I can't believe it has taken me so long to post this delicious recipe. I actually cooked this way back in the Spring, but then the weather started getting hot and I didn't think it was the time of year that people would enjoy cooking and eating this kind of food.
With autumn in the offing, however, I think its about time I brought it forward! This be pretty good eating! Its delicious and I don't want anyone to miss out on it!
It's a great casserole to make when you have leftover ham and potatoes. I usually cook extra potatoes if I am boiling them, just so that I can make dishes like this. You can never have too many leftover cooked potatoes. They always get used up.
When I have baked a ham, I always chop up the extras and bang them in the freezer, just to have on hand when we are wanting something a bit heartier, but that won't break the bank! It also comes in very handy and gets used up.
I have also been known to buy a slab of ham just to make this, but you could probably use sliced ham or tinned ham if you really wanted to, with no problem at all.
I expect you could even use frankfurters/hotdogs, or sliced smoked sausage, or even bacon. The only criteria is that it be smoky.
Cooked potatoes are layered with a mixture of sautéed onions, sauerkraut and ham in a buttered shallow casserole dish.
I love dishes like this that you sort of putter together. That could be a hard thing to describe, puttering something together, but if you are a cook of any age or length of time I am sure you will know what I mean by it.
Puttering is a kind of a mindless activity which requires no thought really. Just simple actions done with care and deliberation simply and by hand.
I love sauerkraut myself. Its always been a favorite of mine. I suppose that is why this is called German Casserole, because of the use of sauerkraut. My sister makes her own kraut from scratch. I have not been brave enough yet.
I suppose I am too afraid of poisoning myself. I have had food poisoning several times in my life and I am not likely to want to repeat that performance again!
I still can't really face chicken parmesan since the last time I had it. It wasn't the chicken that did it to me, but chicken parm was the last thing I ate before it hit. 'Nuf said! I never want a repeat of that experience! No. No. No.
Of course if you are not a big fan of sauerkraut you could use thinly sliced cabbage that you can saute in butter along with the onions and ham. Its really, REALLY good done that way also!
There is a nice layer of cheese on top. I think toppings like cheese and breadcrumbs are some of the things which make most casseroles automatically taste better! I do so love a good casserole!
There is a nice layer of cheese on top. I think toppings like cheese and breadcrumbs are some of the things which make most casseroles automatically taste better! I do so love a good casserole!
Quick and economical as well. This is a real family favorite. A gem, and an excellent do-over for leftover potatoes and ham.
German Casserole
Yield: 4 - 6
prep time: 15 Mcook time: 30 Mtotal time: 45 M
A great casserole that uses up leftovers in a very delicious way! Simple and easy to make and a quick bake. You will need leftover cooked ham and potatoes.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cubed cooked smoked ham
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 3 TBS butter
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 2 pounds cooked potatoes, peeled and sliced
- 795g jar or sauerkraut, drained, rinsed and drained again (28 ounce can)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 large free range eggs
- 4 TBS milk
- 240g grated strong cheddar cheese (I use a mix of orange and white for colour) (2 cups)
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Melt the butter in a large skillet until it begins to foam. Add the onion and ham. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened, without browning. Add the drained and rinsed sauerkraut and paprika and mix well together.
- Place half of your sliced potatoes in a buttered 9 inch casserole dish. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the ham and sauerkraut mixture over top. Cover with the remaining potatoes. Season again. Beat together the eggs and milk. Pour this over the potatoes. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until heated through and the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot.
Now doesn't that look tasty! Some crusty bread spread with cold butter goes really well with this, and if you can find rye bread, so much the better!
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Always so creative in the kitchen!
ReplyDeleteThanks Monique! Xo
DeleteI printed this one out right away! I make a dish similar to this, but adding the sauerkraut takes it to a different level (taste). We love kraut...and I make my own, too. I understand your caution in making it, though but it is one of the easiest things to do. I was surprised that it takes about one head of cabbage to make a quart, and it's something that you can make one quart at a time or many quarts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the delicious recipes you continually send to us!
