Saturday, May 7, 2011

Waste Not, Want Not--Ham & Potato Casserole

One of the biggest ways I save money on our grocery bill is not letting things go to waste, especially more expensive things like meats (I've heard dietitians and others say "use meat as a condiment, not a main dish"...and that fits my budget and cooking style!).  I boil chickens to get the last little meat off the bones and make stock (and sometimes even use the ends of onions and other less savory bits of vegetables to make the stock so that saves things from going to waste as well).  I use the last little bit of gravy and leftover mashed potatoes from one meal to make "chickenherder's" pie for another.  If there is too little of something to "bother" saving, I'll usually freeze it anyway and combine it with more later, like if I'm off on the amount of filling vs. egg roll wrappers for my "Mexican egg rolls".

Another delicious example of this frugal meal planning was the super-scrumbully ham and potato casserole I made for dinner using the last bit of ham from Easter (frozen, of course, or it would have been no good by then!).  There was only about enough ham to make a sandwich for one person (I originally saved two such portions of ham, but my silly husband got into the container and ate the other piece all by himself!  Probably had a sandwich!), but I made it go far enough to feed the whole family and still have enough leftover for my husband to take to work for lunch the next day!

Ham and Potato Casserole

5 potatoes, cut into 1/2 in cubes
1/2-1 cup leftover ham, cubed
3 cups broccoli (frozen or fresh)
1 3/4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

Combine potatoes, ham, broccoli, and cheese in a large casserole dish.  In a saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour, salt, and pepper; stir constantly until mixture is hot and bubbly.  Add milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir for 1 minute, or until mixture thickens.  Pour over potato mixture.  Bake at 400 (don't need to preheat oven) for 1 hour.  Add remaining cheese and bread crumbs and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes

No comments:

Post a Comment