Right; so, the house painting is done, and we are very pleased with the results.
Almost as pleased as I am to have the kitchen back up and running with just about everything where I expected it to be – I’ve even found the paring knife!
So, to pick up where we would’ve been last week, The Doris Project bag popped out this recipe for ham loaf that looked tempting.
But first, I needed to make a few changes…
First, in our goal to reduce the number of heavily processed foods we eat this year, I swapped out the friendly red and white can of tomato soup for this pretty nifty substitute which, by happy not so much of a coincidence, makes just as much as one can.
Note: if you don’t mind spending a few minutes over a pot on stove, here’s another tomato soup substitute that I kinda prefer; but it is hard to argue with three ingredients, then stir in a beaker.
I did swap out a few other ingredients, mostly due to what I could get to in my pantry at the time, and it turned out to make one. Fine. Ham loaf.
Mebbe a touch on the sweet side, but that could’ve been the honey mustard, and 
nothing a drizzle of the same (or plain ole prepared mustard) over the individual slices couldn’t take care of. Check it out and see if you don’t agree.
INGREDIENTS
•1-1/4 lb linguiça (or your favorite sausage)
•1 lb ham steak,
bone and excess fat removed, cubed
•1/2 cup brown sugar
•2 eggs, lightly beaten
•1 can tomato soup
•1 cup creamed cottage cheese
•1 tbsp honey mustard (or 1 tsp dry mustard)
•1/4 cup cider vinegar
•1 tsp sherry peppers sauce (or hot sauce)
•2 cups corn flake crumbs
•1 tbsp dried onion
•1 tsp Aleppo pepper
Heat the oven to 350º.
Remove and discard the sausage casings and grind the filling in your food processor until very finely chopped. Turn out into a mixing bowl and do the same with the ham cubes.
Add the cottage cheese to the food processor and pulse until smooth and creamy. Stir into the ham and sausage with the remaining ingredients until well combined – I started this in the food processor, but my 9-cup bowl was getting a bit crowded, so I switched to a mixing bowl and my bare hands. Messy, but it did the job.
Turn into a loaf pan and bake, uncovered, for 1-3/4 hour.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
A nice change from the more usual meat loaf, and a good way to use up any leftover Easter ham you may have rattling around the freezer. Just a thought…