Anyone familiar w/ ham loaf? What are it’s origins… is it a PA dutch thang? How do you serve it and with what sides?

Mrs. Whipple’s Ham Loaf

1 lb ground ham
1.5 lbs ground fresh pork
1 Cup bread crumbs
2 Eggs
3/4 Cup Milk

Mix the above ingredients together and shape into a loaf. Baste with:

1 Cup brown sugar
1 T vinegar
1 tsp. dry mustard
pinch of ground cloves
1/2 cup water

Place loaf in an 8×8 pan, pour glaze over top and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 1.5 hrs., basting occasionally.

And other story from the chowhound link:

I grew up in the suburbs south of Pittsburgh and ham loaf was a staple at our house in the 50’s and 60’s. I loved it. My mother was Slovenian. Not sure if she picked this recipe up from another nationality group or if everyone in the neighborhood made this economical dish. Thanks to the OP for jogging my memory, I pulled out my mom’s old recipe (hadn’t looked for it in at least ten years) and made it last night. Here are my take-aways: It’s best if the ham is processed through a food grinder but lazy me, I used the food processor instead. The processor worked fine, but texture is a little better with a grinder. Also best if made in a loaf pan rather than free form (my standard method for meatloaf) as it does get a little too brown. I didn’t use a glaze, but I’m betting that would be great. Otherwise, the taste was wonderful! Also from my memory as a kid, leftover ham loaf makes a great sandwich the next day. And for those of you who like your food to look appetizing (duh), beware. My son lovingly refers to this as ‘the pink loaf.’

Ham Loaf

1 lb. ground smoked ham
1/2 lb ground pork
1 cup fine bread crumbs
1 egg
milk to moisten
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 cup minced celery
1/4 tsp pepper
salt to taste, if needed

Mix ingredients. Press firmly into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes.

Linguine Carbonarish

Linguine Carbonarish by quirkyjazz aka The Tromp Queen

Carbonara usually has eggs and bacon included in the ingredients.  This one doesn’t so I’m calling it “Carbonara-ish” or Carbonarish for short.

I have delicious sliced leftover in the freezer from Christmas.  I was looking for an idea to use it in a quick dinner tonight.

In one of my cookbooks I saw a recipe for “Hay and Straw.”  Number 1:  I don’t like the name.  Not very appetizing!  2nd:  It was kind of plain.  But I took the idea, tweaked it quite a bit and made this really good dinner.  I declare the recipe “share-worthy” now.

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (16 oz) linguine, cooked al dente
3 cups cooked ham, julienned (I used leftover spiral sliced ham.)
1 T. olive oil and 1 T. butter
1 pkg. cook in the bag in the microwave frozen peas
1 1/2 cups shredded good quality Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. heavy cream (could use half and half)
8 oz. white button mushrooms (sliced)
2 t. butter and 2 t. olive oil
1 t. minced garlic (from a jar is fine or use powder — probably 1/2 t.)
1 t. thyme (or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste as well as additional Parmesan for topping

1.  Put a pot of water on for the pasta.  Add salt.  Turn it up on high.  Throw the peas in the microwave, but set it to undercook them slightly.  (i.e.  4 min. instead of 5 min. — they will cook later on some more).  When the water boils, add the pasta, set the timer for al dente and turn the heat down enough so it doesn’t boil over.

2.  I cooked the mushrooms separately because we have a mushroom hater at our house (SARAH!).  But I actually think it worked really well in this case, and would probably do it again this way.  The last four ingredients are what you need here.  In a medium skillet, heat the butter and oil (you don’t have to measure it, but you don’t need a gob).  Slice the mushrooms.  I admit I rinsed mine off even though I know it isn’t good for them.  Tough.  I don’t like all that dirt looking stuff hanging on there.  Anyway, throw the mushrooms in the hot skillet.  Hat the garlic and thyme.  Stir everything around and let this cook for the rest of the time you have.  Mine got really nicely browned and were very yummy.  Be careful not to burn them, though.  Stir them every once in a while, but let them sit long enough to get a little brown.

3.  While the pasta cooks, dig the ham out of the fridge.  Hopefully you remembered to take it out of the freezer yesterday!  (YAY!  I did!)  Slice off any huge blobs of fat, stack the slices and julienne the heck out of it.  If you are a precise person you can measure 3 cups of ham slices.  If not, just cut up how much you think everyone will eat that night.  It’ll be fine!

4. The peas are probably done.  Just let them hang out in the microwave until you are ready for them.  Get the cheese and cream ready, because it comes together in a flash here at the end.

5.  Drain the pasta.  Remember to stop it at al dente if you can.  Pasta that has no texture is not great to eat.  BLAH.

6.  You can either use your pasta pan or a very large skillet.  Melt the 1 T. butter with the 1 T. olive oil.  Add the julienned ham.  Stir it around til it is hot but not so long that it gets dry and yukky.  Just heat it through.  (You can work on the ham while the pasta is cooking if all goes well, but I had a small gray cat trying to poke her head up onto the table, and I had already dropped a mushroom earlier which was still rolling around under the table, and then …. well, you get the idea).  Grab the peas and add them to the ham in the skillet.  Throw on the shredded parmesan (save some for on top or use extra).  Pour in the cream.  Stir it all together and mix it as well as you can.  I used my wonderful stainless steel pasta fork.  It will not be an easy job, but hang in there.  Everyone can stir it again when they serve themselves so don’t get obsessed.

7.  Yell, “Dinner’s ready!”

Ideas to make it healthier:  Add more kinds of veggies.  Use whole wheat pasta. Make a roux and thicken milk to use instead of the cream.  Use less cheese.

The whole thing from start to finish took less than 30 minutes.  I’m ready for my TV show!