Cora's Cottage

Ham is not one of my favorite foods. However, when we buy a half to a whole hog at a time I have to find a way to use it. The one way that I have found to use it. One way I do enjoy ham is in cheesy ham and potato soup or in ham and bean soup in the winter time. However, in the summertime, my family does not like lots of soup so I’ve had to find another way that I can use ham in the summer.

One of my family’s favorite ways is to make ham Alfredo casserole, or a ham Alfredo that I can pop in the crockpot. One thing that makes this such a great recipe is that I can make it ahead and pop it in the freezer to pull it out to use later. This is great because I can warm it in a crockpot during the hot summer months to help minimize the amount of heat we are adding to the house when we are trying to keep it cool.

To make ham Alfredo, I thaw the ham and cook it in my crockpot or in a roaster in the oven. I prefer the crockpot because I can start it in the morning before going to work and come home to a cooked ham. I allow it to cool before shredding it or cubing it into small pieces that are smaller than bite-size. I would say about a half inch by half inch or even a quarter inch by quarter inch.

I then boil a large amount of noodles to go with the ham. This will vary depending on the size of the ham. Once the noodles have boiled and cooked I drain them and add Alfredo sauce and the ham, mixing well. If you are planning on serving this as your meal for the day, you are done already, but if you are wanting to freeze it to preheat later, place it into large glass container that is oven safe like a 9×13 pan, or into another large container, and freeze for up to three months.

If you would like to make your alfredo sauce from scratch that is always an option as well. I have used heavy whipping cream, parmesan cheese, and herbs to make homemade alfredo sauce before and it works well for this recipe. If you do not have heavy whipping cream, I have substituted half milk and half butter to replace the heavy whipping cream.

Then, when I am ready to pull the ham alfredo out of the freezer and use it as a meal, I simply stick it in the fridge to thaw. When it is thawed, it can be placed into crockpot and left on low or warm to heat, or if you forgot to place it into the crockpot earlier in the day, it can be microwaved in individual servings. If you stored the ham alfredo in a oven safe container, it can also be placed in the oven with extra parmesan cheese over the top to be heated through. I typically do 350°F for 30 minutes, but it can vary depending on if any of the casserole is still frozen and how much casserole I am placing into the oven.

Overtime I have started to experiment with different herbs and spices to help change it up. I have found that I like to add a little bit of pepper and sometimes I’ll add a little bit of fresh parsley over the top. Anything that you might add to your chicken Alfredo can also be added to a ham Alfredo. I have even added vegetables like peas on occasion.