Having ham for Easter?

I plan to make a big meal for our Easter dinner. We are quite traditional in our eating habits and will dine on a spiral baked ham with all the trimmings including the easy sweet pickle peaches recipe from several years back.

Once Monday rolls around, I'll have a whole lot of leftover ham. I have a number of recipes that I routinely use with ham leftovers, from ham and cheese muffins to a cheesy ham and potato soup. And I do love a good ham sandwich with mayonnaise, like my mom used to make.

But this season, there's a new recipe to add to our ham leftover line up -- a ham and cheese quiche of sorts packed with vegetables.

I made Veggie Filled Ham and Cheese Pie twice now, and both times my husband and I have gobbled it up. We had it as a main dinner course one night with fresh fruit as a side dish. And it's so very good warmed up in the oven or microwave for a quick and filling breakfast.

I didn't have ham leftovers when I tried the recipe, so I used deli ham; it was wonderful.

This is a simple egg pie recipe made in a pie crust. I used a refrigerated pie crust the first time and a frozen pie crust the second time; I prebaked each for about 5 minutes before pouring in the filling. I used a regular size pie crust, but when I make it again, I'll use the deep dish size frozen pie crust so I don't have to throw out leftover egg filling.

The recipe I started with used fewer vegetables and different cheese, but I chose ingredients I knew my husband and I would enjoy. In addition to spinach and mushrooms in the original recipe, I added a variety of bell peppers and chopped onions.

I didn't want to buy an entire package of spinach or mushrooms for the small amount I needed, so I went to the salad bar at my favorite grocery store and got the spinach, mushrooms and mixed bell peppers. The vegetable ingredients don't have to be precise measurements for this dish, so I just eyeballed what I was putting into the salad bar carryout container. The first time I made, it I used the bell peppers available on the salad bar: green, red and orange. The second time I used red, orange and yellow. It's so economical to buy the fresh vegetables this way. For about $1.50, I got the spinach, mushrooms and peppers I needed for my pie.

I also sauteed my mushrooms, onions and peppers in a little olive oil before adding to the pie because I knew that would enhance the flavor, and it did! While the mushrooms were cooking and the pie crust pre-cooking, I cut up the ham and mixed the egg filling. It really takes just a few minutes before it's ready to pop in the oven.

There are so many ways to vary this recipe according to your family's tastes. I'm sure it would be delicious as a meatless pie, for instance.



Veggie Filled Ham and Cheese Pie

• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fat-free half-and-half or milk
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese (divided)
• 1 frozen pie crust (deep dish)
• 1/2 to 1 cup fresh spinach
• 1/4 cup mixed bell pepper cut into strips or diced
• 1/4 cup diced onions
• 1/2 cup fresh mushroom slices
• 1 cup chopped ham
• Olive oil for sautéeing

Cook pie crust for 5 minutes at temperature recommended on package. Set aside. Turn oven temperature to 350.
While crust is cooking, saute mushrooms, onions and peppers in a small amount of olive oil.
With a whisk, beat eggs, flour, salt and half-and-half until combined.
Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese in bottom of partially cooked pie crust. Top with a generous layer of spinach leaves. Arrange sauteed vegetables to cover spinach. Pour egg mixture over all. Top with remaining cheese.
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until top is golden.
Lisa Boykin Batts



Sweet Pickled Peaches

• 2 16-oz. cans peach halves
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon each whole cloves and whole allspice
• 2 cinnamon sticks

Strain juice from peaches and pour into large pot; reserve peaches. Tie cloves, allspice and cinnamon sticks in a spice bag. I make one out of cheesecloth. Add sugar, vinegar and spice bag to juice in pot. Let come to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour in peaches and cook an addition 5 minutes or until peaches are heated. Remove spice bag. Let cool, then refrigerate.

Easter Treats

I love Easter candy.

One year, I gained about 5 pounds from eating way too many Russell Stover strawberry cream eggs. I kid you not.

