I just had the best weekend with “my girls.” My sister is pregnant and has been having the worst morning sickness. This weekend she finally felt well enough for me to go down to the Cities to visit. I was so glad because it’s been months since I’ve seen her and her family. My niece Sophie has gotten so big! She is two and a half and very talkative and active. She and her dog Max were very excited for Aunt Dianne to visit and decorate Easter eggs with them! I had so much fun on Saturday. First it was shopping at the Mall of America with my sister (where I bought two pairs of pants in my new size, which is a whole size smaller than I used to be!), then home to decorate eggs with Sophie. Next it was time to eat dinner (Chinese food) on the couch, just us three girls, while watching Tangled, Sophie’s most favorite movie ever.
Sunday morning was wonderful watching Sophie’s face light up as she found her baskets hidden by the Easter Bunny. Then we watched her bounce around playing with her new toys while hyped up on M&Ms and Starburst Jellybeans. Easter – the only time of year when you are allowed to eat candy for breakfast. I was sad to leave after such an awesome visit, but we will see each other again soon!
I got home after a long drive and gathered up the energy to make a nice dinner of Asiago Ham & Hash Brown Casserole with Sauteed Asparagus for my husband and I. I love ham and potato casserole, it’s such a comfort food for me. I set out to make a casserole of mostly natural ingredients. No more canned cream soups in this house! It makes a lot, so I froze half of it for us to enjoy later. Asparagus is the perfect side dish for a spring ham dinner. Sauteing is my favorite way to prepare asparagus. I don’t really follow a recipe, I just heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add asparagus and saute for about 5 minutes. Then I turn down the heat to medium-low, add a clove of minced garlic, a pinch of kosher salt and a couple twists of fresh ground black pepper. Continue cooking for another 2 minutes, or until garlic is fragrant and asparagus is crisp-tender.
Asiago Ham & Hash Brown Casserole
(This is not a low-FODMAP recipe)
serves 6 – 8
Ingredients
2 – 16 oz. packages frozen hash browns, thawed
2 cups shredded Asiago cheese
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup half & half
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups cubed ham
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13″ x 9″ baking pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the hash browns, Asiago cheese, sour cream, half & half, onion, butter, salt and pepper. Mix well. Fold in the ham. Spread evenly in baking pan.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until bubbly hot and lightly browned on top.
