Cabbage, Ham and Rice

My husband and I love ham and I stock up on whole hams when they are on sale. Ham is inexpensive compared to other meats and I often still find it for under a $1 a pound.  I don’t buy the spiral cut hams because they seem to dry out too much when they are baked and are usually a little more expensive. I love to cut big chunks off a freshly baked ham and serve it with scalloped potatoes and green beans.

I love the leftovers too and we can get several days of meals from one ham; we don’t mind having the same kind of meat over and over through out the week. The chopped leftovers are frozen to be later added to scrambled eggs, soup and bean dishes.

One of my favorite ways to use left over ham is with cabbage and rice; it's a nice combination of flavors. Cabbage is an inexpensive vegetable, low calorie and super healthy. I didn’t do a step by step pictorial for you on this recipe but it is so simple that you don’t really need one. I apologize right up front here that the photo of the end product isn’t so tasty looking; I wasn’t thinking about blogging this dish when I was preparing it and only remembered to take a picture just before it hit our plates.

Amounts of all ingredients can be varied as well as seasoning amounts; just experiment a little and see what you like best. Of course you don’t have to make the recipe in whole but can cut it in half if you like, but we like leftovers for lunch the next day so I make the whole recipe. This recipe also works well with bacon or a sausage such as kielbasa. I’ve tried it with chicken and beef too but you will need to adjust your seasonings some and perhaps add soy or teriyaki sauce.

To make this dish I use a large 14 inch stainless steel skillet with a lid; I heat oil or butter (butter is yummy with this) on medium heat.

To that I add chopped cabbage and onion keeping the lid on the skillet, stirring occasionally. You can do this with out a lid if you want but keep an eye on the cabbage as not to burn it. Using a lid brings out the water in the veggies and steams the cabbage and onion while it is sauteing.

Then I add ham, cooked rice (I usually use brown rice but any kind will work, basmati is delicious with this), to the cabbage and onion. Sprinkle over the top powdered ginger, granulated garlic, red pepper flakes (or cayenne but use less!), and salt. Stir well, replace lid for another few minutes until heated through, and serve.

·         1 small head of cabbage, chopped

·         1 small onion, chopped

·         2 cups of cooked ham, chopped

·         2 cups of cooked rice

·         1-2 TB of powdered ginger

·         ½ -1 tsp of granulated garlic

·         1 tsp of red pepper flakes

·         ½-1 tsp of salt

In a large skillet sauté cabbage and onion until soft and lightly browned.  Add ham and rice, stir in seasonings to taste. Heat through and serve.

Pretty simple and taste really good, a very inexpensive meal, and healthy too.