One night Steve and I were watching Rachel Ray’s show 30-minute meals and she made these sandwiches. Steve thought they looked like heaven on bread. We haven’t made them before but I thought they’d be great for using up some of the leftover ham from Sunday dinner. Also, they seem pretty easy to make and don’t take long to cook. I have some leftover deli turkey from the weekend also so I’ll be able to use that up as well.
Super-Stuffed Monte-Cristo Sandwiches
Recipe coutesy Rachel Ray
8 slices center cut or apple wood smoked bacon
4 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup half-and-half, warm
1/4 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp coarse ground Black Pepper
2 T Butter
8 thick cut slices of Whole-grain Soft Bread, white or challah
1/2 cup Brown Mustard
1/2 cup whole berry Cranberry Sauce
1/2 lb sliced Havarti Cheese
1 lb sliced Ham
1 lb sliced Turkey breast
1 1/2 cups medium to dark amber Maple Syrup
Heat a griddle pan or large skillet over medium high heat. Cook bacon and remove to paper towels to drain. Drain off fat and reheat griddle over medium heat. Make sandwiches in 2 batches.
Beat eggs with half-and-half, nutmeg and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to griddle and melt. Turn 4 slices of bread in batter, then add to griddle.
Turn bread after it browns (2-3 minutes). Top 2 bread slices with mustard, the other 2 with cranberry sauce. Add 2 slices of cheese and bacon on the cranberry covered bread. Add ham, then turkey to the mustard covered bread.
Use a spatula to assemble 2 sandwiches and turn and press gently to set sandwiches in place. Repeat to make 2 more sandwiches. Cut sandwiches from corner to corner.
Heat syrup in microwave safe container for 30 seconds. Drizzle syrup over sandwiches at the table.
Tonight I’m making a Sunday Ham with a Jack Daniel’s glaze. Very tasty. I’m going to make Scalloped Potatoes as a side dish. Alternatively, you could put cubed ham in the scalloped potatoes and turn it into a Ham and Potato Casserole like my mother used to make. It’s a great way to use up leftover ham or to make a meal on a budget because you really only need 1-2 cups of cubed ham for a really hearty casserole.
Jack Daniel’s Glazed Ham
4-6 pound Boneless, fully-cooked Ham
1/3 cup light Brown Sugar, firmly packed
1/3 cup Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
1 T finely grated Orange peel
1/8 tsp ground Cloves
1/4 tsp ground Allspice
Orange slices (thinly sliced)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Place ham on a rack in a roasting pan. Cook uncovered for about 20 minutes per pound or until a meat thermometer reads 140 degrees.
About 40 minutes before Ham is done, prepare the glaze. Simmer a mixture of the brown sugar, whiskey, orange peel, cloves and allspice over medium low heat for about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Brush the glaze over the ham about 20 minutes before cooking time ends.
Serve the ham garnished with orange slices.
Scalloped Potatoes
Linda Sisson
6-8 medium Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
3 T Butter
3 T Flour
2 1/2 cups Milk
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in a saucepan until bubbly (do not let it burn!). Add flour, stirring to make a paste. Add the milk and whisk until paste is completely mixed in and there are no lumps.
Add salt, pepper and onion powder to sauce. Simmer until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Lay potato slices in a casserole dish. Pour cream sauce over potatoes.
Bake, covered for about 30 minutes; then uncovered for another 30-45 minutes until potatoes are tender and most of sauce has been absorbed by the potatoes. About 15 minutes before end of cooking time, sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over top of casserole.
Although this dish can be made with ground beef (or even meatless), the ground pork gives it a really great flavor. Any side dish that you would serve with Spaghetti or Lasagna will work well with this dish. This dish can be refrigerated overnight after assembly. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking.
Manicotti with Cheese & Spinach Filling
Box Recipe
1 lb ground Pork
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta or cottage cheese
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed drlby
1/4 cup minced onion
1 egg
2 tsp minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 (36 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1 (8 ounce) package manicotti shells
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground pork. Drain fat and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, onion and egg. Season with parsley, pepper and garlic powder. Mix in pork, 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan. In a separate bowl, stir together spaghetti sauce and water.
Spread 1 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Stuff uncooked manicotti shells with ricotta mixture (I use a ziploc bag with a corner snipped off), and arrange in a single layer in the dish. Cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until noodles are soft.
