What We Ate for Dinner: Au Gratin Potatoes with Ham and Spinach

This is a quick recipe to turn boxed au gratin potatoes into a full meal.  All you need is some defrosted frozen spinach (is that an oxymoron?) and some diced ham, along with two boxes of the potatoes.

Layer the potatoes, the ham and the spinach in a large casserole dish.  Mix the cheese sauce according to the package directions.  Pour over the potatoes, ham and spinach and bake--according to package directions.

It doesn't get much easier that that.  And it's a great way to get a toddler to each spinach.  Well, mostly.  Mine likes to pick out the pieces of ham.

Now if I can just remember to take a picture of my food.

What We Ate for Dinner: Gruel and Cornbread

Gruel.  That's what Bryce told me the soup looked like.  And he had a point.  I made black bean and ham soup. The black beans turned the broth the color of gruel.  However, Bryce changed his tune when he tasted it.  The soup had so much flavor thanks to the ham bone.  Here is what I stuck in the crock pot yesterday morning:

1 ham bone
3 cans black beans with broth
1/3 c. dehydrated onion
1/4 c. dehydrated celery
4 cloves garlic
1 t. coriander
1 sprinkle of red pepper flakes
enough water to cover the ham bone

It simmered on low all day.  An hour or so before we ate I pulled out the ham bone.  I diced all the meat and put that back in.  I tossed the bone.

I made cornbread to go with it.  And for good measure I made honey butter from our homemade butter.