So I've decided to give up one of my mom's favourite peasant recipes. I admit that's it's a little lower on the guarded list than some of the other recipes, but it's still one of them. And gasp! I've modified the original slightly, which I'm sure will get me on the recipe banned list again (the great salsa incident of 2001 was just taken off my record).
This is practically the main reason I cook a large ham - so I can have leftovers the next day to make this recipe. It's almost like a ham stirfry with a sweet and sour sauce. This is pretty flexible, so if you don't have as much leftover ham, or more of it, you can add or substract at will. Frozen peppers can be substitued for the fresh, pineapple chunks for the tidbits ... you get the picture.
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 - 1 med green pepper, chopped (or whatever colour peppers you have)
1 med. onion, chopped (optional - not part of the original recipe)
1 or 2 med carrots, sliced (optional - not part of the original recipe)
2 cups slivered cooked ham, more or less
1 can pineapple chunks or tidbits with juice
2 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 - 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 - 1 Tbsp mustard
1/2 to 3/4 cup cold water
1/8 tsp ground cloves
Hot cooked rice
As typical with mom's recipes, I have no instructions.
But I guess it goes something like:
Melt margarine in skillet. Add onions and carrots if using, saute until tender. Add pepper and ham, stir until heated through.
Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Add pineapple to skillet.
To reserved juice - add the water (I use the lesser amount), brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, cloves and cornstarch. Stir together, add to hot skillet, cook until thickened. Serve over hot rice.
I add the carrots and onions as 'stretchers' to the recipe and my kids will actually eat carrots.
