Ham, Potato and Squash Soup #MOLOmonday

This time on MOLO Monday, I’m making this gorgeous soup out of the leftovers from baked ham, scalloped potatoes and acorn squash. I’ll also give you the shopping list for these meals, to make it a little easier for you.

For the baked ham, I love to use Pioneer Woman’s Easter Ham. This is a great one for Christmas, too, if you don’t want to do a Turkey, or any time over the holidays when you’re having company for dinner.

To serve with the ham, try acorn squash (again, I like Pioneer Woman’s recipe: Sweet Roasted Rosemary Acorn Squash) and scalloped potatoes.

Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp seasoning salt
• 1/2 tsp spicy brown mustard
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 6 cups peeled potatoes, thinly sliced
• Ranch seasoning (optional)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Grease bottom and sides of a 2-quart casserole. Melt 3 tsp butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic in butter for about 2 minutes until tender. Stir in flour, seasoning salt, and mustard. Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly, then remove from heat.
Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute.
Spread potatoes in casserole dish. Pour sauce over the potatoes. Sprinkle with a pinch ranch seasoning. Cover and bake 30 minutes, then uncover and bake another hour to an hour and 10 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Scalloped potatoes take a while to bake, but they don’t actually take that long to put together, especially if you use a food processor to slice the potatoes I just can’t imagine baked ham without scalloped potatoes. I’ve enjoyed this combination ever since I was a kid when my mom used to make it.

That’s why I love making this soup with the leftover ham and potatoes. It’s another chance to enjoy these two ingredients together.

We had ham, scalloped potatoes, and roasted acorn squash for Thanksgiving dinner, because I felt like making something other than turkey for a change. I made this soup out of the leftovers, and the whole family really enjoyed the thick, creamy, comforting soup on a cold day.

Kale works nicely for the garnish around the ham, and later for a nutritious addition to the soup. All the ingredients are used to their full potential in these two meals.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 cups milk
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups cooked squash, diced
• 2 cups cooked ham, diced
• 2 cups cooked scalloped potatoes
• 3 cups kale, chopped
• salt (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat.
2. Saute onion and garlic for several minutes until softened and fragrant.
3. Sprinkle with flour, then whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil, whisking continuously until thickened.
4. Add vegetable stock, ham, potatoes, and kale.
5. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until kale has wilted and flavours have blended.
6. Add salt, if desired.
7. Add a little water if the soup is too thick.

One quick tip – make sure to take out the cloves from the ham before you add it to the soup. The flavour of the cloves is a little too strong for soup, I think. Here’s the shopping list with all the ingredients you’ll need:

And if you still have lots of ham left over, you can freeze it for later, or use it in some of these other tasty recipes:

Vegetable and Ham Pizza with Alfredo Sauce

Ham and Pineapple Asian Noodles

Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Casserole

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