Ham and Cheese Bread Pudding

A few weeks ago I had a killer bread pudding at a local restaurant and I have been wanting to duplicate it ever since. Here is the result. What I love about this dish is that is can be for any meal, breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch, whenever! I used homemade french bread for the cubes, but you could also use a nice multigrain bread as well for more texture. Just don't use wonderbread and it will be great. My husband LOVED this. And as always, the best part was how easy it was!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided 
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions, divided
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 ounces ham, minced
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 teaspoons sour cream, optional
• Preparation
• 1. Preheat oven to 375°.
• 2. Place bread cubes on a jelly-roll pan; coat with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted, turning once. Remove from oven; set aside.
• 3. Combine 1/2 cup cheese, 3 tablespoons onions, and next 5 ingredients (through eggs) in a large bowl. Mix in bread cubes.
• 4. Spoon about 1 cup bread mixture into each of 4 (7-ounce) ramekins coated with cooking spray. Divide the remaining 1/4 cup cheese and remaining 1 tablespoon onions evenly among ramekins. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Top each serving with 1 teaspoon sour cream, if desired.

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Meat Loaf Bolognese

I hate catsup and therefore don't like recipes that use it. I think it is too sweet. The problem is that my husband really likes meatloaf which is drenched in the stuff. The compromise is this Italian version of one of his favorites. Serve with salad and a crusty bread.

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground extra-lean turkey or beef
2 cups fresh whole wheat bread crumbs*
1 egg white
2 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning, divided
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups prepared spaghetti sauce

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350º. Lightly spray 9x5" loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. Heat oil in small skillet over medium heat until hot. Cook onion, carrot and celery 5 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic; cook and stir 30 seconds.

3. Gently combine onion mixture, turkey or beef, pork, bread crumbs, egg white, 2 tsp Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mound meat loaf mixture in loaf pan, smoothing top. Spoon spaghetti sauce over top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning.

4. Bake 45 - 50 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165º. Serve meat loaf with sauce.

* To make fresh bread crumbs, tear day-old whole grain bread into pieces; place in food processor or blender. Mix until coarse crumbs for. 1 slice yields ~3/4 cup crumbs.

Ham and Cheese Biscuits

These aren't exactly healthy, but they are fairly quick and fun to let kids help for a great weekend breakfast. Preshredded cheese works the best for this recipe since it won't clump like regular cheese can. To make regular biscuits, simply eliminate the ham and cheese then bake at 450º.

Preheat the oven to 425º. Have ready a large ungreased baking sheet (I like to cook these on a silpat). Whisk together thoroughly in a large bowl:
   2 cups all-purpose flour
   2 1/2 tsp baking powder
   1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
Drop in:
   5 to 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Cut in the butter with 2 knives or a pastry blender, tossing the pieces with the flour mixtures to coat and separate them as you work. For biscuits with crunchy edges and a flaky, layered structure, continue to cut in the butter until the largest pieces are the size of peas and the rest resemble breadcrumbs. For classic fluffy biscuits, continue to cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Do not allow the butter to melt or form a paste with the flour.
Stir in:
   3/4 cup finely shredded cheese (I like the Mexican cheese blend, but cheddar works well too)
Add all at once:
   1 cup milk
   1/3 cup finely chopped ham
Mix with a rubber spatula, wooden spoon, or fork until the dry ingredients are well moistened. The batter should be moist and sticky but not smooth. Use a spoon to form scoops of batter onto the baking sheet, spacing the biscuits about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake about 12 minutes, serve hot. Yield: about 1 dozen good sized biscuits.

Calzones

Whenever I make bread, it's a 5-6 hour process to get all sixteen loaves, so I try to find ways to use some of the bread dough for dinner. This has been the most successful with my family.

bread dough equal to one loaf (or a little less)

ham or chicken

mozzarella cheese

basil

cornmeal

olive oil

garlic salt

Combine ham, cheese and basil in a food processor and process until finely chopped.

Separate bread dough into appropriate sized pieces for your family (8 large or 16 small).

Spread oil on your working surface and roll each piece into a circle. Place cheese mixture in the middle and fold over, press edges. Sprinkle cornmeal liberally on a cookie sheet and place calzones. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle tops with garlic salt. Cut 2-3 deep slits into each calzone.

I'm still trying to figure out EXACT cooking times, but it's around 375F for 20 min.

Dipping sauce (aka leftover pizza sauce):

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

1 6 oz can tomato paste

2 t oregano

2 t basil

1 t garlic powder

1/2 t sugar

1 t paprika

Mix together and serve with calzones. This makes enough for 4 pizzas, so plan on having leftovers to freeze later for making pita pizzas.

Tandoori Spiced Pork Roast

I have modified this recipe to be prepared in the slow cooker. It is so easy and my kids loved it. This Indian spiced pork smells and tastes delicious.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon garlic oil
2 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 Pork roast or tenderloin about 3 lbs.

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except pork in small bowl. Place pork in slow cooker; coat all sides with spice mixture. Add 1 cup water.

2. Cook on low for 8-10 hours on low. Serve over rice.

Slow Cooked Pork Tacos

• Ingredients:

• 1 boneless pork sirloin roast (2 pounds), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1-1/2 cups salsa verde
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• Dash hot pepper sauce
• 10 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
• Reduced-fat sour cream, thinly sliced green onions, cubed avocado, shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese and chopped tomato, optional

Directions:

In a 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the first 11 ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until meat is very tender. Shred pork with two forks. Place about 1/2 cup pork mixture down the center of each tortilla. Serve with toppings if desired. Yield: 10 tacos.

Kalua Pork

This recipe is very adjustable. I usually just put the roast in the slow cooker with the water (or not) and sprinkle with the salt and liquid smoke to taste. It tastes like luau pork. Serve on rice.

3 pounds pork butt roast or tenderloin
2 cups water
1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
2 tbsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours.