Ham and Cheese Casserole. I am th Queen of leftovers. I hate waste and love to use everything up. I especially love leftover ham recipes which make great use of any ham you have in the house.
You don't always have to use leftover ham though, as you can also purchase a chunk of boiled ham at the shops which is great for things like this.
Today, however, I had some baked ham leftover from the holidays the other day and so I decided to make a delicious casserole with them.
We were all sandwiched out! Mom always made sweet and sour ham with her leftover ham, but we weren't feeling much like that either.
Plus I had some fresh noodles whose sell by date was looming. I hate waste and so decided to take advantage of both these things and make a tasty casserole.
It was pretty basic, and I did use a tin of cream of chicken soup. You could however make a basic cream sauce, flavouring it with a bit of chicken bouillon if you wanted to.
I am not a soup snob and I do use it from time to time, especially when I am wanting to make a quick and simple casserole.
I also had some cheese leftover from the holidays, Cheddar and red Leicester So I used up some of them as well.
They have very similar flavours so you could use all cheddar if you want to. Both are hard cheeses and the red Leicester has been coloured orange. Most of our Cheddars here will be found in their natural, white state.
Both cheeses are produced in a very similar manner, but red Leicester has a moister, crumblier texture and a somewhat milder flavour.
I added thawed frozen green beans for a bit more colour and some texture. Just cover them with boiling water, let them thaw and then drain well before using.
Mine were whole beans and so I used my kitchen scissors to cut them down into a more manageable size.
You could use any vegetable you wanted to use or even a combination of vegetables. Corn would be nice as would peas and carrots.
I topped the casserole with some cracker crumbs and a bit more cheese. I find casseroles are always nice when you have a bit of a crunchy topping to enjoy!
This was quick, easy and delicious. You could double the recipe if you had more ham you wanted to use up and freeze one casserole for a later time.
It is supposed to be 2 to 3 servings, but I'll be honest, for our appetites it is more like 4 servings.
It all depends on how big of an eater you are. We are small eaters.
A tossed salad would be very nice on the side. My pictures are not so great as we have had some very dark and gloomy days.
I like to use natural light for my photos if I can, so I apologise if they are a bit dark!
We enjoyed it simply with some buttered bread (for my husband) and pickled beets. I do so love pickled beets!
Yield: 3 - 4 (depending on appetites)
Ham & Cheese Casserole
A quick, easy and delicious way to use up leftover baked ham.
ingredients:
- 225g uncooked egg noodles (1/2 pound)
- 3/4 pound of cubed fully cooked ham
- 1 tin (295g) condensed cream of chicken soup (10 3/4 oz)
- 120ml milk (1/2 cup)
- 150g frozen cut green beans, thawed (1 cup)
- 125g grated strong cheddar cheese (1 cup)
- a handful of buttered cracker crumbs
- Seasoning to taste
instructions:
How to cook Ham & Cheese Casserole
- Cook and then drain the noodles really well. Mix them in a bowl with the ham, soup, milk and green beans. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, remembering that ham and cheese are both salty.
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 inch square casserole dish.
- Spread half of the ham mixture in the dish. Cover with half the cheese. Spoon on the remainder of the ham mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and cracker crumbs.
- Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until bubbling, heated through and the cheese has melted.
So that's all of the Christmas leftovers gone now. We still have Christmas Cake, but that is a good keeper and my husband will make short work of that over the next weeks. I also have some Christmas pudding, which he will also enjoy.
Those types of things never really go off. I am relieved that I never did more baking and that I kept things simple here over the holidays and didn't go overboard!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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This week we are taking a break from all of the hedonistic indulgences of the past month. I think we are both desiring to eat a bit lighter and healthier.
I am craving salad. Yes I am. And we still have Christmas Cake. Its a good thing it is an excellent keeper.
Today I decided to cook us some Sea Bass. Sea Bass is not a fish that I had ever heard of when I was a child, but it is a fish that people really enjoy eating these days.
Its a
common name which is used to describe a variety of fish, but here in the
UK, all sea bass that is sold is exclusively European Bass.
I sourced
mine from Seafresh, the online fish monger. Their seas bass is farmed, which is the most sustainably sourced at the moment! I can attest that it is a beautiful piece of fish.
