Extreme Makeover with leftover ham
By LOU GREENHAW
Contributing writer
Eighty degrees one day, snow in the forecast the next — it must be close to an early Easter in Kansas! If you throw in some wind that will equalize all hairdos, it must be March.
It is no secret that I hate wind. It is one of the main reasons I want to retire elsewhere. Last week in the early morning — before the wind came up according to the weather guy on the radio — the car door blew shut on my leg as I was trying to get out of the car. It's a good thing the weather turned cold again because now my dark hose can cover the bruise.
I am excited about Easter but then again, what Christian isn't. Easter always seems like a shot of energy juice for the church. How can you not have a smile on your face on Easter morning when you think of the biggest surprise in history!
Our church, Parkview, is doing a single service on Easter with a cantata. I'm not the best singer — ask Beth Hein who was assigned to sit by me and keep me on pitch — but I like to try and I get excited about the thought of Easter and just hope I make it through without shedding a few happy tears. I have had one of the cantata songs singing in my head all week long and that may be what led to the recent nightmare.
I usually don't remember my dreams but I woke up in a panic and remembered vividly the dream. It seems that on Easter morning when I marched in with the other altos, it was just me and a bunch of junior high boys! Now I like boys, even junior high ones, but they are not my first choice to help me get my part through a cantata.
However, the problem didn't end there. We had the wrong books! All the altos had a book for a different cantata. We were trying to find people to look on to their books. All this was going on while our director, Kerry Stepanek, was going right on with the music like nothing was happening. After all, you have to keep up with the soundtrack!
Maybe it stuck in my head that last week she said the altos were overpowering the rest of the choir. I think I solved her problem!
It amazes me how the brain puts unrelated items together in a dream and it seems to make sense while the dream is happening. If you don't have plans for Easter Sunday, come to Parkview at 10 a.m. just to see what happens!
Our Italian exchange student who was here for the fall semester is coming back for a visit and will be here for Palm Sunday and Easter so we will have big family dinners both weeks. We also heard from our German student, Tobi, who is now out of the German army and starting his first job. I love hearing from all my "kids."
I am in the rut like most other Kansans of serving ham for Easter. We happen to love ham so I don't mind but when we lived in Washington and Missouri, we had leg of lamb. I haven't found a good source of leg of lamb since I've lived in Hillsboro.
We have potato casserole, asparagus, deviled eggs, and strawberry, and coconut pies and I am sure others have similar menus.
I like having leftover ham because if can be used in so many dishes from fried rice, to spaghetti carbonara, to casseroles.
One casserole we like is an extreme makeover of the ham and just maybe your family won't know you are recycling the Easter pork. It's certain that it will be better camouflaged than a bunch of junior high boys in the choir!
Ham and Broccoli Bake
5 ounce jar cheese spread (I like Old English)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup butter
2 packages (10 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli
4 cups diced ham
2 cups cooked rice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Combine cheese spread, soup, and milk. Sauté onions in butter till tender. Cook broccoli until barely tender and drain. Add all ingredients to soup mixture and mix well. Pour into two 1 1/2-quart buttered casserole dishes. At this point they may be frozen. Bake unfrozen at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Bake a frozen one covered at 400 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Uncover and bake 30 minutes more.
I prefer to defrost the casserole ahead of time or in the microwave and then bake normally.
Remember if you bake a frozen one to check to see if the dish is the kind that can go from freezer to oven without breaking.
Variation: Substitute a can of soup with cheddar cheese soup if your family likes things real cheesy.
