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17 Recipes to Make with Leftover Ham

From ham and bean soup to ham fried rice, these 17 irresistible leftover ham recipes are the perfect way to put those smoky Easter leftovers to good use.

If you’re lucky enough to find yourself with leftover ham this Easter (this is one of my favorite recipes), that means spring pastas, soups, fried rice, and more are just a bite away. Of course it takes a whole lot of restraint not to just channel our inner caveman and snack on the remaining ham straight off the bone — the porky goodness is just way too tempting.

Baked hams are a celebratory food. Since we tend to make them for holidays and special occasions, they’re typically not something we have on a regular basis, so when we do, we know there’s a wealth of yummy ideas for repurposing that ham are at our disposal.

From classic split pea soup made in the pressure cooker, to gussied up grilled cheese, these round-two leftover ideas are so good, they’ll give your holiday ham dinner a run for its money .

So let’s carve in, shall we?

Pressure Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham from Skinnytastecontinue to the recipe… about 17 Recipes to Make with Leftover Ham

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast for a crowd has never been easier thanks to this incredibly easy to assemble, make-ahead ham and cheese breakfast casserole that some may call a soufflé or a strata, but we just call delicious.

This recipe has been on the blog since the beginning, because it’s one of my very favorites. But just like everything worth keeping around, it was time for it to get a refresh and update.

My family isn’t steeped too deeply in legendary traditions. As kids, we didn’t go to the same summer vacation spot year after year nor did we play the perennial party games at the annual family reunion.

But we did always gather together on Thanksgiving and Christmas. And that’s why it’s my favorite time of the year. Memories of grandmas and grandpa, all the aunts and uncles and cousins too, together to eat, share, arm wrestle—and beat—my boy cousins and watch TBS’s 24 hour A Christmas Story marathon.

Each and every Christmas morning of of my 29 ‘plus’ years, I’ve had this ham and cheese breakfast casserole we assemble the night before and then bake on Christmas morn in all of its gooey, cheesy, ground ham you’ll breakfast ingredient lovers union.

And this casserole is special, because this casserole never makes another appearance at any other time of the year than on Christmas morning. We simply don’t ever want it to lose it’s special shining sparkle.continue to the recipe… about Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

Microwave Egg Caprese Breakfast Cups

This hot homemade ham, egg and caprese-flavored breakfast can be in yo’ belly in just two minutes thanks to a quick cook in the microwave. Yes, this is how you can easily cook eggs in the microwave.

Hi! I’m Heidi and I’ll be serving you today. What can I get you?

One of the recent requests here on le bloggity blog is for more easy recipes for quick breakfasts please!

I totally get it. We all know that a good breakfast is the key to setting up your day for success so if you could create a weekend-tasting breakfast in the time it takes to pour a bowl of cereal, I’m betting you’d totally be into this breakfast that fully supports your snooze button needs. (Have you seen my list of 19 healthy breakfasts when you don’t have time to eat?!!)

And that’s why the microwave is your egg cooking friend.

continue to the recipe… about Microwave Egg Caprese Breakfast Cups

Ham and Smoked Gouda Grilled Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

This easy to make recipe is made with deli ham, smoked gouda, fried egg, tomato, and arugula, and it’s everything you want in a breakfast sandwich!

I once had a boss who had a habit for emphasizing the sensational.

He gauged quality and effectiveness by his gut, his intuition. By his visceral reaction. With a squint of his eyes, he’d push his glasses back up his nose, clench his hands and fist pound the air in front of him as he said the word visceral. “Back when I worked at [insert company name here], we created x, y, z product to get consumers to respond with a VISCERAL reaction.” You always knew he meant business when the word visceral spit out of his mouth with an extra dramatic paused slur in the middle of the word.

After pulling this sandwich from the grill, I had a flashback to those days of hearing that statement over and over. This sandwich. I had a visceral reaction to it. Visceral! My gut, my intuition, it all said that his sandwich, even before tasting it, was a fist-pump-in-the-air success.

