Ham: Left Over Make Overs

With just two people when we purchase a whole ham for baking or making New England boiled ham dinner we are left with a ton of meat. Therefore we must use the ham in a variety of ways after the fact. Even if you have a larger household you may have the need to use the left over ham as well.

If we make ham in the colder months I tend to go for soups. Utilizing the broth you already have if you've made a New England boiled ham dinner is the best start to making a ham stock. Adding that ham bone with ham into that broth and working it into a deeper broth gives you a wonderful base for so many different kinds of soups.



To find out how I made the Slow Cooker New England Ham just follow the link. Remember that you can use a baked ham as well for any of the above recipes but be sure to remove that outer rind that holds the sweet glaze you put on the ham as that will distort the flavor in the following soup recipes.

In addition to soup, there's also Ham and Scallop Potato Casserole. It's cheesy delicious from bottom to top! I don't make this like my mom did and I happen to like mine much better.

My husband does not care for lentils so he won't eat Lentil Soup with Ham and I grew up eating it and just love the day lights out of it. He admits he loves the smell but for him the lentils are a texture thing. I am not sure I get it because he'll eat my Split Pea Soup with Ham and that he devours with great pleasure.

Another soup which eats like a meal, is hearty and delicious is Ham and Cannellini Bean Soup. This soup is so inexpensive and affordable to all. Simple ingredients that do not cost a lot, pull together in perfect harmony for a wonderful ham make over meal.

And for those who look at this soups' color - please don't judge by the color because my Cuban Black Bean Soup has incredible flavor. Even my number one critic thought it was terrific! The recipe starts with ham hocks but the last time I made it I made it with the rich broth I created after having a ham dinner and it was really good.

I must take a moment and talk about ham hocks - they make a wonderful base for soups and would be fine to use in any one of the soups above. So if you are a couple or a single person and craving a ham stock based soup and buying a large ham doesn't make sense or in the case of affordable meals for families, pick up some ham hocks and use those in place of left over ham.

For more of my home made soups please check out Soup Recipes here on the blog.