Scalloped Ham and Potatoes

Scalloped Ham and Potatoes

3 lbs. russet potatoes, washed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 c. diced ham
3 c. half-and-half
¼ c. flour
2 c. grated white cheddar
pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter a large casserole dish.

Peel and thinly slice potatoes.  Boil for about 7 minutes to help take the bite out.  (You can skip this step, but sometimes when I make gratin my potatoes stay a little crunchy and this helps with that.)  In a large skillet, heat olive oil and cook onion until tender.  Add cubed ham and cook until heated through.  Set aside.

Microwave half-and-half for a minute or so, until no longer cold.  In a small bowl, combine flour with a little of the milk to make a slurry and whisk into remaining milk.  (Helps with clumps to do it this way.)  Add pepper to taste.  No need to add salt since ham is already salty.

Layer ⅓ of potatoes in casserole dish.  Sprinkle with ⅓ ham mixture, then ⅓ cheese.  Pour ⅓ milk mixture on top.  Repeat two more times, ending with cheese.

Cover and bake for 40 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

BBQ Hash

I love a dish that can all be thrown into one pan to cook.  This recipe doesn't have to be followed exactly.  That's the good thing about a hash.  It would be a great way to use up leftovers.

BBQ Hash

1 lb. flank steak
2 c. dry red wine (or beef broth)
1 Tbsp. whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. chili powder
12 oz. Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 c. chopped green onions
1 (15 oz.) can unsalted great northern beans, rinsed and drained
favorite BBQ sauce

In a small saucepan, bring red wine, peppercorns and bay leaf to a boil.  Boil for 10 minutes or until reduced by half.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Marinate steak in marinade and place in fridge for at least 4 hours.

In a pot, bring cubed potatoes to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.  Drain.

Remove steak from marinade and sprinkle with salt, pepper and chili powder.  Cook in hot skillet until desired doneness.  Remove from skillet to carving board and allow to rest for five minutes.  Cube meat.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat.  Add potatoes and onions, cook 4 minutes (do not stir).  Stir in beans and steak; cook 2 minutes.  Remove pan from heat and pour favorite BBQ sauce over the top.  Can be served with a fried egg on top.  Garnish with sour cream.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

This has become a go to crockpot meal for Sunday lunch.  Super easy!

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

4-5 chicken breasts
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
regular size bottle of buffalo wing sauce (17ish ounces)

Place chicken in bottom of crockpot.  Sprinkle with dressing mix.  Pour half of the wing sauce over the chicken and cook on low for 7 hours.  Shred in crockpot and serve on favorite bread choice.  (I love any of the King Hawaiian breads.)  I find that half of the sauce is plenty, but add more sauce to your preference.

Coconut Refrigerator Cake

Ever since I received this recipe, I always make this cake in the spring for Easter. 

Coconut Refrigerator Cake

1 box white cake mix

14 oz. can cream of coconut (I usually find it in a squeeze bottle on the aisle where you find margarita mix)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

16 oz. cool whip, thawed

8 oz. pkg. flaked coconut

Bake cake according to package directions in 9x13.  Once baked and while still hot, poke holes all over the top of the cake.  Mix together the cream of coconut and condensed milk, making sure there are no clumps.  Pour over warm cake.  Let cake cool completely.  Frost with cool whip and top with flaked coconut.

Mississippi Roast

Have I said before that we get home from church so late?  Well, we do and we are all usually starving!  I love to use the crockpot on Sunday and my go to was always this roast.  Recently, I made something with onion soup mix and Jason had the unfortunate experience of catching a stomach bug after eating.  He has banned anything with onion soup mix until further notice.  I've been sad to not be able to make roast in the crockpot because it is so easy and a great meal to come home to.  I've seen this Mississippi Roast all over the internet, so I decided to finally give it a try.

Mississippi Roast

1 chuck roast
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 packet McCormick au jus gravy mix
1 stick butter
5 pepperoncini peppers

In crockpot, place roast.  Sprinkle with ranch dressing mix and au jus gravy mix.  Place one stick of butter on top.  Then spread around the pepperoncini peppers.  Do not add any liquid.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  I also add potatoes and carrots to the crockpot and let them all cook together.  It was all very good and I'm glad to have a crockpot recipe again.

This pot roast still remains my all time favorite.

Savory Squash Pie

This weekend we attended our first Sunday school cookout with our new church in Tennessee.  I currently have squash in abundance, so in addition to taking S'mores Bars, I also said that I would bring a squash pie.  (Even though it really didn't seem to go with hamburgers.)  I've had a tomato pie similar to this, so I thought that even though I'd never made it before, it would taste good.  And it did!  I got a lot of compliments on it.  Win, win for using up squash and eating good food!

Squash Pie

1 unbaked pie crust

1 egg, lightly beaten

5 c. sliced yellow squash

1 tsp. olive oil

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. dried thyme

¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. paprika

¼ tsp. pepper

2 large tomatoes, sliced (I had cherry tomatoes so that is what I used)

1 c. shredded cheddar or shredded mozzarella cheese (I used white cheddar)

¾ c. mayo

Line pie crust with aluminum foil.  Bake at 450 for 5 minutes.  Remove foil and brush lightly with egg.  Bake for 5 minutes longer.  (Not going to lie, I struggled with the pie crust this go round.)  Reduce heat to 350. 

In a large nonstick skillet, saute squash in olive oil for 10 minutes or until very tender (but not mushy like I like fried squash).  Sprinkle with seasonings.  (You could stop here and just have yummy squash saute.)  Spoon squash into pie crust.  Top with sliced tomatoes.  Combine the cheese and mayo and spread over the top.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  

Pie Crust

This is my favorite homemade pie crust.  It's very flaky and buttery, which I like.  I'm still no professional at making my pie crusts look pretty, but they are simple to make and easy to keep in the freezer whenever needed.

Pie Crust

3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
¾ c. vegetable shortening, cold and cut into pieces
¾ c. butter, cold and cut into pieces
1 egg
1 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar
5 Tbsp. cold water

Combine the flour, salt, shortening and butter into mixing bowl.  Using a pastry cutter (or fork), cut all the ingredients in together until you reach coarse crumbs.  Beat the egg with a fork and add it to the mixture.  Add vinegar and cold water.  Stir it all together until combined.  Form into two balls and wrap them in individual plastic freezer bags.  Remove them from the freezer 30 minutes before you need them.

*If using the pie crust the day you make them, freeze them for about 20 minutes before attempting to roll them out.