Sadly, this two-for-one post will be my last for the foreseeable future. I am now 36 weeks pregnant and am anticipating Baby Vande Vegte’s arrival at any time! Though I will be taking a break from the blog for a while, I hope that you will continue to use and share these recipes frequently! Please continue posting stories of your dinner creations to Instagram and messaging me with any questions that you have regarding my recipes (or just cooking in general!). Thank you all for your love and support over the past year!
This week’s recipes are my go-to classics for hosting guests, celebrating special occasions, and stocking the freezer. In fact, when I was taking photos of this meal, my husband was astonished that I hadn’t posted this meal to the blog yet! These recipes were frequently requested and made in my house growing up, and they have since become favorites in our growing family as well. My mom got this recipe from an elderly Dutch woman in Orange City, Iowa, and she made it for my father early on in their dating years. It must have worked! I have made a few tweaks to the recipe over the years, mostly to make it a little extra saucy because I despise dry food.
If you’re not Dutch or from the Midwest, no worries. You’ll still love my Ham Balls and Cheesy Potatoes! Ham Balls are one of those recipes that “if you know, you know.” If you’ve never had them before, though, don’t be freaked out by the name. It’s not a cute name. Just trust the process! As for the Cheesy Potatoes, I don’t claim to have an extra-special original recipe, but they pair perfectly with Ham Balls and thankfully bake for the exact same amount of time to make the perfect meal duo.
Unfortunately, you really cannot make this recipe without ham loaf. It resembles ground beef but lighter in color and is made primarily from pork. Hopefully your grocery store’s meat counter carries it. If it’s not visible behind the counter, don’t be afraid to ask them if they’re able to make it. I have never had trouble finding ham loaf in Iowa at Hy-Vee or Fareway, but I do know that it can be sparse in neighboring states.
Craving comfort food this week? Look no further, Average Chefs!
Ham Balls
Serves 6-8* – Makes 18-24 ham balls
Estimated time, start to serve: 2-2 ½ hours
*I rarely make and bake the whole batch at once. I typically divide everything in half and bake one half and freeze the rest.
Ingredients:
Meatballs:
2 lbs. ground ham loaf
½ lb. ground beef
2 eggs
½ cup milk
1 sleeve of graham crackers, crushed (approximately 1 ½ cups)
Sauce:
2 cans of condensed tomato soup
2 cups brown sugar
¼ cup white vinegar
2 Tbsp. ground mustard powder
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, lightly mix the meatball ingredients with your hands. Do not overmix. Set aside for a few minutes so the graham cracker crumbs can soak up the milk and eggs.
3. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients.
4. Grease your pans with cooking spray. I usually make one 9x13” for that meal and freeze an additional 8x8” pan for later. Form the meat mixture into balls that are approximately the size of baseballs. They will look messy and not perfectly round. I typically get around 22 ham balls.
5. Pour the sauce over the ham balls and cover the pan with aluminum foil.
6. Bake ham balls for 1 ½ hours. Remove the foil, spoon the sauce over the tops of the balls, and bake uncovered for 10-15 more minutes.
7. Enjoy! I love making this recipe with my super-easy Cheesy Potatoes (see below), but they also pair wonderfully with mashed potatoes, homemade bread or store-bought biscuits/crescent rolls, and green beans or some other veggie. Remember to thaw ham balls before baking if freezing a batch.
Cheesy Potatoes
Serves 6-8* – Makes one 9x13” or two 8x8” pans
Estimated time, start to serve: 2 hours
*I rarely make and bake the whole batch at once. I typically divide everything in half and bake one half and freeze the rest.
Ingredients:
One large bag (approximately 30-36 ounces) of frozen, shredded hash browns
8 oz. container of sour cream
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups (possibly more) shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. onion powder or 2 Tbsp. dried, minced onion
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup crushed corn flakes (optional)
¼ cup (half stick) of butter, melted (optional)
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients besides the crushed corn flakes and butter.
3. Grease your pan(s) with nonstick spray and spread the hash brown mixture into the pan, pressing it down slightly with your spatula so that it is level and there aren’t any big holes. (Ignore the red and green pieces in my photos below--I was using up some "Southern Style" hash browns.)
4. If you want a crispy topping, sprinkle the crushed corn flakes on top and drizzle with melted butter. Otherwise, you can leave the potatoes plain for now. Cover the pan(s) with aluminum foil. (Please disregard the large pieces of corn flakes on my photos below; I was too lazy to crush them any further, but you definitely should be more diligent in crushing yours.)
5. Bake for 1 ½ hours.
6. Remove the foil. At this time, if you did not do the corn flake topping, sprinkle some more shredded cheddar cheese on top. Either way, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes uncovered. Remember to thaw potatoes before baking if freezing a batch.
7. Enjoy! Share! Soak up time with your loved ones.
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