Ham Salad Spread - after Easter Treat

One of the things I liked best about Easter dinner was the left over ham. I'd been wanting ham salad sandwiches and after a couple of meals of leftover ham and the sides that went with it, we were ready. This recipe for Ham Salad Spread will make a good spread for sandwiches all summer when you want a lighter meal and a change from the usual deli meat sandwiches. You could even serve it on a lettuce leaf as a salad itself.
Besides tasting good, it is easy to prepare. Don't have left over ham? Use some cubed ham from the grocery store, already cooked. Want a smaller amount? Just reduce the ingredients, maybe one egg, a little chopped celery and pickle relish, a dash of mustard, and enough mayonnaise to make the consistency spreadable.

HAM SALAD SPREAD

3 cups ground fully cooked ham

2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped celery

4 teaspoons sweet pickle relish

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard

Directions: Mix ham, eggs, celery, and pickle relish together in a bowl. Combine mayonnaise and mustard together in a separate bowl, pour over ham mixture. Stir to coat. Refrigerate until serving time. 

Ham was the star of Easter dinner, but the other dishes
were great also. 

Fabric, Food, and Friends

Just before the StayAtHome directive came for Kansas, a small group of friends gathered at the local quilt shop on Sunday afternoon for sewing, visiting, and snacking. We knew many of our activities were being cancelled and this might be (and did turn out to be) a last gathering for a while. Its hard to say which we enjoyed most - fabric, food, or friends - but we're glad we had that afternoon. 

My pan to take was Veggie Pizza, one of my favorites, but something I don't make for us at home. It was a popular treat and when the afternoon was over we traded leftovers. So I came home with only a few pieces of the veggie pizza, some Barney Stone cake (pound cake covered with peanuts), and chocolate chip cookies. All very good. With those goodies, it is amazing we got any sewing done, but we did. 

This Veggie Pizza is easy to assemble, and I think it helps to do the crust earlier in the day so it is ready. The choice of toppings is yours, your favorites or what ever you have on hand. If you want to reduce the calories you can use low-fat sour cream and cream cheese. 

Veggie Pizza

2 (8 oz) packages refrigerated crescent rolls

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a jellyroll pan with no-stick cooking spray. 

2.    Pat crescent roll dough into a jelly roll pan. Press the edges together to form a solid crust. Let stand 5 minutes. Pierce with fork. 

3.    Bake for 10 minutes, let cool. 

1 cup sour cream

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

¼ teaspoon garlic salt

1 (1 oz) package ranch dressing mix

4.    In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, cream cheese, dill weed, garlic salt and ranch dip mix. Spread this mixture on top of the cooled crust.

Topping options: Assorted chopped raw veggies: celery, broccoli, small onion, radishes, bell pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes.  Grated carrot, sliced black olives. Shredded cheese.

5.    Top with favorite toppings. Cover and let chill. Once chilled, cut into squares and serve. 

Now we do our visiting while sewing by texting! 

MORNING GLORY MUFFINS

These muffins are a hit! I have no idea why they're called "morning glory muffins" except that they would be a great breakfast treat. I made them this afternoon and there may not be any left by breakfast! The ingredients remind me of a cross between a hummingbird cake and a carrot cake in muffin form. 
The original recipe is from Ina Garten/Food Network, I altered it to make part of the flour whole wheat and used craisins instead of raisins. 
The batter is colorful and yummy looking even before baking - see the photos at the end of the post. 
It goes together easily and quickly. The grating of carrots and apple is the most time consuming. I took advantage of the food processor instead of a box grater and grated them the night before when I was also grating carrots for another recipe. 

MORNING GLORY MUFFINS                            

Ingredients: 

1 cup vegetable oil, plus extra for the pan

3 extra-large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups grated carrots

1 Granny Smith apple, grated

1 (8-oz) can crushed pineapple, drained

½ cup pecans, roughly chopped

½ cup sweetened shredded coconut

½ cup craisins or raisins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 ¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and arrange two racks evenly spaced in the oven. Line two muffin pans with paper muffin cups. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add the carrots, apple, pineapple, pecans, coconut, and raisins and stir together.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Scoop the batter with a standard (2 ¼ -inch) ice cream scoop into the prepared muffin cups. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Place the pans on a baking rack to cool and serve the muffins warm or at room temperature. 

 

The batter before the dry ingredients - it is
very colorful! 

Gently mix the dry ingredients in just enough to
completely moisten and mix all the ingredients. 

Top Secret Chocolate Cake

The rainbow sprinkles add a festive touch.
Favorite part for the grand girls! 

More comfort food time. During this Stay-At-Home season there is lots of time for cooking and baking - and eating. With the warmer weather we should be able to be outside taking walks to balance the extra calories. So here is an easy and pretty cake to celebrate your family. 

This recipe is from Pioneer Woman, one of my favorite sources. Her version adds a simple chocolate ganache topping made with ½ cup heavy cream and ⅔ cup semisweet chocolate chips. (heat cream until just bubbling.  Add chocolate ships to a small bowl and pour the hot cream over the top. Let sit for 1 minute, then mix until smooth.) This did not work for me, a sad waste of cream and chocolate chips! So I found an even easier way - ready-made frosting, that is included in this recipe. 

TOP SECRET CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients:

One 15.2 oz box dark chocolate cake mix

1 cup whole milk

½ cup (1 stick) melted salted butter

3 large eggs, beaten

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Ready-made chocolate frosting

Directions: 

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10-cup Bundt pan with baking spray. 

2.    Mix together cake mix, milk, butter, eggs, chocolate chips and vanilla in a large bowl until completely combined. Pour into the prepared Bundt pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. 

3.    Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely an additional 20-25 minutes. 

4.    Topping: soften ready-made chocolate frosting in the microwave until  pourable but thick. 

5.    Transfer the cake to a cake stand or serving platter and pour the frosting over the top, allowing it to drip down the ridges. Sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles and serve. 

We have farm fresh eggs from Daughter & S-I-L. This
is 3 large eggs! It was a rich cake. 

Potato Soup for the Luck of the Irish

I don't know if the Irish are lucky or not. Right now it doesn't seem like luck plays a part in our everyday lives as the weather bounces from a 75 degrees sunny day to 24 degrees predicted for tomorrow night and we are staying home with the threats of coronavirus around us. It is certainly a time for comfort, and comfort food. With family birthdays in March we often think of St. Patricks Day themes and to me potatoes come in that theme.
This Loaded Crockpot Soup was a hit at a birthday supper last night and will make warm leftover meals tomorrow. It is easy to put together with hash brown potatoes and loaded like a baked potato with cheddar cheese and bacon.  I served it with the Cheese Wheel we usually enjoy at Christmas time. I added 1 cup of chopped ham to the cheese mixture in the cheese wheel for a hardy side for the soup.

LOADED CROCKPOT HASH BROWN POTATO SOUP              

 from Family Fresh Meals.com

      

Ingredients: 

1 – 20 oz bag of shredded hash brown potatoes

32 oz chicken broth

½ cup shredded carrots

7 slices of bacon, cooked and diced (reserve 2 slices for toppings)

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper1/4 cup onion, diced

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

·     Int a 4-5 qt. slow cooker, add potatoes, carrots, bacon, broth, water, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. 

·     Cook in High 3 hours, or low 6 hours. 

·     Once cooking time is done, whisk flour and cream together until smooth. Add to slow cooker. (I tempered the cream mixture by mixing a small amount of potato/broth mixture with the cream mixture before adding it to the slow cooker.)

·     Cover and cook for on low for 30 minutes. Add cheese and stir until cheese is melted. 

·     Serve hot with optional toppings of shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, chopped green onions, sour cream. 

Pie/PI Day - My Favorite - Coconut Cream Pie

I'm not afraid of Coconut Cream Pie anymore! Although it is our family's favorite and a common birthday treat, it usually came from the local bakery to our house. And for church dinners I always hoped my fellow UMW members would make the coconut cream pie and I could pick my seat  at that pacesetting. 
My experiences with making coconut cream pie involved lots of stirring, time at the stove, and not-so-great results. This recipe from Chef Alli is a game changer! It is cooked in the microwave, much easier and quicker. Also the toasted coconut adds a richer flavor. The meringue recipe she shares is also different. It includes water! And it works beautifully. The meringued pie is also baked at a lower temperature for a longer time to cook and brown the meringue. This helps the meringue cook completely and keeps it from shrinking back from the edges or weeping as it cools. 
Wow! I may even volunteer to take a Coconut Cream Pie to the next church dinner. My son-in-law enjoyed this month's version of his pie-of-the-month Christmas gift. 

