Ham

I cook a ham for the first time ever yesterday. It was nearly a kg, so more than enough for just little old me. I've frozen the leftovers so that I have ready cooked food for after the girls are born.

My question is what can you really do with frozen ham? Will I be ok to just defrost it and then eat it as is or will I need to do something with it? Any good ideas on using leftover ham? Something simple, preferably.

The thing is with ham when you freeze it is that its a bit extra watery then, if you froze the whole lot just drain the extra moisture. You can freeze ham but you will notice the texture changes a bit when you thaw it

You could cut it up in cubes and put it in baked mac and cheese. I buy the tomato and marscapone cheese pasta sauce from M&S, then I'll pour it over little cubes of ham, peas and garlic which I've sauteed, all served over a short pasta. I don't know if you're into ham loaf (it could just be a PA thing!) or ham salad.

It does get watery... hence things like soup are good.  Ham and Bean is yummy.   Quiche/frittata (So you don't worry about the crust)  you can scramble some eggs and make one meaty and one veggie.  Use in any casseroles.  Quickly tossed with alfredo sauce or a sort of carbonara or with a tomato based sauce.

Stuffed in a chicken breast with cheese. 

On a pizza base.  Mock pizza on a pita works for a quick meal. 

A little casserole of leftover ham, mashed potatoes, a bit of onion, a little cheddar cheese.  Yum!

There are tons of things you can do with it!  I buy a small, boneless ham fairly regularly, usually pre-cooked, and freeze most of it. 

I usually freeze a few thick slices, and then will grill them up for a quick dinner, often with a baked sweet potato, or bubble and squeak.

The rest I cut into cubes of varying sizes.  The bigger chunks I put in casseroles: mac & cheese, scalloped potatoes, black beans & rice, etc.  The smaller diced bits I usually put in with eggs: quiche/fritattas, or just a quick scramble.  I find any of these uses are pretty forgiving of changes in texture or extra moisture that might come from having frozen the ham.

You guys rock, thanks for the tips. 

Paired with cheese, you can't miss! 

I totally forgot about putting it in an egg casserole or quiche. Yummy!

Pea soup with ham

Ham and peas and creme freche and cheese with pasta

Denver omelette

Ham and scalloped potatoes

Ham and pineapple pizza

Ham Hash (like corned beef hash)

Ham with rice and beans