Need some inspiration for Easter Dinner? May I suggest a ham?
Ham is a budget’s best friend. You can buy one ham for $10 and eat for a week.
It was a comfort in those succeeding days to sit up and contemplate the majestic panorama of mountains and valleys spread out below us and eat ham and hard boiled eggs while our spiritual natures reveled alternately in rainbows, thunderstorms, and peerless sunsets.
Nothing helps scenery like ham and eggs. - Mark Twain
DAY 1: Cook your ham and eat it. It is ridiculously easy to roast a ham. Put it in a pan, maybe add some water, put it in the oven, check on it some hours later. A meat thermometer helps. Glaze if you must – there are tons of recipes online.
Now, for the leftovers. If you don’t actually want to eat ham for a week, you can cube it for casseroles and freeze it.
DAY 2: Ham sandwiches, of course. There are many variations on the ham sandwich, from straight up cold cuts to ham salad to fancy Croque Monsieur (make a sandwich, batter it, and deep fry). Hot ham and cheese is always a hit around here.
DAY 3: Easter Pie. Think Shepherd’s pie, but with ham. It’s a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes, asparagus, or other holiday meal trimmings. You can use my Turkey Pot Pie recipe, just substitute ham for the turkey, toss in your leftover veggies, and use mashed potatoes for the top crust (though the biscuits would be yummy, too!) Don’t forget the cheese!
DAY 4: Ham and eggs, classic. Cut up the ham and either make omelets or a quiche. Use plenty of veggies and top with cheese to make it hearty enough for a lunch or dinner.
DAY 5: Scalloped potatoes. This isn’t a side dish, but a hearty main dish casserole.
DAY 6: Ham and noodles. Your ham should be looking pretty bare by now. Chop up all of the leftover bits and add pasta. You can add the ham to your favorite macaroni and cheese recipe, pasta carbonara, or make a cream sauce to serve over fettucine. I love it with peas.
Day 7: Now you’re down to bone. Time for beans! You can make a ham bone soup, or we love black eyed peas. Any recipe for Hoppin’ John should work. I linked my fave recipe on my sidebar: Blackeyed Peas and Collards.
We love potatoes around here, but you could also make a ham casserole using rice, ham, and peas. Make a white sauce, add ham, veggies, and cooked rice. Stir in some sharp cheddar.
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Thanks for sharing this! I look forward to buying some dirt cheap hams next week (after Easter clearance) and I’m always needing new ways to eat them up!
You are so right about ham being easy to cook, which makes me wonder why I (and others) don’t make it more often! My mother always says it’s a great thing to make for company because it’s almost fool-proof. I’ll also have to follow Ashley’s idea to get some ham on after-Easter clearance. I’m not doing Easter–my sister-in-law handles that. And she usually has leg of lamb, not ham, so that means I get to make ham for my family next week. I’ll have to consider some of your leftover ideas, too. Thanks!
Thank you for all the great ideas for ham leftovers! I love recreating!
I have a similar week long menu plan that I use for clearance turkeys at Thanksgiving.
I was just thinking the same thing as Kelly. Turkeys are very cheap right now in my area and we have been buying them up and getting quite a few meals out of each one!
I love ham. When we have ham for a holiday dinner my MIL’s raisin sauce is an absolute must. I can’t have ham without the raisin sauce- brings back wonderful memories:
Raisin Sauce
INGREDIENTS
½ cup water, or Orange Juice
½ cup sugar
½ cup raisins
½ cup currant jelly, or grape
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¼ tablespoon vinegar, or lemon juice
¼ tablespoon salt, or less
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons margarine
METHOD
Cook water, sugar, raisins and jelly for 10 minutes over medium to medium high heat in a small saucepan stirring constantly. Thicken by adding 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water to saucepan. return to a boil and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer or until thickened. Then add vinegar, salt, cinnamon,and margarine.
Have a Wonderful Easter Milehi and Family
Deeny, thanks for the recipe! I love sweet and salty together. I’ll have to try it!
I love ham, but I’m a Ham Snob when it comes to Easter dinner. Only a spiral cut glazed from Honeybaked will do. Fortunately my mom is buying it this year!
We completely omit any candy-worship anymore and don’t do baskets or egg hunts or anything, but I absolutely must have my marshmallow Peeps. Only the yellow chick will do- anything else is an imposter candy and won’t pass my lips.
Hey Abbey…
My “dear husband’s” birthday is coming up next month. I can’t afford to buy him presents, but guess what I’m getting him with my food stamps card? A deluxe dinner of lobster, crab legs, AND filet mignon!
The funny thing is, I don’t like lobster and we never bought lobster! Some people just jump to conclusions, I guess.
We try to lay low on the sugar, too. R can’t have food colors so we have a limited selection, any way. Also, I try to give a religious gift, too. And playdoh. Always playdoh.
All great recipes!
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