I love that you printed this out right away happy! Now, THAT, makes me happy! I think you will love this. I am going tomake my own Kraut one day. I just have to screw up my courage! xo
DeleteI used to make my own kraut too, when I was a youngster, but now at age 68, I've tapered back on my fermenting and canning. Homemade kraut tastes nothing like the canned or bagged store bought kind. Home made is so much milder. My dad and grandma (born in 1881) always told me to start the process "in the light of the moon" as it was a vegetable grown "above ground." One year, I didn't follow that rule and the cabbage did not ferment correctly, only rotted in my 100+ great grandmother's crock! A first! From then on I followed the suggestion! I recently found a recipe, on line, for making kraut, one quart at a time, so next year I'm going to try it. Sounds much easier than using a 10 gallon crock as I often get cravings for the home made kraut...so very delicious!
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DeleteHow wonderful that you have your great grandmothers crock! You are right, there is a method to making it and following the old ways. My sister makes one quart at a time. xo
This sound delicious. Funny how we always remember what we ate when we got sick. My last McDonald's Big Mac was eaten on September 3, 1974. The reason I remember is because I went into labor later that evening and gave birth to our first son the next day. I never ate a Big Mac again yet I went on and had two more chicldren.
ReplyDeletehaha! I have only ever enjoyed Big Macs when I am pregnant. As that has not happened in quite a number of years now, I have not had a Big Mac for a very long time, but for very different reasons! This casserole is indeed very good! I love Casseroles! xo
DeleteI just made a ham and scallop potato casserole last week. I put a ham in my crockpot. No heating up my kitchen and they come out so good!
ReplyDeleteNext time I'll try it with some paprika, but not a fan of kraut.
I'm going to bake a cake today for my B-Day. I haven't decided yet what kind, but it will definitely be a bundt cake. My brother is the only one that remembers. Last year I had to go to a fav uncle's funeral, so this year will be a better one, but I never embrace getting a year older. 😂
Happy Birthday Jan! I love ham and scalloped potatoes, but have never done it in the crockpot. I must try one day! xoxo
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DeleteHappy, happy birthday to you!!! My favorite bundt cake, ever, was a plain butter one, which then became a "poke" cake using the tines of a fork. Then I poured some rum (Bacardi is the best!) over and refrigerated it. When unmolded, I made a thin glaze, which I pored over the whole cake! Simple to make, no recipe except for the cake and I got rave reviews at a truck driver's holiday pot luck dinner! My paternal grandmother was 25% German (a wonderful cook and kraut lady) and my maternal grandfather was 100% German. Good eats on both sides! I make Lebkuchen too, from my grandma's recipe...so good. I have a new recipe for sauerbraten that I'm dying to try. Husband's family is of 100% Scottish heritage with a few Irish genes hidden somewhere (McNeal, Scottish heritage with the Irish spelling). He does not like typical German food but loves the HOMEMADE kraut, which makes me very happy. Sometimes I can even sneak some spaetzle in to a recipe like stew!-Martha (the almost 3/4 British one!)
Thank you so much for this recipe. My maternal grandparents were from Germany and I loved the meals they made for us. I can't wait to try this---outstanding!
ReplyDeleteJane x
You're welcome Jane! My maternal ancestry is German also! My grandfather used to make his own Kraut and the old cousins still do, as does my sister. I love German food full stop! xo
DeleteMy paternal grandparents are came to the U.S.A. in 1905. Bought a farm in Connecticut. They passed away before I was born. But my dad learned how to cook the best pot of sauerkraut and pork I've ever tasted. Anxious to try this dish. I wish my precious daddy was still with us so he could try it with me.
DeleteOh, yes! Kraut and pork! My grandma used pork scraps or ends of pork roasts. When times were good, she used country style ribs and cooked this for hours, so the meat fell right off the bone. When done, she made home made dumplings and cooked them on top of the kraut..oh so good too! ...with a dollup of butter on the hot broken open dumplings. Will be on my dinner list when it gets a little cooler! It is also good that my 100% Scottish heritage husband will eat this too!
DeleteThat sounds positively delicious, dumplings cooked on top. I have heard of that, but never tried it. I must make a point to try it that way sometime!
DeleteI make a similar casserole but using pork sausage instead of ham and noodles in place of potatoes with cream of mushroom soup. Here we call it Polish Chop Suey. Its very good and one of my husbands favorites. I also have another one that uses potatoes,1 can of drained green beans, a good smoked hot dog or sausage. Made with a sauce of cream of mushroom soup, vinegar and sugar. Tastes like German potato salad with sausage. Also very good! I will definitely try yours. Sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteYours both sound very delicious Cherie! Yum! I love German Potato salad. I hope you do try this and that you enjoy it! xoxo
DeleteI am going to make this today! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI really hope you enjoy this! xo
DeleteThanks, Marie, for a terrific recipe. Per my husband's tastes I used cabbage rather than sauerkraut. I adjusted the recipe for a lasagna pan, adding a bit extra egg and milk mix. It all worked out and is now one of our favorite casseroles.