It is a flattish fish, being white or light in colour and it is beautifully sweet and buttery in flavour, mild and delicious!
We both enjoy it very much.
I had a lot of work to do today so I decided to cook it simply, by baking it on a sheet pan along with some vegetables.
No fuss, no muss, and little to no clean up involved. It is also perfectly sized for just two people, but of course you can increase the amounts to serve more if you wish.
I prepped my vegetables ahead of time.
Two baking potatoes, cut into chunks, an red onion, cut into wedges and medium sized tomatoes cut in half.
I cooked everything in stages . . . Potatoes take longer to cook so they were tossed with a bit of oil and seasoning, scattered on the baking sheet and the banged into the oven for a short.
While they were roasting I hung up my laundry.
Once my laundry was hung, I took the pan out and added the onions and tomatoes, and a tasty mix of dried herbs.
You could use fresh if you are a purist, but I figure they all dry out in the oven anyways, so I just use dried. I also drizzled with a bit of balsamic vinegar. Use the good stuff.
I unloaded the dish washer, loaded it back up, and then ran a duster quickly over the downstairs furniture and then I was ready to add the fish.
Two lovely fillets, seasoned and nestled down in between the vegetables . . . back into the oven.
That left me enough time to set the table and throw together a quick salad to have along side of the fish . . .
I threw some chopped cashew nuts onto the fish and roasted for a few minutes longer until they were golden brown.
And that was it, by the time I had that done, the vegetables were tender, those potatoes being golden brown and the onions lightly caramelised . . . and that beautiful sea bass perfectly cooked . . .
The cashews added a bit of extra protein and nutty crunch . . . altogether this was really beautiful.
It needed nothing else. No sauce . . . just a squeeze of lemon if you really want something extra . . .
This was perfect and just what we were needing and craving . . .
Yield: 2
Sheet Pan Roasted Sea Bass Dinner for Two
Perfectly roasted delicious sea bass, with roasted potatoes, tomatoes, onions and toasted cashew nuts, all cooked together on pan. No fuss, no muss, hardly any clean up.
ingredients:
- 2 baking potatoes, scrubbed, dried and cut into 8ths
- 1TBS olive oil
- 1 small red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
- 2 medium tomatoes cut in half
- 1 TBS balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 tsp dried rosemary leaves
- 1/4 tsp dried sage leaves
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1//2 tsp dried parsley flakes
- 2 sea bass fillets
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 TBS chopped raw cashew nuts
instructions:
How to cook Sheet Pan Roasted Sea Bass Dinner for Two
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking tray with aluminium foil, spritz with some low fat, nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Toss the potatoes together with the oil and some seasoning to taste. Spread them out onto the baking tray. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven, stir the potatoes. Add the tomato halves and onion wedges. Drizzle everything with the balsamic vinegar and sprinkle the herbs over everything. Return the tray to the oven and roast for a further 10 minutes.
- Season the sea bass all over with some salt and black pepper. Remove the tray from the oven. Push the vegetables to the side and nestle the fish into the centre of them. Return the baking tray to the oven and roast for about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the cashew nuts over the fish. Return to the oven and roast for a further 4 to 6 minutes until the nuts are golden brown, the vegetables are tender and the fish flakes easily with a fork.
- Divide amongst two heated plates and serve immediately.
Sea Bass really is a lovely fish and you cannot fault Seafresh for anything. I
am always so very impressed with the fish and seafood we get from them. Their service is impeccable, the packaging well done and
environmentally friendly, and the product of exceptional quality and
value. If you would like to know more about their products please click here. You really can't go wrong!
A few things about Seafresh:
- Same Day dispatch on orders received before 1 PM.
- All packages are carefully hand packed.
- Free delivery on orders above £50, £8 on orders below that amount.
- Responsibly and sustainably sourced.
- Air Blast Frozen at source within 4 hours of being caught.
- Wide variety to choose from.
Follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
This week I was craving a cake. Oh, we still have Christmas cake left, but I wanted cake cake. Something without raisins and currants and peel . . . just cake.
