There are times when you have to plan ahead to use leftovers. Dear Husband is not a huge fan of ham. We do one a couple of times a year, and he suffers in silence. Wednesday, when my niece and her boys were coming to dinner, I thought I would do a ham, so that DH didn't have so many left overs to deal with.
Ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, green salad and brownies. Something for everyone.
I planned two meals for the left overs.
We traditionally follow a ham with "Turkey and Ham Tetrazini." It's a recipe from the Betty Crocker Picture cookbook that was out in the late sixties....my very first cookbook.
I used chicken, in place of the left over turkey, and of the options given in the recipe, pimento and mushrooms. The ham and chicken are cut to bite size pieces (or smaller), and mixed with cooked spaghetti and a very light sauce made with chicken broth and a little milk. The ingredients are tossed together and placed in a casserole. You can top with shredded or grated Parmesan cheese, or toasted almonds, and it's baked for about 40 minutes.
I figured that while I was making the tetrazini, I might as well get the bean soup started for tomorrow. We'll have old fashioned bean soup and cornbread, and a salad. The soup is best if you cook it with the leftover ham bone.
We actually had four meals because of that ham. Last night DH took a nap after work because Elegante Mother was going out to dinner with my sister. I was sitting in the living room and fell asleep, so when he came to the kitchen dinner wasn't ready. The answer? Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, and a cup of noodle soup!
We managed to get four meals out of that ham, with some variety. Next time, we may do a ham fried rice, or a chef's salad.
I love planned overs!
Comments (17)
My version of that cookbook (2nd ed--1956), doesn't seem to have that particular recipe, although it does have Chicken Tetrazzini. I think the "Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book" was my second cook book--the first being, "Foods and Health, Book Two for Upper Elementary Grades", Revised ed (1945). I still use recipes from each of them! (Insofar as I can be considered to "use" recipes, at all!)
Posted by Cop Car | February 11, 2006 10:45 AM
Posted on February 11, 2006 10:45
I had to tape the spine of my Picture Cookbook with strapping tape, and now I think I'll either have to graduate to duct tape or buy a new binder. I hate to give up the cover, but this particular book has had a LOT of use!
I'm so glad to see that you're back and posting. And, I'm delighted that you have that very first cookbook, and still use it. *S*
I went to check, and do you know there isn't a page with the publishing info in my cookbook? I have "Betty Crocker's New Picture Cookbook," published by McGraw-Hill. I bought it at the campus bookstore, probably when I was a sophomore, so that would be around 1967 to 1968. It was obviously a GREAT buy! They must have adjusted the tetrazini recipe to make the best use of leftovers from Thanksgiving or Easter, but we use it whenever there is a ham.
Posted by buffy | February 11, 2006 12:50 PM
Posted on February 11, 2006 12:50
I love ham, and those recipes sound good. Can I come over next time you're using the leftovers? ;)
Posted by nicole | February 11, 2006 6:29 PM
Posted on February 11, 2006 18:29
This sounds nice. We use leftover meats with pasta at times although we tend not to baken them in the oven but just to add them to the pasta sauce (I looked up the term tetazini and it looks as if the pasta and meat is baked in the oven - i assume my understanding is right?)
Posted by Adele | February 12, 2006 5:40 AM
Posted on February 12, 2006 05:40
Sure thing, Nicole! :-)
Adele, yes, you have it right. Cut up meat, cooked 2" lengths of spagetti, mushrooms or green pepper, pimento, and a light sauce that is chicken broth and milk thickened with flour. Parmesan or almonds over the top and baked for 30-40 minutes. The recipe calls for nutmeg and sherry, which we leave out, and salt and white pepper.
Posted by buffy | February 12, 2006 3:33 PM
Posted on February 12, 2006 15:33
I have to admit that Betty Crocker isn't a well known name over here. Is she a cook like our Delia Smith, where you know that if you follow the recipe you will ALWAYS get an excellent result or is she more the type of person whose recipes are a bit of excitement where you never know how they will turn out?
Posted by Adele | February 13, 2006 12:48 PM
Posted on February 13, 2006 12:48
Betty Crocker is a fictional woman created by a publisher (if I recall it correctly). Her cookbooks are pretty basic American food, with some intermediate recipes thrown in for fun.
This is the kind of cookbook that has basic cooking techniques. It's old enough that there is a lot of comfort food, and some of my favorite Christmas cookies and baked goods.
