Here is my favorite way to use left over ham. Madolyn's Ham and Broccoli Casserole 1 stick butter or margarine 1 cup uncooked regular white rice 2 cups fresh bread crumbs 2 large onions, chopped 1 1/4 lb ham, (chopped - 4 cups) 3 Tblsps. flour 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 3 cups milk 2 packages broccoli spears, cooked 8 oz sliced Swiss cheese Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook rice according to package directions. Grease large rectangular casserole dish with butter (or spray with Pam). Melt butter. Mix 3 tablespoons with bread crumbs. Saute chopped onions in remaining butter. Add flour, salt and pepper. Cook until bubbly. Slowly stir in milk. Cook slowly until thickened. Stir in ham. Heat through gently. Layer rice in bottom of dish. Next lay broccoli in single layer. Pour ham mixture over layers. Top with cheese slices. Sprinkle on bread crumbs. Cover. (Can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated. If chilled, set out for about 30 minutes before cooking.) Cook for 45 minutes. Serves 6 - 8. Notes: Swiss cheese is best but I have used other strong-ish white cheeses - even a little Parmesan mixed in. Good leftovers. Good with either green salad or fruit salad. P.S. I'm not Madolyn. She is my friend who gave the recipe to me.

Funny - my "original" recipe for the Green Bean & COM soup calls for Worcestershire instead of Soy Sauce LOL! I wonder which original is original! LOLOLOL! As an alternative, I had this at a friends house last year and it was really REALLY good... maybe it might work for you? Best Ever Green Bean Casserole Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2007 .Prep Time:25 minInactive Prep Time:-- Cook Time:45 minLevel: EasyServes: 4 to 6 servings.Ingredients For the topping: 2 medium onions, thinly sliced 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs 1 teaspoon kosher salt Nonstick cooking spray For beans and sauce: 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided 1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup chicken broth 1 cup half-and-half Directions Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F. While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside. Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes Makes 12 to 15 servings Prep time: 20 Mins oven cook time:40 Mins crockpot cook time: 3 hrs I made it in a Nestco Roaster to reheat Ingredients: 15 medium (5 lbs) potatoes, peeled and quartered 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature 1 cup sour cream 2 tsp onion powder Salt and freshly ground black peper to taste 2 egg whites, slightly beaten 4 tbsp butter 1/3 cup chopped chives (optional) Spray a large casserole dish or crock pot dish with veggie oil cooking spray. In a large pot of boiling water over medium-high heat, cook potatoes until tender; remove from heat and drain In the same cooking pan, mash potatos with potato masher until there are no lumps. Never use a blender Add cream cheese, sour cream, onion powder, salt, pepper, egg whites, and chopped chives Cook mashed potatoes slightly, cover and then refrigerate. You can make up to a week in advance. When ready to heat the potatoes: Take the prepared mashed potatoes out of refrigerator about 3 1/2 hrs before serving. Place in crockpot cover and cook on low heat for 3 hours stirring once or twice. I made them in a Nestco Roaster on 300 After potatoes are cooked (165o) stir and then add some additional dollops of butter just befor serving I made these for a VFW Post Dinner and everyone loved them. There were 40 people so I tripled the recipe. Linda

I'm old fashioned... OK and old. Mashed potatoes should be potatoes - mashed. I don't need the FAS (Fat American Syndrome) version of recipes where everything needs to have cheese and sugar on it to taste good. If you have good gravy (and it's unAmerican to not) then you don't even need the extra fat in the potatoes, since there's plenty of fat (and probably salt & pepper too) in the gravy. For potatoes by themselves, they can add a dab of butter and seasoning. Plain is often great by itself. Course good fries don't need ketchup either. The ones that have to FAS the taters could just as well use instants and save time. They're eating it for the cheese, sugar and other stuff, since apparently they don't like the taste of potatoes. I don't need FAS veggies, beverages, breads and the like either. Good food can stand on its own IMO. Pass the sugar bowl when old 300# Beulah needs her feet swelled up like soccer balls. But that's my opinion. A ricer is fine and a good tool for making lefse but mashed potatoes still need to be mashed with the zig-zag masher otherwise they resemble a big tater tot. I don't bother with it for mashed potatoes. Again, I want mashed potatoes, not riced potatoes, not beaten potatoes. If you're going to use a mixer to beat the taters to death and make them extra gummy, then serve boiled potatoes to me and I'll mash them with a fork! And for the people who think the mashed (riced, beat or instant) potatoes need to drip off the fork so they can say they're "creamy" UGH! Potatoes aren't supposed to drip. You make a well and fill it with gravy. We're not talking about potato soup. End of rant. The thing about starting potatoes in cold water as I understand is that the hot water sets almost a skin on the outside of the potato so the texture will be off. Can't prove it but I always found it easier to start cold and work up. I tried using hot tap water to start (to save energy) until I heard the thing to start cold. There might be something to it.