I mentioned on Twitter that I’d recently bought a large ham. I’d neglected to plan anything special for Easter dinner but Instacart was backed up last week and the first available delivery date was the Tuesday after Easter. So I masked and gloved up and went to the grocery store for the first time in a month. I was pleasantly surprised to get everything on my list save for flour and mangoes (I didn’t need the flour yet, I just always add it to the list). But I was thrilled to find plenty of hams! Only these weren’t any normal hams, these were mutant monster hams. The smallest one available to me was 11 pounds, for my family of four. I knew I should make an alternate dinner menu but I panicked without a backup plan and brought Hamzilla home with me. After a few batches of ham salad for lunch and Eggs Beneham for breakfast, I turned to Twitter and you all responded. So it occurred to us that maybe we could all benefit from a few recipes that will use leftovers and things you probably have in your pantry.

One issue I had was I had no leftover potatoes, so I needed to find potatoless options. I found an easy Croquetas de Jamón recipe from Sassyspoon.com that used pretty basic ingredients (this recipe calls for a tablespoon of dry white wine. Here are some non-alcoholic substitutions for wine in cooking.) The only note I’d make is I didn’t need two eggs for the bread coating. Eggs are not always easy to come by right now so I suggest starting with one and see if you need the second.

With the croquettes, I served a modified version of grilled corn. Fresh corn is easy to get in the stores right now but you can make this with canned corn too, just wash and drain the kernels first. I had fresh ears but I didn’t have any cotija cheese so I substituted cottage cheese. It made it interesting because it added just a kiss of sweetness to the dish. Just add it at the very end and only cook it for a flash, because cottage cheese melts much quicker than cotija. You can also substitute parmesan cheese if you prefer a more tart taste.

We eat ramen almost weekly at our home. A basic ramen broth is very easy to make and is generally a one pot dish. There are plenty of basic recipes, like this one. My son made a version of this with a soft boiled egg for himself for lunch the other day. The thing about ramen is you can add or substitute any veggies or meat you have in the fridge to it. Shred a leftover chicken breast or cut the remainder of your steak into thin slices and add them at the end. If you have some leftover ground meat, cook it quickly in a little sesame oil and mint. If you don’t have sesame oil, any oil can be substituted, sesame just adds a really rich flavor. I suggest everyone get or make some frozen ginger and garlic cubes to keep on hand, that way you can have ramen any time. If you have a pretty well stocked spice rack, I just found this vegan curry version I want to try. My husband’s hint is to save the ramen packet that the recipes tell you to discard and use them later in a stir fry for extra flavor.

Another great catch-all for leftover meats and veggies is fried rice. I almost always make too much rice when I serve it and whipping up this dish the next day is so easy. Fried rice also calls for eggs, but you don’t have to use the amount the recipe suggests. And always remember if you make anything that uses just a yolk or a white, save the other in an airtight container and you’ll have enough for fried rice (or a nice breakfast scramble). Also, keeping a carton of egg substitute on hand helps in a pinch.

Back to Hamzilla, who will be with us for a while, I intend to make Cubano sandwiches tonight. I, on impulse, grabbed a loaf of Filone that we haven’t eaten yet. So I will use that for the bread and I don’t have pork so I’m using some leftover turkey slices instead. I also don’t have swiss cheese, which sucks, but I have both Muenster and Provolone slices. Since I won’t have the tang of the pork or swiss, instead of straight mustard, I’m making this mustard to spread on it.

One last tip, I tend to use buttermilk a lot. I use it for both my pancakes and waffle batters. I also use it in the only bread I bake, Irish Soda Bread.* I recently found a powdered buttermilk in my baking aisle but if you are ever in a pinch for buttermilk, remember this: 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar and fill to the one cup line with regular milk.

*(and with all due apologies to our Irish readers, I never put sugar in my soda bread but always add caraway seeds)

Photos by T – N G U Y E N, Trista Chen, Monserrat Soldú, Anna Shvets and Flo Maderebner from Pexels