ham and bean soup or other ideas/recipes for leftover ham (chicken, celery)

[elston]

I had (have) a lot of left over ham because I baked a whole butt portion ham 8 lb and there are just two of us. My DP doesn't like left-overs so that makes it hard. I have made ham scalloped potatoes, eaten sliced ham with potato salad and yesterday I made a ham and navy bean soup with the bone and some cut up pieces of ham.

I had never made ham and bean soup before....years ago I used to do pea soup with ham bone.
I just love the soup....I let it mellow in fridge overnight and just had a big bow. Wonderful! And it was so simple.

Now I know my DP wont eat that either....he isn't fond of beans. He is Japanese and in Japan beans are pretty much limited to "red bean paste" as a desert filling or humongous beans like fava beans that his mother boils and eats as a snack.

Anyway......ham and bean soup...excellent.

How do you use left over ham?

[Cubanchic]

Cuban macaroni

Diced leftover ham
Ziti
One onion diced
One and 1/2 small cans of tomato sauce
Splash of red wine vinegar
A bit of Bijol 1/4 tsp ( for for color)
Shredded Swiss cheese

Fry ham and onions together,
Add the sauce simmer low
Add splash of vinegar and bijol
Add to the skillet cooked ziti and stir
Top with Swiss cheese and let melt

The tomato sauce is light coating so don't over do it. To make it Hondruan style add so crema Mexicana with tomato sauce.

My mom would make this for us as kids and we loved it.

[MTSilvertip]

You can also make a ham stock for lots of different soups including Clam Chowder, Potato, Leek as well as Split Pea or Bean.

You can use the stock to make red eye gravy for a breakfast treat as well.

Ham can be added instead of bacon to all kinds of salads, sandwiches and main dishes. Sliced thin it even goes well on cheeseburgers

You can cut leftover ham into packages and freeze it for later use in a universe of dishes...

and your husband need never know it was leftover

[L0ve]

Originally Posted by elston

How do you use left over ham?

Dice it up and slow cook it with lentils, diced onions, spices, and whatever else is lying around.

Bean soup is so easy, and good on a cold fall day.

[phonelady61]

I put it in the food processor and make ham salad for ham salad sandwiches and limit the eggs and mayo or use low fat mayo . I dont eat too much meat anyways so I usually give it to my neighbors cat and she does not mind in the least ...so Im killing two birds with one stone so to speak LOL.

[DitsyD]

Ham a la King
Chicken and Ham Pie
Bean with Ham Soup

[Naturen]

I use it in:

* chili
* 7-bean soup
* split-pea soup
* lentils
* as a sandwich
* fried with eggs for breakfast
* in an omelette for breakfast, lunch or dinner
* in a quiche or frittata
* small chunks in steamed vegetables
* in greens like mustards and broccoli leaves

If my cats are lucky, they may get a little cube.

[no kudzu]

I would much rather have left over ham than pork or beef as there are so many ways to sue it

ham salad
senate bean soup with ham (served in US Senate cafeteria for gazillion years)
put it in mac and cheese
add it to stir fry with any veggie
have a favorite breakfast casserole? substitute ham for sausage or bacon
cowboy beans calls for beef but I sometimes add leftover ham as well

[elston]

I had pretty much forgotten ham salad and it used to be my favorite over tuna or egg etc.

I just ground up the left over ham, mixed it with mayo and mustard, finely chopped celery, onion, red pepper and a lot of sweet pickle relish. It is delicious. I need to get some sandwich bread or hot dog/hamburg rolls and potato chips for tomorrow.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by elston

How do you use left over ham?

First, you can always freeze the ham on 4 oz portions and use it for seasoning for weeks.

For a more Asian approach, you can make buns with a ham filling.

I wish I had your problem.