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Stretch your festive leftovers into many more meals

Author Sandra Lee presents three recipes that'll ease your holiday burden

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  Stretch your holiday meal
Dec. 13: If money’s tight, why shouldn’t you turn your festive leftovers into more delicious meals? Sandra Lee of the forthcoming Semi-Homemade magazine joins NBC’s Lester Holt with a holiday meal that keeps on giving.

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TODAY recipes
updated 11:37 a.m. ET Dec. 13, 2008

Beset by falling home values and an economy in turmoil, numerous U.S. households are scaling back their plans. To ease the holiday burden Sandra Lee, author of "Semi-Homemade," shares three recipes that'll stretch your festive feast into three meals.

Southern ham casserole
Sandra Lee, Semi-Homemade

Makes 6 servings

Prep: 25 minutes
Bake: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil cooking spray, Pam
2 tablespoons butter
1 package (8-ounce) fresh sliced mushrooms
2 cups leftover ham
1 cup frozen chopped onions, Ore-Ida
1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese, Tillamook
1 can (10.75-ounce) condensed cream of mushroom soup, Campbell’s
1⁄2 cup sour cream
1 1⁄4 pounds red potatoes, thinly sliced

Recipe continues below ↓
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DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; cook about 5 minutes or until golden and liquid has evaporated. Add ham and onions; heat through. In a large bowl, stir together cheese, soup, and sour cream. Add ham mixture and potatoes. Toss to coat. Place in prepared casserole dish. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Serve hot.

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Spicy molasses-glazed ham
Sandra Lee, Semi-Homemade

Makes 20 servings

Prep: 20 minutes
Roast: 2 1/2 hours

INGREDIENTS

7 to 8 pounds cooked ham
20 whole cloves, McCormick
1⁄2 cup molasses, Grandma’s
1⁄4 cup packed dark brown sugar, C&H
1⁄4 cup ginger preserves, Robertson’s
1⁄4 cup dark rum, Myers’s
1 fresh habañero chile, stem and seeds removed, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced ginger, Gourmet Garden
1⁄2 teaspoon dry mustard, Coleman’s
Pineapple tops (optional)
Whole habañero chiles (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil; set aside.

Cut the thick layer of fat and skin from ham and discard. Score the ham in a diamond pattern by making shallow diagonal cuts at 1-inch intervals; insert whole cloves in centers of diamonds. Place ham in roasting pan. Roast in preheated oven for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, for glaze, in a medium saucepan, combine molasses, brown sugar, ginger preserves, rum, chile, ginger, and dry mustard. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, stirring constantly until sugar and preserves are dissolved. Remove from heat.

After ham has roasted for 1 hour, baste with glaze and continue roasting about 1 1/2 hours more or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in ham (away from bone) registers 130 to 140 degrees F, basting ham with glaze every 15 minutes. Garnish with pineapple tops and habañero chiles (optional).

MANAGE YOUR RECIPES


South seas kabobs
Sandra Lee, Semi-Homemade

Makes 4 servings

Prep: 25 minutes
Broil: 8 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 1⁄2 pounds leftover ham, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound pineapple spears, cut into 1-inch pieces, Ready Pac
1 sweet onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 red, orange, and/or yellow bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 jar (9-ounce) plum sauce, Lee Kum Kee
1⁄4 cup pineapple juice, Dole
2 tablespoons chili sauce, Heinz
2 teaspoons Jamaican jerk seasoning, McCormick

DIRECTIONS

Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil. Alternately thread ham, pineapple, and vegetables on 4 long skewers. Set aside on prepared baking sheet. In a medium saucepan, stir together plum sauce, pineapple juice, chili sauce, and jerk seasoning. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Brush kabobs with plum sauce mixture. Broil in preheated broiler 6 to 8 inches from heat for 8 to 12 minutes or until starting to brown and vegetables are crisp-tender, turning kabobs to brown evenly. Serve hot kabobs with any remaining plum sauce mixture.

Note: If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for at least 1 hour.

MANAGE YOUR RECIPES


For more information, visit http://www.semihomemade.com/.


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