Pimento Cheese and Ham Melt Recipe

Ingredients

Servings:  1 sandwich

2-3 TBSP pimento cheese (I used store bought pimento cheese but feel free to make your own!)
2-3 slices of cooked ham
1/3 cup swiss cheese
1 TBSP Hellman's Creamy Balsamic Mayo (you can use whatever type of mayo you prefer)
1/2  TBSP butter
1 whole wheat English muffin

*Optional:  Banana pepper rings
                Bread and butter pickle slices

Instructions:

The accompanying photos to this recipe show 2 sandwiches being made: one with the regular ingredients and one with the optional ingredients.

(1) Spread butter on the outsides of both halves of the english muffin in order to prevent the english muffin from sticking to the skillet and to add a little more flavor to the bread.

(2) Spread the mayo on the insides of both halves of the english muffin.

(3) On the inside of the bottom half of the english muffin, spread pimento cheese.

(4) Place the slices of ham on top of the pimento cheese.  Put the optional ingredients on top of the ham.  

(5) Sprinkle the pimento cheese on top of the ham.

(6) Put the other half of the english muffin on top of the swiss cheese and transfer sandwich over to your skillet.  There is no need to spray the skillet with cooking spray since you coated the outsides of your bread with butter.  Cook the sandwiches over medium-high heat and flip when the bottom side is a golden brown.

(7) When both outside halves of the muffin are golden brown, remove sandwich from skillet and enjoy!

Pimento Cheese and Ham Melt with Optional Ingredients

Pimento Cheese and Ham Melt 

Mini Savory Pie Recipe

I found the base of this recipe on Betty Crocker's website: http://www.bettycrocker.com/Tips/TipsLibrary/Cooking-Tips/Create-Your-Own-Signature-Mini-Pie

The above link to Betty Crocker's website gives you tips and details on how to make mini chicken pot pies using Bisquick.  Using their tips and base recipe, I created my own mini pies with a unique filling.

For all of my recipes feel free to use either store bought pre-prepared items or prepare the items yourself.  For example, I sometimes use pre-cooked meat or pre-prepared sauce or spread.  Feel free to make your own sauces or spreads or prepare your own meats. 

This recipe worked out really well and was delicious! My husband said that it is one of his favorite things I have made for him!  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

Serving: 10-12 mini pies

For the pie fillings:

2 TBSP cooking oil

1 TBSP minced garlic

1 small bunch of chives (see photo below)

2-3 TBSP chopped pimentos 

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 cup celery

1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1-2 cups cooked chopped ham

1 cup cooked chopped boneless skinless chicken breast

Salt, pepper, poultry seasoning (use whatever amount you prefer)

For the Bisquick mix:

1/2 cup Bisquick mix

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

For the cheese topping:

1.5 cups shredded Swiss cheese

1 TSP thyme

1 TSP garlic powder

1 TSP olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients

Small bundle of chives

Instructions:

(1) Preheat oven to 375º and spray a regular muffin pan with cooking spray or use a nonstick muffin pan. Heat oil in a medium skillet and cook chopped onions on a medium setting until they start to become translucent.  Add the chives, celery, pimentos, garlic, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning and cook for an additional 5-8 minutes.  When the celery starts to become translucent and the mixture seems blended well, add the cooked chopped ham and boneless chicken pieces to the mixture and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  Make sure you stir continuously. 

(2) Remove the skillet from the heated stove and allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Next, add the mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in cheddar cheese.

(3) Thoroughly mix together your bisquick ingredients (bisquick, milk, and eggs) and set aside.

(4) Take your nonstick muffin pan and add 1 TBSP of bisquick mix to each cup.  Next, add 1/3 cup of your savory mixture to each cup and then top with another 1 TBSP of bisquick mix. 

**Optional:  I mixed each 1/3 cup of mixture with 1 TSP of sauce to add a little extra flavor.  I used 1000 island dressing, BBQ sauce, Hellman's Balsamic Mayo, and Ranch dressing.  If you decide to do this, take your 1/3 cup of mixture and mix it together with 1 TSP of your sauce of choice before putting it into the muffin pan cup.  Adding this extra step really did make the flavor more bold and each mini pie more interesting!

(5) Place in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are golden brown.  You can use the toothpick check to see if the muffin is done by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin and seeing if it comes out clean.  However, for this recipe I preferred my pies to have a little gooeyness so I just watched the pies closely until the tops began turning golden brown and the mixture was not bubbling near as much.  While the pies are in the oven, prepare your cheese topping by mixing together the swiss cheese, thyme, garlic powder, pepper, and olive oil in a small bowl.  When the pies begin turning a golden brown and are only a few minutes from being done, take the muffin pan out, add the cheese topping to each pie, and put back in the oven until the cheese is melted.

(6) Remove the muffin pan from the oven once the cheese is melted.  Allow the muffins to cool for five minutes.  Remove the muffins with a knife and place them on a cooling rack for an additional 10 minutes.  Then...Enjoy!!

Mini Savory Pies

Mini Savory Pies

Mini Savory Pies

Mini Savory Pies