Menu for week of January 23rd

I got to make most everything on my menu last week and planning to do the same this week. I cooked a ham yesterday so I have plans for that this week. I will be incorporating it into this week's meals, including some breakfasts and freezer meals as well as just freezing slices and diced ham for future meals. If we get tired of ham before we get through the week, I will go ahead and make the meals and freeze them anyway and we'll eat something else. I have another ham in the garage fridge. I couldn't pass up the Christmas prices! : )

Here is the plan for this week:

Monday:

Ham and Potato Casserole (double recipe and freeze one pan), Salad

Ham and Potato Casserole

2 pounds hash browns, frozen (cubed)

1 1/2 cups white sauce

2 tablespoons butter -- melted

16 ounces sour cream

2 cups cooked ham -- cubed

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup green onion -- chopped

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

To assemble for freezer: Combine ingredients in a large bowl or plastic tub and mix well. Place mixture in a 9x13 pan or a Ziploc bag for freezing.

To serve: thaw completely. If desired top with corn flake topping. 2 Cups of corn flakes and 1/4 cup melted margarine mixed together. I omit the cornflake topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or frozen casserole may be baked for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.

NOTES : My notes: I have used shredded has browns and the family likes them as well as cubed has browns if not better.

Tuesday:

Asparagus Ham Roll-ups, Ultra Veg-All Casserole

Asparagus-Ham Roll-Ups

2 Pkg. frozen asparagus -- (10 oz.) (I'm using fresh asparagus as it's on sale this week)

2 Tbsp. flour

1/2 Tsp. dry mustard

6 Thin Slices cooked ham

1 C. processed Cheddar cheese -- (4 oz.) grated

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1/4 Tsp. salt

1 C. milk

Cook asparagus until just tender. Melt fat in heavy saucepan. Stir in flour, salt and mustard. Gradually stir in milk. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened. Add cheese and continue stirring until cheese is melted. Divide asparagus into 6 portions. Place asparagus portions on and parallel to narrow end of each ham slice. Roll as for jelly roll with asparagus in the center of each roll-up. Arrange roll-ups in a baking dish with seam side down. Pour sauce over roll-ups. Bake at 350 degrees until sauce is bubbly, about 20 minutes. Note: I always use fresh asparagus in season. And, I use the microwave to cook the asparagus and heat the roll-ups. Cook the prepared roll-ups on medium for 7 to 10 minutes.

Ultra-Super Veg-all Casserole

15 oz. Veg-All, drained

15 oz. whole kernel corn, drained

8 oz. sour cream

½ c. mayo

½ onion, chopped

8 oz. mild cheddar cheese, grated

2 tubes Ritz crackers, crushed

1 stick soft or melted butter

Mix all ingredients together and put in 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Mix crackers and butter and spread over mixture. Cook 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Wednesday:

Goulash (yipee! a break from the ham), Homemade Bread

Goulash

Ingredients for Cooking Day:

* 1 lb. ground beef ( I use ground chicken)

* 1/2 pound Jimmy Dean sausage (I use reduced fat-soon I hope to be using homemade)

* 1 large can tomato sauce - 29 oz.

* 1 can corn (drained)

* 1 cup elbow macaroni

* 1 chopped green pepper

* 1/2 onion chopped

* 1 clove garlic chopped.

Ingredients for Serving Day:

* Parmesan Cheese

Directions for Cooking Day: Cook elbow macaroni al dente. Brown meat and sausage together. Drain. Add bell pepper, onion, garlic and tomato sauce. Simmer for 1 hour. Add cooked macaroni and corn. Cool and freeze in freezer bag.

Directions for Serving Day: Defrost and heat. Serve with Parmesan cheese. (I'm thinking this would heat on low in the crock pot as a freezer to crock pot meal.)

Thursday:

Ham and Macaroni Casserole (make in two pans and freeze one), Broccoli Cornbread

Ham and Macaroni Casserole

16 oz cooked macaroni

1-1/2 cups chopped cooked ham

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup Velveeta cheese, cut in chunks

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Spray a freezer/oven safe dish. Combine all ingredients except bread crumbs. Spoon into dish.

To Freeze: Cover dish with foil and freeze.

To Reheat: Top with breadcrumbs. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour or until heated through.

Friday:

Bean and Vegetable Chowder, Leftover Broccoli Cornbread

Bean and Vegetable Chowder

1 pound dry white beans, Great Northern

2 pounds ham hocks or 2 cups chopped ham (using chopped ham this time)

1 cup onion -- chopped

1 cup carrot -- chopped

1/2 green pepper -- chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon mace (I don't have this, but have been told I can substitute nutmeg, not sure if I will, I may just omit this ingredient)

1 quart tomatoes, canned

Soak beans overnight in water to cover by 2 inches. Drain beans. Add water to cover beans by 1 inch. Cook beans with ham hocks (I use a ham bone with some meat) for at least 2 hours on low heat. Remove ham bone from beans and let cool. Add all other ingredients. Remove ham from the bone and return ham to the bean mixture. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Freezes well.

Saturday:

Freezer Meal-Spaghetti Casserole, Salad, Garlic Bread

Sunday:

Freezer Meal-Cranberry Chicken (crock pot), Rice Almondine, Green Bean Casserole and Peach Cobbler