Chef Lisa » Ham

NRD: Monte Cristo Waffles

Lisa Hartjes — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:45:32 +0000

Eggs every morning for breakfast tends to get boring rather quickly in our house. I’m always looking for inspiration and ideas to liven things up. This morning, when I was thinking about what I needed to put together my daughter’s lunch, an idea came to me. The kids love waffles. They also love Monte Cristo sandwiches. Why not combine the two?

I did, and they loved it.

Monte Cristo Waffles

Preheat your waffle iron.

For each “waffle”, you’ll need to make a ham and cheese sandwich. Use your favorite ham and cheese, maybe put a little bit of mustard on it. Other toppings, like tomato, lettuce, etc., probably wouldn’t work too well.

Make your egg mixture. For 3 sandwiches, I beat together 2 eggs, a splash of milk, and a bit of salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Once you’ve got your sandwich made, dip each side of the sandwich in the egg mixture. Place the sandwich in the waffle iron and cook according to the directions for making waffles. They’re done when the sandwich is golden brown.

We didn’t eat them with butter and syrup, but I suppose you could if you wanted to.

Ham & Chicken Marinara

Lisa Hartjes — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:40:01 +0000

This took me about 15 minutes to put together, including gathering all the equipment, ingredients and cutting up the ham and chicken. I love meals like this. It was a hit with the family too.

Ham & Chicken Marinara

Serves 6

3/4 pound cooked chicken — diced small
1/4 pound Canadian bacon — diced small
28 ounces marinara sauce
1/2 cup alfredo sauce
4 ounces cream cheese
2 cups egg noodles, medium, uncooked

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 2 quart casserole (with a lid) with non-stick cooking spray. (Don’t spray the lid.)

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir until well combined. Pour into the casserole and bake, covered, for 55 minutes or until pasta is cooked.

– - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - –

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 309 Calories; 18g Fat (42.5% calories from fat); 28g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 112mg Cholesterol; 1026mg Sodium.

Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 2 1/2 Fat.

Ham & Cheese Salad

Lisa Hartjes — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:55:15 +0000

This is a delicious no-cook recipe. If you’ve got everything prepared, you’ll be ready to eat in less than five minutes. It took me 15 minutes to put this together, and that included time gathering and preparing the ingredients and cleaning up afterwards.

It’s based on Rachel Ray’s Ham Salad, which I modified based on what ingredients I had on hand, and to our family’s tastes. This makes 4 servings. Serve it just as is in a bowl, or on a kaiser or onion bun. If you’re going to serve it with lettuce, I recommend doubling the dressing.

Ham & Cheese Salad

2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/s tsp dried tarragon
salt & ground pepper to taste
1/2 lb Virginia-style ham, slices thing, and cut into very thin strips (1/4″ wide or narrower)
1/3 lb deli-sliced Swiss cheese, cut into very thin strips (like ham)

In large bowl, mix together mustard, vinegar, garlic, olive oil and tarragon until well mixed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the ham and cheese to the bowl and toss everything to coat well.