Something that I could just sit down and enjoy a slice of with a nice hot cup of herbal tea.
It didn't have to be fancy smancy . . . just pleasant and satisfying. I toyed with making a Victoria Sandwich Cake (which is our favourite cake).
I also though about making a Coffee Walnut Cake (another favourite), but they just weren't ticking the boxes of my desire.
I wanted something spicy and dense, dark and delicious. I then remembered this gingerbread cake recipe.
I have had the recipe in my big blue binder for about a bazillion years. In fact I think its been about a bazillion years since I have made it.
You cannot call it a pretty cake by any stretch. It is the ugly step sister of pretty cake.
It is like the country cousin of the city mouse. This is a cake you might be tempted to overlook when glancing upon it sitting in the glass case of a bake shop.
Were you to do so you would be making a grave mistake. This is the kind of gingerbread cake that sonnets could be written about, poems . . . novels.
This is the kind of gingerbread cake that you could imagine Meg, Amy, Jo and Beth sitting down to enjoy on cold winter's evening while the fire burns low in the grate, whilst Marmee reads to them the latest missive from their pa . . .
It is a gingerbread cake that gets more delicious with each day that it stands. Like magic it gets denser, moister . . .
It is just like magic. Trust me on this . . . just leave it sit, you will see.
This is the cake you will find yourself sneaking down the stairs to steal a smidgen of in the middle of the night. Midnight feast cake has no calories, everyone knows that!
Don't burst my bubble if that is not true.
This is the kind of cake as a child I imagined Mary Poppins picking up for Michael and Jane Banks. Decorated with shiny gold stars stuck to its surface, all wrapped up in brown paper . . .
I love the Mary Poppins Books when I was a child, did you?
Oh, I know I do have a fanciful mind. It comes from a lifetime of reading books. I come by that habit honestly.
My father inspired a love of the written word in me when I was very young . . . I can still hear his voice reading to me in my mind's eye. He would change his voice with each character in the story. It is a beautiful memory that I hold dear and close in my heart.
In any case I do hope you will bake this lovely ugly step sister of a cake. I hope that you will enjoy it.
The ginger glaze icing is quite tasty . . . and it would be lovely spread with softened butter as well, or . . . dare I suggest it, lemon curd.
Today I fancied a little bit of indulgence with a small squirt of squirty cream . . . .
They do say a little bit of what you fancy does the body and the mind good . . . I believe that's true.
Yield: 16
Deep, Dark & Delicious Gingerbread
A moist, sticky and dense slice with plenty of ginger spice!
ingredients:
- 250g butter (1 cup +1 1/2 TBS)
- 250g soft dark brown sugar (1 1/4 cup, packed)
- 250g molasses or dark treacle (9 fluid ounces)
- 300ml whole milk (1 1/4 cups)
- 2 large free range eggs
- 5 knobs of preserved ginger in syrup, chopped finely
- 375g plain flour (2 1/2 cups + 3 TBS)
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
instructions:
How to cook Deep, Dark & Delicious Gingerbread
- Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter a 9-inch square baking tin and line it with baking paper. Set aside.
- Put the butter, sugar, and molasses into a saucepan. Cook over low heat to melt the butter and sugar. Whisk in the milk. Set aside to cool some.
- Whisk together the flour, soda, ginger, allspice and cardamom in a large bowl. Stir in the chopped glace ginger. Make a well in the centre.
- Beat the eggs into the liquid ingredients thoroughly. Pour into the well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, stir together, gradually drawing in the dry ingredients from the side of the bowl until you have a smooth and thick batter. Pour into the prepared baking tin.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, until well risen and firm to the touch. Do NOT be tempted to open the door prior to that time or the cake may sink in the middle. Once an hour has passed, check the cake. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. If it doesn't cook for a further 10 minutes and try again. The cake is done when the skewer comes out clean.
- Leave to cool completely in the tin. Once cold remove from the tin and either wrap tightly and store in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Optional Icing - Whisk together 65g of sifted icing sugar (1/2 cup) and enough ginger syrup to give you a smooth drizzle icing. Drizzle decoratively over the cold cake.
