After a long day in the kitchen preparing a holiday feast, the last thing you want to do is strike up the oven again the next day. With a slow cooker recipe like this one, you don’t have to! Simply throw your dried lentils, cooked leftover Ontario ham, vegetables, and aromatics into a slow cooker and let it go all day while you’re at work. Seriously, it’s one step – that is literally all you need to do.

Not only is it an easy supper, but it also costs you peanuts to put together. You’ve already got the ham game down, you surely have some leftover mire poix in the fridge from your holiday recipes, and a cup of dried lentils is the cheapest pantry staple known to man. Actually, the United Nations named 2016 is the official International Year of Pulses, which came just in time with the rising price of groceries and our falling Canadian dollar! For those of you not familiar with pulses (and no, we’re not referring to a beating heart), I’m talking about legume crops like lentils, beans, peas and chickpeas. They’re super inexpensive, easy to prepare, high in vegetarian protein and fibre, and low in fat. They’re nutritious little powerhouses that complement the mild sweetness of Ontario ham perfectly.

What do you look forward to making with your leftover Easter ham? Leave me a comment below with some of your go-to favourites!