4 Meals Out of One Ham

Ham is one of those foods that can feed a family for almost a week...depending on the size.  It can be hard finding recipes that make Sunday's ham new each night of the week.  Here are a couple of ways ham can be used so at the end of the week it isn't thrown out.

1. Baked Ham -

• 1 ham


• 1 can of pears (I don't like pears, but this turns out very moist)


• 3/4 cup of brown sugar


• 1 teaspoon of mustard powder

Place the ham face down in a roasting pan.  Pour the whole can of pears over the ham including all but 1/8 cup of juice.  Mix the brown sugar, mustard powder, and 1/8 cup of juice together.  Spoon half of the sugar mixture over the ham and set aside the remaining mixture.  Cover and bake according to package...usually 300 degrees at 15-20 minutes per pound.  20 minutes before the ham is done uncover and pour remaining mixture over the ham and continue baking uncovered.  When done slice and serve.

2. Ham and Bean Soup

I grew up on this soup and love it.  My dad adds a package of Jiffy cornbread, and a package of Jiffy white cake mix together to make a sweat cornbread...to go with the ham and beans.

• Leftover ham bone with a little meat left on


• 3 cans of Lucky's mixed beans


• one onion or some onion powder


• salt and pepper

Put the leftover ham bone in a large pot adding enough water to cover 1/3 of the ham.  Simmer not boil the ham for 4 hours or longer until the ham falls off the bone.  It is best to do this right after the meal so when the simmering is done you can place the whole pot in the fridge overnight.  The next evening (or before eating) skim the top of the surface and remove all fat (only the white) that has risen to the top.  Cook on medium low adding the beans, salt, pepper, and onion powder until cooked.  I usually cook for 30 minutes.

3.  Cheesy Ham and Hashbrown Casserole

We have a breakfast night every Wednesday night so this is a perfect ham recipe for that night.  I took this recipe from www.allrecipes.com

•                     1 (32 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes


•                     8 ounces cooked, diced ham


•                     2 (10.75 ounce) cans  condensed cream of potato soup


•                     1 (16 ounce) container sour cream


•                     2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese


•                     1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.  In a large bowl, mix hash browns, ham, cream of potato soup, sour cream, and Cheddar cheese. Spread evenly into prepared dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.    Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly brown. Serve immediately.

4. Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

•                     1 cup butter, softened


•                     3 tablespoons poppy seeds


•                     1 onion, grated


•                     1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce


•                     2 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard


•                     2 packages of Hawaiian Sweet Bread


•                     1/2 pound chopped cooked ham or thinly sliced


•                     5 ounces shredded Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  In a medium bowl, mix together butter, poppy seeds, onion, Worcestershire sauce and prepared Dijon-style mustard.  Slice rolls in half horizontally and set aside tops. Spread bottoms with the butter mixture. Top with ham and Swiss cheese. Replace tops.   Arrange rolls in a single layer in a medium baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 10 to 12 minutes, until rolls are lightly browned and cheese is melted.