COCONUT CREAM PIE

                              

1 – 9” pie crust, baked and cooled

1 recipe meringue

6 Tbs. cornstarch

¾ cup granulated sugar

½ tsp. kosher salt

3 cups milk

3 egg yolks, beaten
3 Tbs. butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. coconut extract

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted (plus extra for garnish)

To toast the coconut: spread out over a large baking sheet in a single layer. Bake, uncovered, in preheated 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown, tossing often. 

In a large bowl, combine corn starch, sugar, and salt; whisk in milk. Cook on high power in microwave in 2-minute intervals, stirring between each, until mixture begins to bubble and thicken a bit. Stir a bit of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, then whisk the egg/milk minute back into the hot milk. Continue to cook on full power in microwave in 2-minute intervals for an additional 8-10 minutes or until mixture has formed a nicely thickened pudding/pie filling. 

Remove from microwave and whisk in butter, vanilla, and coconut extract; fold in coconut, then pour into a cooled pie shell. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of pie filling; let pie cool. After pie has cooled, cover with meringue. Bake in preheated 325-350 degree oven for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown. 

MILE-HIGH MERINGUE

5 egg whites

5 Tbs. ice water

¼ cup granulated sugar

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites, water, and sugar for 3-5 minutes on high speed until stiff peaks form.
Spread meringue over cooled pie filling, making sure meringue is spread over the edges of the pie crust all the way around (to keep the meringue from shrinking back when baked).

Use a small spoon or spatula to make decorative peaks and swirls on the top of the meringue if desired. 

Bake pie, uncovered, in preheated 325-350 degree oven for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Let pie cool before slicing. 

A new Breakfast Offering

At our monthly United Methodist Women's meeting and brunch it seemed we had been served every version of breakfast casserole with eggs, hash browns, sausage, etc. there could be. So when I saw this served at a Christmas quilting group, I knew it was one to try. This month it was my turn to be hostess for UMW, and I made this new recipe of Breakfast Strudel. It uses puff pastry so it is much easier than it looks! The flaky, buttery crust reminds me of the Kansas Maid butter braids that are so popular in our part of Kansas. 

The next best thing of this recipe is that it could be assembled the night or day before. For morning meetings this is a great time saver. Although this is an easy recipe, it does have several things to chop and measure. A couple of surprise ingredients had good purposes - the orange juice adds Vitamin C to help preserve the color and the sour cream gives a soft silky texture. Be sure to scramble the eggs just until set, a bit soft, so they don't get rubbery. 

The original recipe from bluemountpingraphics.com said this was 8 servings. It does make 2 strudels. We had 8 women at the meeting and this, along with blueberry muffins and mixed berries was an ample amount. I even had some to bring home. 

BREAKFAST STRUDEL

Ingredients: 

1 box (1.1 lb) puff pastry dough

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 cup frozen cubed hash brown potatoes

1 cup red or green bell peppers, seeded and diced

½ cup onion, diced

1 cup diced smoked ham

11 eggs

2 Tbs. minced fresh chives

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 Tbs. orange juice

1 egg

1 Tbs. water

2 Tbs. parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions:

1.    Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2.    Thaw pastry according to package directions, about 30 minutes. 

3.    Melt butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and onion, sauté 3 minutes, then add ham. 

4.    Whisk eggs and chives together. Add them to the pan and scramble until just set. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Removed from heat, stir in cream cheese and juice until blended. Refrigerate eggs while working with the pastry. 

5.    Unfold a pastry sheet on a work surface that has been lightly dusted with flour. Roll pastry lengthwise to 12 x 10”, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper cut to fit a baking sheet. 

6.    Cut off two corners and notch the sides to create flaps. Fill with half the egg mixture and braid, starting with the notched end. Repeat with remaining pastry and egg filling. 

7.    Lift parchment and strudels onto baking sheet. Combine the remaining egg and water; brush over top of strudels. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake 20-30 minutes, or until golden. Let cool 5 minutes before slicing.