Guest Post: Broccoli Ham Roll UPs Recipe from Redneck Latte Ravings

Hi, I’m UP from Redneck Latte Ravings. I’ve noticed on Frugal Femina that savings and value are stressed–or should we say, required. So, in that vein, I thought I’d come UP with some Frugal Family Fare.

The kitchen is the most important room in the house to me. We spend a great deal of time there as a family, and all of us love cooking and cooking together. The crowd makes it faster, “funner”, and it makes for a lot of good memories.

While I was in college in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the late 70s (yes, I’m that old), my wife, Diane discovered a recipe that she felt was sure fired to get me to eat my broccoli.

And it was.

Broccoli Ham Roll-Ups was a favorite of ours pre-parenthood and a huge favorite of the kids as well. Now that they are both living elsewhere, every time I make them, I post it on Facebook and they always respond with “jealous”. My wife found the recipe in Good Housekeeping. The article was entitled “30 Minute Meal”. And we thought Rachel Ray thought that one UP!!

We’ve changed it over the years and made it our own. And we found a way to Frugal it UP. The original called for canned ham–expensive!! And Grands biscuits–expensive!! We started using leftover ham and the less expensive Pillsbury canned biscuits. And we added the Cheese Sauce ourselves.

Our children, Shelby and Donovan, started helping out in the kitchen as soon as they could. From rolling out the biscuits to grating the cheese, they pitched in. It was one of, if not their favorite meal.

So, here goes. A Brads’ family recipe, memory, and money-saver that feeds four.

Broccoli Ham Roll UPs

What You’ll Need for the BHRs:

• About 10 oz. leftover ham, chopped well. I use the food processor, I’m lazy that way. (You can use deli ham, canned ham, left over Christmas ham…really it all works!)
• 1 can (10 count) biscuits. The cheaper the better.
• 1 box frozen broccoli spears. Buy it on sale.

What You’ll Need for the Sauce:

• 3 tsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 to 1 and ½ cups cheese, grated

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 (forget the directions on the can, we’re not doing that).
• Cook broccoli in microwave as directed, maybe 1 or 2 minutes LESS than recommended.
• Roll out each biscuit into ovals. The kids can help, they love it and you can teach them to clean up the mess, too.
• Take about an ounce of ham and 1 broccoli spear and place on each flat oval biscuit. Roll UP, place on a cooking stone or cookie sheet. (I’m a big stone fan, so I use that.)

• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes at 375. Again, this is a departure from the directions, so you may want to watch your product to make sure it doesn’t get too brown.
• While they are cooking, make the cheese sauce. It should all come out at the same time. You start by melting the butter on LOW heat.

• Then you add your flour, salt, and pepper to make a roux.

• Once the flour butter mixture is bubbly and smooth, add 1 cup of milk. Stir constantly, bring to a boil, and allow to thicken. This could take up to 5 or more minutes. Keep the heat low, and follow the Betty Crocker Recipe for “white sauce” on page 356.

• When it boils (which it may never do) or thickens, remove from heat and add cheese and stir. It should look similar to this:

• Add cheese, and stir until smooth. Place two on each plate and cover with cheese sauce to your liking.

You won’t have to holler for dinner twice, and they’ll want it often.

UP cracks people UP daily over at his blog Redneck Latte Ravings. Be sure to follow him on Twitter, and check out 100 things about Paul.

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