Lots of people fret about what to do about all those Thanksgiving leftovers. Talk about your first-world problems! Not me. Ever since I went through a strange time last year, where I obsessed about food since my grocery budget was $30/wk, I’m joyous every day I have food in the house.
I was gifted a ziplock bag of fried turkey and another ziplock bag of fried ham after Thanksgiving dinner. Although I eat pork, I don’t buy it. So a bag of fried ham got me thinking of how I could honor its presence in a meal. Then, it came to me: ham mac and cheese casserole!
I’d never made it before, but this comfort food was just what the doctor ordered, considering the fact that things have been rather stressful at work and the weather has turned cooler. Combined with butter, whole milk and two types of cheddar, the ham was guaranteed to shine, especially topped off with spicy panko bread crumbs. I originally was going to add a couple of handfuls of spinach, but remembered at the last minute that I had frozen peas, which fit the bill even better.
One of the best returns on making a casserole is getting 8 meals out of it, which I conveniently packed up in plastic food containers, ready to be microwaved for lunch. This dense casserole had to be heated up for at least 2 1/2 minutes and every minute counts on a 30-minute lunch break, especially when we worked from headquarters. In my apartment, nothing is more than 10 steps away; so time doesn’t seem to slip away from me as I travel from the kitchen to the bathroom to take care of human needs before getting back to work.
During those few precious moments with my feet kicked up, I savored every rich, delicious bite. What a difference a fantastic meal makes for those afternoon calls!