I buy jelly beans and yellow bunny Peeps and Brach's chocolate marshmallow rabbits. It has to be Brach's. I added a new bag of goodies to my shopping cart this year, Hershey's Cookies and Cream eggs. Those are for the children. I prefer some peanut butter in my miniature eggs. Think Reese's.

Which brings me to today's column.

I made my own chocolate covered peanut butter eggs last week, and they were delicious and very, very easy to make. Too easy, in fact, because it's very tempting to make them again.

There are no complicated ingredients or instructions with this recipe; it's a wonderful one to make with children because they can help form the eggs.

Those of you who read my column might recall an almost identical recipe two years ago for a chocolate peanut butter ball candy, or buckeyes, at Christmas. You could use that same recipe, in fact, and just make the candy egg-shaped instead of round.

Making the eggs consists of mixing the peanut butter filling and shaping and cooling the eggs before dipping them in chocolate.

I've done a lot of chocolate dipping in recent years, but I had a breakthrough moment with this recipe. I placed an egg in a large spoon and dipped it into the warm chocolate. I rolled the egg inside the bowl of the spoon until it was coated. Then I transferred each egg to a large piece of wax paper and let the chocolate firm.

I made my eggs several sizes. I really like the smaller ones. The larger ones are easier to decorate, though, and would work well for personalizing with a child's name.

The recipe makes quite a few eggs, so I delivered about a dozen to work. They were the perfect size to fit in colorful cupcake holders.

I stored my candy eggs in the refrigerater. Some of my family members ate them while they were still cold, but I prefer to leave them on the counter for a few minutes.

Either way, it's chocolate and peanut butter, so how can it be bad?


Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon shortening

With an electric mixer, blend softened butter and peanut butter until smooth. Gradually add in powdered sugar and milk until mixed. Shape peanut butter mixture into egg shapes. Can be various sizes.
Place eggs on a cookie sheet or in other container and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Once eggs are chilled, place chocolate chips and shortening in microwave safe bowl and cook for 1 minute. Stir. If the chips don’t melt, put back in at 15-second intervals. Don’t overcook.
Dip eggs in chocolate and place on wax paper to firm. I placed my eggs in a spoon for dipping. Roll the egg in the bowl of the spoon until coated.
Once the chocolate has hardened some, they are ready to decorate.
Store in refrigerator.

No more calls home

I called my parents' phone number just now. No one answered. In fact, a recording came on informing me the line was no longer in service.
I knew some things would be hard. I knew it would be hard to walk back into the church for the first time after the funeral, and it was. I knew it would be hard to drive by and see the front door closed and to walk into an empty house; it takes my breath away when I realize Mama won't be sitting on the den sofa when I walk in.
But I didn't expect it would be so hard, so emotional, to cancel their phone service. I really didn't. I called the phone company Monday morning, just four weeks after Mama's death. No need to spend the extra $35 or so for a phone no one was using, right? We all have cell phones we can use when we're at the house. So I made the call. One more thing I could check off my list.
"My mother died last month, and I want to cancel her phone service." That shouldn't be so hard.
Before I had spoken two sentences, the tears started. I choked up and couldn't even talk for a few moments.
The customer service rep was so sweet when I apologized for my tears. "It's OK," she said.
We talked for a few minutes and she transferred me to the correct operator. The first person must have explained my emotional state to the next operator because when she picked up my call, she made reference to my parents' death. She was so kind as well. She asked me a few questions, and we took care of the business at hand. She asked me about the weather and tried to distract me. She was very sweet to the blubbering daughter on the other end of the line.
"They have had this number for almost 50 years," I told her, still sniffling but remembering how long they had been at the house.
Actually, they got the number in 1958, the operator said. That's the year they got married. That means they could be reached at that number in the short time they lived in an apartment before moving to the home they built and raised their family in.
How many times have I dialed that number? 243-4527. How many times have I thought it odd that the first three digits add up to 9, so do the next two and the last two?
How many times have I found comfort from the voice on the other end of the line? I was calling home.
When I was finished, I e-mailed my sister and told her the job was done.
I told her I want to fast-forward to the "it gets easier" part everyone tells me about.
Susan said maybe it will start getting better bit by bit. I sure hope so.