HAM I AM
Old Mother Frugal has a founding frugal principle… never
turn away free food.
Around the holidays, there is an unspoken practice that
the leftover ham bone never goes into the trash. It finds its way to Old Mother
Frugal’s freezer.
It may take months to get from the cook’s freezer to
mine, but as long as it’s been frozen, time is not an issue.
Frozen or fresh, it’s a good practice to scrape as much
meat off the bone as possible. With the last bone that was donated to my freezer,
almost 2 cups of ham meat was extracted from the bone.
The bone is a jewel of flavor, never to be used just
once. The first use of the bone yields the most flavor however that doesn’t
mean that future uses won’t be tasty. Oh contraire! Old Mother Frugal has used
a ham bone as many as three times to extract flavor in various recipes.
The first round yields a lentil or a split pea soup. The
second round is used to cook beans to give them additional flavor. The last
round is used as bone broth. The broth can be used to cook rice or leafy
vegetables such as collard greens or to soak cornbread that is not as fresh as
when it is baked the first day. The broth is also useful when pureed beans are
too dry and they need some liquid to moisten them.
Now the meat! There are so many tasty recipes to use ham
bits. Need a breakfast waffle? Ham and cheese added to the batter makes a
flavorful waffle. As an added bonus, homemade waffles freeze well and can be
toasted or reheated in your microwave. Grab and go out the door in the morning
on your way to work or to the school bus.
For a brunch, try a ham and cheese potato patty cake and
serve with a fried egg. Another brunch menu item is ham and broccoli quiche.
Finely diced ham bits flavor a split pea or lentil soup
for lunch or dinner with a grilled sandwich.
When meat is used as the “accent” and not the main
feature, you will reduce your food costs and not compromise flavor of your
meals while stretching your food dollars.
SOUND
THE BUGLE!
Today’s tip: Need ham but don’t want to buy a whole ham
and don’t have a ham bone? Consider a ham steak. With a coupon and a good sale,
ham steak can be diced into small cubes to stretch your food dollars. Freeze
leftovers for your next meal.
HAM AND POTATO CAKE WITH
FRIED EGG
CRUSTLESS HAM BROCCOLI QUICHE
HAM LENTIL SOUP
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