This is entry level cooking at its best.
Posted by buffy | February 13, 2006 4:04 PM
Posted on February 13, 2006 16:04
I think that Betty Crocker was invented in the 1920s or 1930s by General Mills as the persona interfacing their company to the American woman. Every 10 years, or so, they have changed what she looks like, so I'm not sure that I would recognize her current-day image if I saw it. Otherwise, Adele, your description fits. Any Betty Crocker recipe is bound to turn out well. It may not be haute cuisine, but it is edible!
Posted by Cop Car | February 14, 2006 8:24 AM
Posted on February 14, 2006 08:24
I am astounded. I have seen allusions to Betty Crocker in US books/writings over the years and assumed that she was/is a real person.
OK, I know that Mrs Beeton didn't have the range of foods and didn't have some of the recipes that appear in new versions of her book rather than in the original version but she did exist. Did you know that she died at the age of 26? When you think of the mark she made on the world that is quite remarkable.
Posted by Adele | February 15, 2006 6:12 AM
Posted on February 15, 2006 06:12
Adele--Now I'll need to search for Mrs Beeton to see what she did for the world. BTW: There is no such person as "Aunt Jemima", either. We Yanks are sneaky. *giggling* It occurs to me that, when first introduced, Betty Crocker "looked" to be in her 30s or 40s--which means that she would be about 115 years old, by now. Good genes!
Posted by Cop Car | February 15, 2006 8:38 AM
Posted on February 15, 2006 08:38
Err who is "Aunt Jemima"? Not a name I know.
On Mrs Beeton,one of the stalwarts of British culture, you can find out more about her here http://www.oup.co.uk/worldsclassics/magarchive/mag1/article01/ and here http://www.mrsbeeton.com/
Posted by Adele | February 16, 2006 5:22 AM
Posted on February 16, 2006 05:22
Adele--Aunt Jemima is the persona for "Aunt Jemima" brand foods, now owned by The Quaker Oats Company (see http://www.auntjemima.com/tradition/index.htm). She has been around for at least as long as Betty Crocker, and caused quite a furor in the 1960s during the civil rights drive for people of color in the USA. Her image was that of a "typical" southern, black "mammy". Today's image is more "Oprah-like". I have eaten pancakes made from Aunt Jemima pancake mix for as long as I can remember. No other brand is as good, to me.
Posted by Cop Car | February 16, 2006 12:00 PM
Posted on February 16, 2006 12:00
Adele--I meant to thank you for the link for Mrs Beeton. I had Googled her. I recall that her recipe for Hard Tack would really produce hard, hard tack--with only 2 ounces of fat (butter) to a pound of flour. I plan to try it. (There is also posted a recipe for Muffins and Crumpets, using potatoes, that sounds good!)
Posted by Cop Car | February 16, 2006 12:15 PM
Posted on February 16, 2006 12:15
Thanks for the correction, Cop Car. I knew Betty Crocker was affiliated with someone other than a publisher, but it wouldn't come to me as I was writing about her. I should have Googled.
Yes....her appearance has changed frequently. The woman on my NEW Picture Cookbook looks to be in her thirties or early forties, so even she would be past 75 now.
One of my favorite cookbooks is "Fannie Farmer." I believe Fannie existed, and her cookbook has both the entry level recipes and things that are a bit more challenging. I tend to like her cookbook better than "Joy of Cooking" when it comes to a basic reference on foods.
Posted by buffy | February 16, 2006 8:20 PM
Posted on February 16, 2006 20:20
You kill me with your meal "planning" LOL even left overs??? LOL
Posted by Jamie | February 16, 2006 10:46 PM
Posted on February 16, 2006 22:46
Glad you both enjoyed the sites to Mrs Beeton. She had a real influence on cookery over here.
Quaker Oats are sold over here but I can't ever remember seeing or being aware of Aunt Jemima. I suppose that is because her architype isn't one that would make a connection over here. Glad to know that her image has been updated over the years.
Posted by Adele | February 17, 2006 3:43 AM
Posted on February 17, 2006 03:43
Hey, James! Planning is a GOOD thing! lol You forget that I'm halfway between the
"waste not want not" generation, and the "who cares" group. So I plan how to use my leftovers. I'll be happy to give you lessons. (smirk)
Posted by buffy | February 19, 2006 8:36 PM
Posted on February 19, 2006 20:36