Mmmmm, yummmm!
Recipe, something the family has always called "ham loaf", but my ex used to call it cheese loaf. He thinks it has too much cheese in it, but from my POV there's no such thing as too much cheese. If I gave this recipe to you before & you haven't tried it yet, I don't wanna hear it.
Ingredients:
a loaf of french bread
about a pound or about 4 cups shredded cheddar (sharp, mild - take your pick)
a small can of chopped black olives. (if anyone in the family doesn't like black olives, don't tell them what the black things in the finished ham loaf are)
mayo or salad dressing (Miracle Whip)
a pound of sliced ham, cheap boiled stuff is fine
To make "filling":
Put shredded cheddar & chopped olives in large bowl & mix. Add mayo. You're looking to make it about the consistency of a stiff cookie dough & since different cheeses have different amounts of moisture, can't give you the exact amount of mayo you'll need to use.
Prepare bread:
Slice partially through the bread, leaving crust on the bottom intact. My bread slices are slightly fatter than commercially sliced bread.
To assemble:
Put about a good heaping teaspoon of cheese mixture between each slice. (the bread will begin to curl as you stuff it, so I usually cut the loaf in half or in thirds)
Stuff about a half a slice of ham in between each of bread slices. Ends of french bread are little, so you may only be able to stuff in a quarter of a slice. You don't have to get all of each of the slices of ham in between the bread. On the ends of the bread that aren't crust, put a full slice of ham over the "stuffing".
Put in a pan or on a cookie sheet. If you don't like messy clean up, but don't mind trying to peel crusty melted cheese off of aluminum foil, you can line your baking pan with foil. One way or the other, cover bread with foil. I remove the foil toward the end of baking.
Bake until cheese is melted & the edges of any ham that's sticking out of the bread is crisp. I've baked with high heat (450) & I've baked with low heat (350)... baking takes between half an hour and an hour.
To serve, pull off as many slices as you can get away with, without anyone who sees you calling you a pig.
Nuking leftovers is okay, but they can also be eaten cold. (been eating this all of my life, long before anyone had microwaves in their homes) Don't nuke instead of baking, cuz you'll end up with soggy bread instead of nice crispy bread.
I used to make this for scout pot lucks & always got phone calls asking me for the recipe. (How else do you think I know what I told you about people who don't like black olives?) If any of my instructions aren't clear, ask me. I was never given a recipe for it, but knew what it looked like before trying to make it myself.
Mmm, sounds good! Will try.
PS - if you get a spoon and get to the melty chese on the aluminum foil while it’s still soft and gooey, you won’t have to clean up any burnt cheese. Just don’t burn your tongue or the roof of your mouth, lol!
Am trying to ham loaf recipe this evening. It’s in the oven and should be ready in 15 minutes. Thanks so much. Will let you know what we think.
We loved it !!!
The chopped olives definitely made the recipe.
I am SURE I’ll make it again.
Huge thanks.
Blessings, FRiend,
Joya