My former boss would be proud.

continue to the recipe… about Ham and Smoked Gouda Grilled Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

Monte Cristo Waffle Sandwich and a Virtual Babyshower

The best part of breakfast is when it can be eaten anytime of day and for just about any occasion. Like for a virtual baby shower for a waffle making queen who will soon bequeath us a mini waffle eating princess.

I bet that’s exactly the occasion you were planning for making Monte Cristo Waffle Sandwiches.

It’s really been 9 months already? Really? It truly seems like maybe a month ago when I drove to the airport to pick up Melissa, the exceptionally talented recipe creator/food blogger/designer behind the lens and in front of the oven at The Faux Martha.

She and a few moree food blogging friends were making their way to SLC for the blogging conference Alt Summit and we were setting up camp at my house. Sure we’d be hitting the conference, but we were all looking most forward to some quality after-conference time of dinners, cocktailing and the usual friendly merriment.

But Melissa had a secret to share, and she needed a confidante to help with her cover.

On the drive to my house from the airport she spilled the beans to me that she was pregnant.

continue to the recipe… about Monte Cristo Waffle Sandwich and a Virtual Babyshower

Things Aren’t Always What They Seem to Be: Sticky Glazed Asian Ham

As I was driving home from teaching class one of the past Tuesday nights of one of the past months since last September, my mind wandered as I zoned in and out, listening to my favorite part of my Tuesday night teaching gig—Tuesday Night Takeover with Karamea, her songlist is “the jam” as the kids say these days.

Per usual, my thoughts drifted to and fro about blogging. Not necessarily my blog, or even food blogs, but blogs in general.

And I had an epiphanie. Or a comparison, rather, about what blogs are like.

Some of you may be single, looking for that new special somebody. What does a girl or guy have to do these days to meet somebody new?

Date someone from work? Not always the best idea. If things go south you either need to find a new job or walk past one another with eyes averted as you secretly spy on the flirting going on with the new temp.

At a bar? The classic hook up, but unless you’re under 25, what you remember as a cute and flirty scene quickly devolves to desperation.

Which has led many singles to online dating sites. Match, e-Harmony, etc., we’ve all heard encouraging stories of relationships that have blossomed from screen time to snuggle time.

But first there’s that suffering vetting process. Screening through candidates and their life stories of roses and unicorns. Why yes of course he’s 6’3” with a chiseled jaw, a great job and no baggage, why wouldn’t he be single? Look at that perfectly poised photo and read those disarmingly witty texts he sends. And then you meet in real life, only to discover what really lies at the belly of the beast isn’t nearly as engaging or real as his onscreen persona.

And that’s where I found the comparison. Blogs are a lot like dating sites.continue to the recipe… about Things Aren’t Always What They Seem to Be: Sticky Glazed Asian Ham

Honey Smoked Ham with Fig Spread Grilled Cheese

There are few meals in my life that once I light upon them become an obsession. The humble grilled cheese is that sandwich.

No matter what form, no matter what level of haute- or low-brow cuisine, the cheese a la grillé is a magnet that won’t let me go. And I am totally okay with that.

The beauty of any grilled cheese is the multitude of limitless combinations to create gooeywiches. Any kind of cheese from stinky French milks to hard aged cheddars will match with humble potato bread or artisan sourdoughs. Throw in an infinite number of add-ins and there you have an enviable sandwich.continue to the recipe… about Honey Smoked Ham with Fig Spread Grilled Cheese

Ham and Cheese Baked Egg Cups

I’ve been a bit obsessed with food in cups. You could say its due to my uber-busy life right now that I’m looking for ways to maximize my family’s food/eating/nutrition schedule while keeping it nutritious and delicious but fast and portable. Those start-of-school-bells ring early!

I first discovered a version of these egg strata cups 3 years ago at a local bakery that is no more (damn economy), that I’d drop into after dropping off my daughter for pre-school.

I was just going in for a latte, but those breakfast cups would always draw me in, flirting from the deli case, batting their baked bread, cheese, eggey-ness until I would at the last minute tell the cashier, “I’ll have one of those too.”

continue to the recipe… about Ham and Cheese Baked Egg Cups

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