Cheesy Ham and Egg Skillet

I'm going to go ahead and assume things at your house work the same way they do at mine around the holidays: You're making 847 things you don't normally make, your refrigerator is full of ingredients as well as dishes for a party and also leftovers from a party that already happened... and then you realize you have to make dinner for tonight. Sure, you can eat leftovers again, but it's Wednesday and you've eaten Sunday's leftovers twice already this week.

You need something different, but that still uses your leftovers. A site I used to frequent often refers to this as CORN (Clean Out Refrigerator Night), and that's as good a name as any. What I did with my party leftovers and odd bits and ends of extra ingredients this time around I decided to call Cheesy Ham and Egg Skillet. It ain't pretty, but it's tasty. And I got rid of three containers from the refrigerator with no leftovers afterward.

I had a bag of ham, half a green pepper, an open jar of pimiento, about 1/3 pint of heavy cream, and a little better than half a box of Velveeta. With the addition of eggs, onion, and seasonings, I decided I was going to make a frittata. Except as it turns out I only had three eggs. Whatever... I can still work with that.

First thing I did was dice a small onion and the green pepper, and then I sauteed them in bacon grease. You can use something else, but I keep a jar of bacon grease in the fridge for frying. I don't use it all the time, but it definitely adds flavour you just can't get from butter or oil.

Then I diced the ham and drained the pimiento, and added them to the pan with some garlic powder and some Italian Romano seasoning blend from Spice Merchants. In retrospect I should have waited to add the seasonings until I drained the excess liquid, but I just added a little more of each afterward (and I'm writing the recipe to reflect the change for the better).

This, by the way, is WAY too much Velveeta. I diced three slices about 1/2-inch thick (or about 2 ounces, give or take), and if I was going to use that much Velveeta I really needed more eggs. So I'm also writing the recipe to reflect less cheese, because I think that'll be better than using more eggs. Speaking of the eggs, I beat three eggs with something like 1/4 cup of heavy cream. It doesn't require heavy cream at all, but I was trying to use mine up.

Welcome to how my brain works when creating a new recipe, by the way. Isn't it an adventure? Now take a second to realize this is how my brain works all the time, and perhaps a few things will start to make a lot more sense to you!

After I drained the excess water and added more seasonings, I stirred the cubed Velveeta and the egg mixture into the pan. As I mentioned, WAY too much Velveeta. At this point I still thought maybe I could make a frittata, but I was wrong. Not enough structure once the Velveeta started melting.

After cooking and turning and letting the cheese melt and get combined with everything for a few minutes, I declared it finished. Even though it came out absolutely nothing like what I had envisioned, I was pretty pleased with it. And if I have to be honest I'd make it with that much Velveeta again, because I really like creamy cheesy comfort food. Feel free to use too much yourself if you want, I certainly won't judge!

Cheesy Ham and Egg Skillet

Serves 2

1 1/2 teaspoons bacon grease (or oil, butter, or whatever)

1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup yellow onion, diced

1 cup cooked ham, diced

1 tablespoon pimiento, drained

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I used Italian Romano seasoning from Spice Merchants)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

3 large eggs

1/4 cup heavy cream (or milk)

1 ounce Velveeta, diced

Heat bacon grease in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until melted; add bell pepper and onion and saute, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until tender.

Add the ham and pimiento to the skillet and cook 3-4 minutes to heat through; drain excess liquid from pan. Add seasonings and stir to combine.

In a small bowl, beat eggs with heavy cream until combined, being careful not to beat it so much the cream thickens. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the egg mixture and Velveeta to the skillet and stir to combine.

Continue cooking over medium-low heat, turning occasionally with a spatula to distribute melted cheese throughout and ensure all egg gets cooked. This should take another 5 or so minutes, depending on how soft or firm you prefer your eggs.

Serving Size: 231 g

Calories: 461

Calories from Fat: 331

Total Fat: 36.8 g

Saturated Fat: 15.2 g

Trans Fat: 0.0 g

Cholesterol: 363 mg

Sodium: 1217 mg

Total Carbohydrates: 8.6 g

Dietary Fiber: 1.8 g

Sugars: 3.7 g

Protein: 23.9 g

This is one of those recipes I really kind of wish I hadn't run through the analysis to get nutrition information. Sure, the carbs are definitely on the low end of even the narrow range to which I am restricted, but the fat and cholesterol are way off the chart the other direction. But it's not like we're going to be eating this one every week, so it could be worse. In hindsight, however, I would have sauteed in olive oil instead of bacon grease even if it didn't give me quite the same flavour.