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased it was enjoyed and I love your adaptations to the recipe! Thanks for coming back to share your experiences with us! xo
DeleteI have made this delicious casserole a few times now and we all just LOVE IT! I usually make mashed potatoes when I make my pork with sauerkraut so that is what I have used for the casserole---all the yummy leftovers! Today I had leftover pork chops with onions and apples so I chopped everything up and sauteed the mix in the butter with some fresh onions and added just a bit of bacon to the mix. I love how adaptable this recipe is! Thank you so much for sharing! I have already spied several other recipes I will have to try.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds really delicious! I am going to keep that in mind for the future! Yummy! Xoxo
DeleteMaking it this week, using rutabagas for potatoes. Excited to give it a go!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful adaptation! I adore Rutabaga! xoxo
DeleteI ❤ Rutabaga. I don't think it gets the attention it deserves. Thank you Marie for the Recipe and Rondoodle for the Rutabaga idea. I'm trying this Casserole today.
DeleteOMG, I've died and gone to heaven! So many of my favorite family recipes here and even the ingredients, like rutabaga. Darn Scots, of which my husband is a descendent from, at least like rutabagas (swedes in England and turnips, in Scotland) too. His mother (another Scot too!) made, besides pasties, a baked casserole/stew that was comprised of salt pork, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and RUTABAGAS! It has a weird name that I could not even begin to spell. Rutabagas were the star dish of each holiday celebration in my family. One year I forgot to buy them and ran to the grocery store on Christmas Eve morning. Oh, no they were out and I knew that I was going to face wrath and thunder from my dad. We never had a Christmas Eve dinner without mashed rutabagas. The light bulb popped on in my head, yes! Turnips! Turnips are so very close to rutabagas except for their white color. I cooked them up and pulled out my food coloring set and tinted them a light orange. Fooled my dad as he even said that they were great! I fessed up and made a "fool you, Dad" joke about it. Luckily he just laughed as the whole family was there. Never happened again, as I knew I could get away with it once, but never twice. One year, my husband and I grew them and thinking they might not grow as we had never tried them before, we planted a lot. Every seed must have grown as we had a million of them. We couldn't even give them away as most people didn't like them or didn't know or want to know how to cook them. The deer were fed very well that year!
DeleteReally wanted to print this recipe and make it...however, there was a big ad right on top of half of the recipe! Seriously! Is there any other place this recipe is posted and available to print or save? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all if you read the printable recipe card, you will realize that the recipe covers none of the recipe at all. That is not the way mediavine works. Secondly if you click on the print option the ad does not show up at all on the printable recipe, and you have an option to print either with a recipe photo or without. I wish that I could afford to run my site ad-free, but unfortunately that is just not possible for me. I put a lot of work into this page and expense and I need to cover it somehow. Let me know how you get on.
DeleteSo glad to read your guidelines, as I have left two other websites as nasty people were posting nasty degrading responses to some posters. Complained about spelling, grammar and even their comments. I even sent that nasty person a note, asking them to lighten up and then I became a target I sent the originator of the websites, the reason I was leaving. Many people have very valid, helpful and interesting information, but to be trashed for a tiny error, is unforgiveable and these websites also say they have companies that moderate responses. Not everyone is articulate, a spelling champion, or an English major. I was also slammed once for listing the wrong month on a procedure that I had done and this "fact checker" is now on a rampage writing negative responses to every statement another man makes! Nobody checks him and I'm surprised that the original poster keeps entering information. They should just develop their own websites where they can trash each other all day long! Thanks for posting your guidelines, as other websites also post them, but do not follow! Thank you, Martha
ReplyDeleteI made a pork roast with pork and sauerkraut and had leftovers, so used that for this casserole. Also ran out of potatoes so used mashed potatoes for the top layer. It is amazing…even better than the original roast and saurkraut dinner. The pork was a good substitute for the ham. Thanks so much…aren’t too many ways you can use leftovers like these!
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