Another oldie but goodie from my mother’s 1960’s stash of recipes! Not that I remember her making it—most of the meals I remember at home were strictly meat-starch-veg. Her version of this recipe was made with Bisquick. I found myself reverse-engineering the stuff, which is ridiculously simple (flour, baking powder, salt and shortening).
Ham and Cheese Pie
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked ham, diced
1 cup cheese (my mother’s version called for Swiss cheese, but any semi-hard cheese that you can shred will be fine—just taste it for saltiness before you add any additional salt), shredded
1/2 cup green onions (scallions) or yellow onion, chopped
4 eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 cup Bisquick (or make your own--see below)
salt and pepper
Note: if you don’t have any Bisquick handy, you can make your own by mixing:
1 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tblsp. shortening, olive oil or melted butter
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch pie plate.
Sprinkle the diced ham over the bottom, then the cheese over the ham.
Beat together the remaining ingredients (yes, including the scallions or onion) until smooth. Pour the mixture over the ingredients in the pie plate.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. (Note: this time may vary widely depending on the type of pie pan you are using. In a metal pan the pie will cook more quickly than in a glass or pottery pan.) You can test for doneness by inserting a knife into the center of the pie to see if it comes out clean and/or wiggling it to see if the center is set.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
My verdict for this vintage recipe? I was happily surprised: it tasted really good. The flavors of the slightly smoky ham, the sharp cheddar that I used, and the onions blended well. I also wondered if it would collapse into a gooey mess when I tried to cut it, but the pieces held their shape well. And it’s easy to make (once you finish chopping and shredding), plus you can swap out ingredients. Feel free to experiment!
Confession: After is put together this recipe, I discovered that I had posted it once before—in 2013, not long after I joined the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen blog. This is a more detailed recipe, and I no longer keep Bisquick in my pantry. Now that I've rediscovered it, I think I'll be making it again!
Coming June 26th!
