Buttermilk!

Buttermilk is not used enough!  I'm on a mission to bring it back...kinda...maybe.  I bought a quart of buttermilk before Easter, because a cake recipe called for it. But of course, I only needed a cup of it, and had a lot left over.  This has happened to me several times in the past and I usually find it well past the expiration date in the back of the fridge.  This time, as I bought the carton, I told myself I was going to bake this cake 4 times if necessary, in order to use up the buttermilk before it goes bad.  But, in addition to the chocolate cake I baked, I also made a strawberry pie, chocolate mint cookies, and lemon bars, and being well stocked with such desserts could not bring myself to bake more cakes in order to use the buttermilk, and so it sat on the top shelf of the fridge, way in the back for another week....

This past Saturday, I woke up early, excited about a weekend with some extra time, and the promise of great weather.  I brewed a pot of coffee, read through emails, paid out bills, started a load of laundry and settled in front of the computer to browse pinterest...the rest of the house was still asleep as it wasn't even 7 a.m. yet. (The Army has nothing on moms with a list of chores!)  In a good mood, and fueled with Dunkin' Donuts' dark roast, I started looking for breakfast casseroles to make with the left over ham I had in the fridge (also from Easter).  I found a good looking recipe, which called for milk or cream.  Normally, I'd reach for the half and half I always have on hand (coffee drinker;) but this time, I spied the tall, slender, yellow carton at the back of the fridge and grabbed it instead.  I used the buttermilk in the recipe I'm sharing here, and am convinced this ingredient made the dish richer and thicker.

Ham and egg casserole

Ingredients:
1 C cooked ham, cut into small pieces
2 C shredded cheese (whatever kind you like - I used Colby jack because that's what I had on hand)
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp Greek seasoning (used Italian seasoning because I didn't have Greek seasoning)I
1/4 tsp pepper (divided in 2)
1/4 C butter - melted
12 eggs
1 C milk, half & half, or cream (I used buttermilk)
1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray
2. Cut ham and add to large bowl
3. Add shredded cheese, Parmesan cheese, flour, Italian seasoning and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, combine and pour into baking dish evenly

 

     4.  Melt butter and pour over ham mixture

     5.  In a large bowl, add 1 cup buttermilk or cream, break eggs into measuring cup, add Dijon mustard and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, whisk well

     6.  Pour over ham mixture

 

     7.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

 

     8.  Optional: sprinkle casserole with more cheese and return to oven for a couple minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

 

My family ate it up!  The Dijon mustard gives it a slight tanginess that goes well with the ham, and the buttermilk makes it rich and velvety.  I don't know how many calories I added with the buttermilk, and I don't plan on checking on that...but I do plan on using buttermilk in the mashed potatoes I'll be making to go along with the bar-b-q pork I'm cooking for dinner tomorrow night!