Ham Casserole

I found a recipe for a similar casserole online and tweaked and changed until it worked best for us. Here is the final result. My family really likes this one!

Ingredients

• 5 or 6 small to medium russet potatoes
• 3 stalks celery, chopped 
• 2 large carrots, sliced 
• 4 1/2 cups water 
• 3 tablespoons butter 
• 3 cups cubed fully cooked ham 
• About 1/2 a red bell pepper, chopped
• About 1/2 a small onion, chopped
• 6 tablespoons butter 
• 4 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 2 cups milk 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 1 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Place potatoes, celery, and carrot in a large pot and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and transfer to a 9x13 baking dish.

3. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir ham, red bell pepper, and onion until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer ham mixture to baking dish and mix with potatoes.

4. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a clean skillet; cook and stir flour in melted butter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Gradually stir in milk and season with salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add Cheddar cheese; stir until melted. Pour cheese mixture over ham and potatoes.

5. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake in preheated oven until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Allow casserole to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

We went out for sushi over Thanksgiving Break with LaVon and Kelly. In addition to some DELICIOUS sushi, we had the tastiest bowl of chicken teriyaki chicken and rice. I've been craving it ever since. We have come up with our own version of this meal, and we think it's pretty close to the original! Bonus, it's easy and inexpensive to make. This is definitely going to become a regular at our house.

Ingredients:

• Rice, cooked
• Chicken, cooked and seasoned as desired
• Any vegetables you like in your rice bowl (we prefer to leave the vegetables out of the bowl but make edamame for the side - yum!!)
• 1 Batch of Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup soy sauce 
• 1 cup water 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 5 tablespoons packed brown sugar 
• 1 -2 tablespoon honey 
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1/4 cup cold water 

Directions:

Mix all but cornstarch and 1/4 c cold water in a sauce pan and begin heating. Mix cornstarch and cold water in a cup and dissolve. (I like to add the cornstarch slowly while whisking.) Add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce in pan. Heat and stir until sauce thickens and darkens to desired consistency. Add water to thin if you want it thinner, but for me this is perfect! Just like that nice, sweet, thick Teriyaki sauce we had at the restaurant. YUM!