RECIPE SWAP: REQUEST FOR CASSEROLE WITH HAM DRAWS MANY RECIPES

This has been a great week for mail at Recipe Swap. Requests and sharing of recipes are abundant right now, which is wonderful.

It is interesting to see what responses we get for various requests. For instance, we had a request for a ham casserole. I thought surely the Altenburg women would respond, but they didn't. Then someone from Cape responded with about 15 different ham casserole variations. In the interest of space available, we won't run all of them, but I will try to choose a couple that sound good.

The first recipe is a very basic recipe with a simple white sauce base made right in the pan without cooking it in a separate pan over heat. It can be altered and spiced up to your particular taste.

Potato-Ham Scallop

2 cups cubed fully cooked ham

6 to 8 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/3 cup flour

2 cups milk

3 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs

1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted

2 tablespoons finely snipped parsley

Place half the ham in a 2-quart casserole. Cover with half the potatoes and half the onion. Sift half the flour over; season with salt and pepper. Repeat layering ham, potatoes and onion. Season with additional salt and pepper. Sift remaining flour atop. Pour milk over all. Combine bread crumbs and melted butter; sprinkle atop casserole. Top with parsley. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees till potatoes are nearly tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Macaroni and Ham Bake

3 1/2 ounces elbow macaroni, about 1 cup

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons prepared mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

2 cups milk

2 cups cubed fully cooked ham

2 medium apples, peeled and thinly sliced, about 2 cups

1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs, about 2 slices

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water just till tender, 8 to 10 minutes; drain. In large saucepan melt the 1/4 cup butter; blend in flour, brown sugar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once; cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Stir in cooked macaroni, ham, and apples slices. Turn mixture into a 2-quart casserole. Combine bread crumbs and the 2 tablespoons melted butter; sprinkle over casserole. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

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Ada Clifton shares a favorite recipe using ham. You can scale down the fat by using fat free mayonnaise and plain yogurt for the half and half.

Ham Souffle

2 cups cooked ham, cut small

2 cups real mayonnaise

2 cups white bread crumbs

2 hard cooked eggs, cut fine

2 cups half and half

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 small onion, grated

Mix well and put in 9-x13-inch pan. Top with crushed corn flakes. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.

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Belle Litzelfelner of Jackson is wanting a recipe for Raisin Pie and we have two recipes to share. A third recipe was submitted that uses cranberries as well. I will share that with you next week.

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Ellie Reed of Cape Girardeau shares a family recipe. She once made this pie for her husband and he ate the whole pie in one day while they were traveling to a family member's house. When they arrived, the family member announced to them she had made them a raisin pie.

Raisin Pie

2 cups raisins

2 cups water

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon butter

1 pastry for double crust 9-inch pie

Boil raisins in 1 3/4 cups water 5 minutes. Combine brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt in remaining 1/4 cup cold water. Add to raisins, stir until mixture boils. Remove from heat and add butter and vinegar. Pour into pastry-lined pan. Cover with top pastry. Bake in hot 450-degree oven for 25 minutes.

Haley Weaver shares a recipe she got from her grandmother.

Raisin Pie

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

2 teaspoons grated orange rind

1 cup light brown sugar

pinch of salt

2 cups seeded raisins

1 1/2 cups water

Combine these ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Then mix 4 1/2 tablespoons flour to a paste with 1/2 cup cold water. Stir this into hot mixture gradually. Cook, stirring about 5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Line a pie plate with dough and pour in filling. Cover with lattice topping. Bake in hot 450-degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake about 30 minutes longer.

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Sandy Riehn answers a request for Chess Pie sharing a couple of her favorites. Neither of her recipes call for cornmeal, of which I'm used to in traditional Southern Chess Pie, but I'm sure if Sandy says they are good, they are.

Chess Pie

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon flour

3 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter and quickly add all other ingredients. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chocolate Chess Pie

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 1/2 tablespoons cocoa

1/2 stick butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cups milk

2 eggs, well beaten

Mix well. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Sandy was also looking for the recipe for Daffodil Cake and Opal Rodgers of Cape Girardeau sent her recipe in to share.

Daffodil Cake

Bake 1 yellow cake mix as directed on the box.

Cook 1 large box vanilla pudding according to the package directions. Add 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese to pudding mix and spread over cake. Drain 1 large can crushed pineapple, and spread as next layer. Spread a layer of whipped topping over this. Nut crumbs may be added on top of whipped topping. Keep refrigerated.

To close for this week, we have a request from Shelby Jones for the Pasta House Salad enjoyed so much by all who dine there.

Thanks to all who shared recipes this week. Have a great week and happy cooking.