Happy New Year, Friends! Today, I’m sharing Cheesy Ham Shepherd’s Pie made from leftover Christmas ham. And this recipe is so, Close to Home good.
This fall, we purchased half a pig from a friend who raised them for harvest. We ended up with a 15 pound ham! So, that became Christmas dinner. The only problem, we only had 8 people at our Christmas dinner. That means lots of leftovers. What to do with all that ham? For some reason, shepherd’s pie jumped into my brain. But I’ve never heard of ham shepherd’s pie. It couldn’t be with gravy because ham and gravy don’t go together. Cheese. Yes, cheese sauce making a Cheesy Ham Shepherd’s Pie. It’s a hit.
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Cheesy Ham Shepherd’s Pie
I first learned of shepherd’s pie in the dining hall in college. Anything with mashed potatoes means love, so I was hooked. So, I brought it home to my family and made a version with ground beef, gravy (probably from powder–ugh!) and frozen peas or maybe mixed vegetables. In my married life, that has transformed into Venison Shepherd’s Pie which despite a general aversion to casseroles, Sunshine loves. Enter Cheesy Ham Shepherd’s Pie.
Sunshine asked, “What’s for dinner?”
I answered, “I’m thinking shepherd’s pie.”
“Okay.”
“No wait, how does this sound? Ham and cheese sauce with broccoli and cauliflower, mashed potatoes on top?” And it was born.
This is definitely not a weeknight meal, but it is worth the preparations. I started by preparing the potatoes, while they cooked, I prepared the cheese sauce. A basic roux with milk and cheddar cheese. Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Once it is melted, add a flour, dry mustard, pepper mixture slow to combine with the butter to make a paste. Slowly add milk (about 1/4 cup at a time) to mix with the flour. Be sure to add it slowly, so that you don’t end up with lumps. Once the sauce starts to thin, you can add the rest of the milk. Heat to a simmer, stirring constantly.
Once the milk mixture begins to simmer, you can add shredded cheddar slowly to melt. Continue to stir constantly. Once the mixture has started to thicken, you can pull it from the heat. Add the ham, broccoli and cauliflower. Transfer to a casserole dish. This 2 quart oval one is perfect. Slather the mashed potatoes on top.
Bake in a 350° oven for 40-45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the middle is bubbling. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving–a little less sloppy and no burnt kid tongues because they can’t wait to get into this meal!
Leftover Ham
I hope that you enjoy this Cheesy Ham Shepherd’s Pie recipe, let us know what you think in the comments below. This is not a quick prep meal, but you could easily make this on the weekend and then throw it in the oven when you get home from work. Some nights it is so nice to be able to come home and know that dinner is just an oven away.
We have a lot of leftover Christmas ham as I mentioned above, so look for Six Uses for Leftover Ham. Oh, and Venison Shepherd’s Pie is coming too!
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| Prep Time | 45 minutes |
| Cook Time | 45 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1-1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups chopped or diced ham
- 1-2 cups each frozen broccoli florets and cauliflower you could use one 10 ounce package, but I don't like broccoli cuts, so I used half of two different packages
- 4 or so cups mashed potatoes I used 9-10 potatoes, 6 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 cup milk
Ingredients
Cheese Sauce
Shepherd's Pie
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- Prepare a roux: melt butter over medium heat. Slowly add flour, dry mustard and pepper so that it blends into the melted butter. I use a wooden spoon to get a smooth paste-like consistency. Let this cook a little, stirring to keep it from sticking or burning.
- Slowly add milk (about a quarter cup at a time) to the roux, making sure that each time the milk fully integrates into the butter/flour mixture, so that there are no lumps. Continue to add the milk slowly until the sauce is thin, then you can add the rest of the milk and heat to a simmer. Stir constanstly.
- Allow the sauce to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Then slowly add the cheese allowing each addition of cheese to melt before adding more. Continue to stir while the sauce thickens a little.
- Remove the sauce from the heat. Add the ham, broccoli and cauliflower to the cheese sauce. Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes.
- Bake in a 350° oven for 40-45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the middle is bubbling.
