Leftover Ham? No Problem!

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and Easter Sunday.  We had a great day here.  Lots of good food, fun with family and even some decent weather for a change!  (those of you who live in warm climates may debate that last one since it was only in the 50s and partly sunny, but we've had a brutal Spring so far, so I'll take it)

I thought I'd share an easy way to use leftover ham.  This year, we had pork for Easter dinner, but I had bought a ham last week and made this dish with the leftovers.  My boys loved it, which is always a bonus.  They are normally good eaters, but need to be reminded constantly during dinner to eat, so when I find a meal that they eat without any prodding, its a keeper!

Its inspired from this recipe, but I modified it to get this:

Ham and Potatoes Au Gratin 

Ingredients

• 4 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 cups diced cooked ham
• 15 oz can corn or frozen corn
• 3 tablespoons minced onion
• 2/3 cup butter or margarine
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 TBS dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• small pinch cayenne
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• generous dash  pepper
• Chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Combine potatoes, ham, corn and onion in a greased 9 x 13 casserole; set aside. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk; stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles. Add cheese, parsley, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper; stir until the cheese melts. Pour over potato mixture and stir gently to mix. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly and slightly browned on top.

 Like I said, these guys loved it:

Plus it was easy.  It doesn't get much better than that!

On the remodeling front, I have to admit that my little mishap with the hutch sucked up a lot of my energy and enthusiasm last week.  I am happy to say that the doors no longer look like this:

and now look like this:

(Ignore the orange oak cabinets...their day is coming)

It really wasn't that difficult to fix after all.  It just took a lot of detailed sanding, but the repainting was a breeze.  I am planning on finishing it this week with a little light distressing and then some finishing wax.

Thanks for your patience as I crawl along!  Have a wonderful week!