NOTES:
Note - if you can't get preserved stem ginger, you can use candied ginger. I would say about 12 pieces, chopped finely. Instead of syrup in the glaze icing use some fresh lemon juice
I enjoyed this with a hot cup of Taylor's Spiced Apple Tea. It was definitely a "Home Sweet Home" moment and made for a great beginning to my year.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Every New Year's Day from as long as I can remember we have had roasted ham for our New Year celebration dinner. Boiled until tender, and then the skin stripped, fat scored and roasted in the oven with a glaze until the fat was all sticky and sweet and gilded golden brown.
Its pretty hard to buck with traditions. They usually run deep and don't like to budge.
Its been a tradition, and that would be followed in the coming days with a huge pot of Pea and Ham Soup, made with the bone left from the ham.
Oh my mother did make lovely soup. The ham was lovely served cold and in thin slices with some mustard . . .
Red meat is not something we eat very often in our house. We eat mostly fish and chicken, but this year I thought I would treat us to some nice steaks for our New Year dinner.
I am breaking with tradition all over the place for some unknown reason!
I picked up some lovely rib eye steaks at Costco the other day. Of course they come four in a pack but with there only being two of us I froze the other two for another time, maybe even Valentines Day.
We will see.
The meat at Costco is lovely . . . Scottish Angus beef, dry aged . . . these were beautiful looking steaks. I should have taken a photograph of them before I cooked them.
They had just the right amount of fat and marbling.
Of course they were rather expensive, costing about half of my grocery budget for the week, so I couldn't afford to mess them up.
I decided to lightly season them and then pan sear them in some oil and butter, until golden brown . . .
I added garlic and sprigs of thyme to the butter in the pan, which made for a really nicely flavoured basting sauce.
The timings I have given were perfect for the steaks I was cooking, about 1 inch in thickness and at room temperature . . . with the end result being medium rare, which is how we like our steak.
I used the pan drippings and a bit more garlic to create a beautifully creamy and lush mushroom sauce to serve with the steaks.
I started by sauteing the mushrooms in a bit more butter along with some garlic, adding some good balsamic vinegar and then finally some cream . . .
Oh but it didn't half smell heavenly if I don't say so myself!
It was the perfect accompaniment to the steaks . . .
This made the perfect meal along with some salad and baked jacket potatoes . . .
Yield: 2
Garlic Butter Steak with a Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Perfectly cooked pan seared steaks, beautifully flavoured and served with a lush and creamy mushroom sauce.
ingredients:
- 2 (7-ounce) rib eye steaks, each about 1 inch thick
- fine sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1 TBS olive oil, divided
- 2 TBS butter, divided
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and bashed/broken open
- 3 to 4 sprigs of thyme
For the sauce:
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
- 10 to 12 quartered closed cup white mushrooms
- 120ml light cream (1/2 cup)
instructions:
How to cook Garlic Butter Steak with a Creamy Mushroom Sauce
- Bring the steaks to room temperature by unwrapping them and leaving them to sit open to the air for at least half an hour. Season them all over lightly with salt and black pepper.
- Heat a large heavy based skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil and when it begins to shimmer and smoke add the steaks very carefully. It will sputter and spit. Cook for three minutes on one side, then flip over and cook for a further 3 minutes on the underside. They should be nicely browned.
- Reduce the heat to medium low and add 1 TBS of the butter to the pan, along with the sprigs of thyme and 3 garlic cloves. Once the butter begins to foam, and using a metal spoon, carefully tilt the pan and baste the steaks with the garlic/herb butter in the pan. Cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes, basting.
- Remove the steaks from the pan to a heated plate, discarding the thyme and garlic. Leave to rest while you make the sauce.
- To make the sauce add the mushrooms to the pan along with the crushed garlic and remaining butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring, for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the balsamic vinegar to the pan and cook for a few minutes longer until soft, then add the cream. Let bubble up and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately with the steaks.
You can safely double this recipe if you are wanting to feed more people. It makes a great dinner party entree for entertaining. The steaks don't take overly long to cook, nor does the sauce, especially if you have everything in place and ready to go when you start cooking them. Any sides can be done before hand, well ahead of time and just reheated when you are ready to serve. Enjoy!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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