I'm bringing you another Quarantine Recipe today by way of Ham & Broccoli Casserole. The latest recipe in my quest to prove that you can be stuck in a motel room for two weeks and still eat well!
Of course, it goes without saying that you don't have to be trapped in a motel room to cook these recipes. I like to think that these can be delicious no matter where you cook them! Obviously if you are at home you will have extra options in how you can add additional layers of flavor to this dish.
I call this delicious bare-bones cooking, or cooking by the seat of your pants! Ready Steady Cook cookery!
I had my sister pick me up a package of frozen hash browns to use in this recipe. Other than that I already had everything else I needed!
I have learned a few new things about Quarantine this week and how to do it successfully. When you are living in a motel room you can but hope that the room is well provided for when it comes to cooking tools and utensils.
Unfortunately my room is not that well heeled. If there was more than just me, we would be hard pressed as there is only one dinner fork and dinner knife. There are no knives at all that are suitable for cutting anything safely.
The dinner plates/etc. that they have are quite manky looking. They are discolourd and stained, etc. and not entirely suitable for putting in the microwave as they are cheap "dollar-store" plastic. I can understand people not wanting to put quality goods in a motel room, but if you have their credit card details, and make it clear that they will be charged for anything that disappears or gets broken, surely you could fit the room with a few at least half-decent things.There is one stained and ugly non-stick frying pan. One baking sheet, equally stained and ugly. A whole drawer full of dollar store utensils such as spaghetti forks, slotted spoon, spatula, etc. But without a pot large enough to cook spaghetti in, well . . . you know.
This little casserole dish I have used is what was in the cupboard holding stir sticks and sugars for making coffee. There are about a bazillion coffee cups by the way, as well as two smallish saucepans which would be suitable to heat up baked beans, etc. There is also a working microwave and toaster. I am not sure about the coffee maker as I don't drink coffee.
There is a can opener which does not work. Repeat. Does not work. I think, personally, they have a lot of cheek charging me over $600 a week for this place, but hey, beggars can't be choosers! I have had to ask for clean towels and garbage bags. There are no cleaning supplies, and I have not been given clean bed linens.
This town is not situated in an area that is big for takeaway or delivery food services. If you were in a larger area you wouldn't have to worry too much about being able to feed yourself if you had those services available.
Here in this small town I am very much reliant on the capacity to be able to cook for myself, and I am doing the best that I can.
Some things you might want to consider bringing with you should you find yourself in the same situation. Make sure you have a sharp knife with you which is suitable for cutting/chopping things. Likewise a small grater would be handy.
You might also want to pack yourself a good in-working-order can opener! Also a selection of cutlery, and something to use to disinfect anything that you might need to use from the room. A small bottle of dish soap would be very good to have, as well as cleaning towelettes.
You have no way of knowing how long the things have been sitting in the cupboards/drawers, or the level of cleanliness habits of the room/suite's previous occupants. I may just be ultra picky. I don't know.
One thing is for sure. I don't want to be eating on or around other people's filth, so be prepared to clean everything before you use it. You may also want to bring with you several dish clothes and tea towels. Also pot holders. There are none in this room.
I had my sister bring me down some and they are doing double duty as pot holders. I am so lucky I have someone that I can just call to bring me stuff when I need it.
Even so, I don't want to be putting her out if I can help it. I don't want to be wearing out my welcome before I even move in!
So these are just a few hints and tips that I can think of that might make your quarantine stay a bit easier to navigate. Forewarned is forearmed!
So back to this casserole. I had my sister pick me up a bag of frozen loose hash browns. In the UK you could use regular hashbrown patties, crumbled. Or you could use chopped boiled potatoes!
I also had some raw broccoli in the refrigerator as well as a few slices of deli-ham. I blanched the broccoli to use in this. It only takes a few minutes in boiling water and I used the stems chopped as well as the florets.
The ham I chopped up into a small dice. Boy I sure could have used a good knife! Never mind I am making do!
I had run out of spring onion, so I had my sister bring me an ordinary onion. I chopped a portion of this to stir into the casserole dish. I also had some strong cheddar cheese which I chopped. Some went into the casserole wih the potatoes, ham, onions and broccoli, and some I reserved to use as a topping.
Having mixed all of that together I only needed to add something to give it some moisture. I have milk and mayonnaise and Dijon mustard.
The perfect combination and very flavourful! I added salt and pepper. Also my daughter had dropped off some summer savoury that she had bought to bring over to me in the UK. I got to use some of it now, which worked well!
I realize that summer savoury is a very Maritime thing. It can be somewhat difficult to find anywhere else. You can substitute some dried thyme in its place.
And that was it. I mixed this all together and spread it into a buttered small casserole dish.
I can't think of a casserole on earth that would not benefit from having something crisp and crunchy sprinkled on top. I thought of using some of my crunchy Cheetos, but then thought again!
I had some potato chips and crumbled some of them. With a bit more cheese added to them, I sprinkled them over top a la Mom!
I have to say that this smelled amazing when it was baking. My daughter had dropped by to see if I needed anything and she could smell it and thought it smelled fabulously tasty also! In or out of quarantine, I hope you will give it a tasty go!!
Ham & Broccoli Casserole
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Ingredients
- 2 mug fulls of loose hashbrowns (about 1 1/4cups)
- 4 slices of boiled ham, chopped
- 3 TBS chopped onion
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 broccoli florets, blanched and chopped
- 2 Individual portions of strong cheddar cheese (each about 2 inches wide, 3 inches long and 1/3 inch thick)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp summer savoury or dried thyme
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
- 4 TBS of mayonnaise
- 1 TBS Dijon mustard
- 1 2-inch cube of strong cheddar cut into small cubes
- a handful of potato chip crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a small casserole dish really well. (The one in my room is about 5 inches square.)
- Mix the potatoes, ham, onion, garlic, broccoli and cheese together in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Beat together the milk, mayonnaise and mustard. Pour over the mixture in the bowl and mix well together to combine. Pour into the casserole dish and spread out evenly.
- Mix together the potato chip crumbs and cheese for the topping and sprinkle evenly over top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until cooked through and bubbling. Let stand for five minutes prior to serving.
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I will enjoy the leftovers from this tomorrow and I have some of the chicken rice dish frozen to enjoy as well. I am not sure how many more inventive quarantine dishes I will make as I am being sprung-free on Friday! I hope, however, that this series has been somewhat helpful!
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