BEST HAM EVER

 

Let me start out by saying that I am not a huge fan of ham.  I like it.  Generally speaking though I can't eat too much of it because it is too salty for me.

My Mother and I were on a little drive out to Amish Country here in NY or should I say Mennonite Country. (Find out the difference between Amish and Mennonite here at Dutch News.)  At one of the grocery type stores we found some samples of ham.  It was delicious.  Different from what I have tried before.  I have had all manor of hams.  Spiral sliced, brown sugar, honey baked, various companies and one from a local farm.  This was way better than all of them.  It was more flavorful and it tasted fresh. Definitely more of that ham in our family's future.

Source: PA Dutch Country Blog

Ina Garten's recipe for a glaze that I saw on The Chew worked really well for the ham.  Everyone loved the sauce.  Smokin' good.  Lipsmacking good. Everything about this ham was lovely, right down to the leftovers.

ORANGE MUSTARD GLAZE
Recipe adapted from this recipe by Ina Garten.

6 Garlic Cloves
8 1/2 ounces Orange Marmalade
1/2 cup Dijon Mustard
1 zest of Orange
1/4 cup Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
1 cup Light Brown Sugar (packed)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Have a roasting pan with a rack inside ready, along with some foil to cover.

In a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in a blender, chop garlic first. Add the marmalade, mustard, brown sugar, orange zest, and orange juice and process until smooth. Pour the glaze over the ham and bake for 1 to 1 1/2  hours,  depending on the size of your ham.  The ham should be fully heated and the glaze well browned. Serve hot or at room temperature. 

School Lunch Idea

School lunch idea!

I am always looking for ideas for school lunches.  Don't my kids get sick of the same old thing all the time!

This one is easy.  In a bowl blend some cream cheese with green onions or chives.  Spread thinly on a piece of Krakow ham or Wegman's fat free ham, sliced a little thicker than their standard cut.  Roll it up, then slice into rounds.  Delicious!

Crescent Roll Dough- Skip the canned stuff

I'd love to show you the finished product here.  It was dark when they were done baking and they were gobbled up like nobody's business. But I can share with you the beginning stages and later on, when I make them again, because I definitely will, I will share a photo of the end product.

Crescent Roll Dough
Printable here.

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cups ricotta (part skim or whole)

In the mixing bowl of a food processor (you can certainly do this by hand in a regular bowl with a pastry blender or fork) combine the flour, baking powder, yeast and salt.  Close the lid and begin to spin.  Add in pieces of butter until dough is crumbly like pea meal. Add in 1 1/2 cups of ricotta.  (Next time, I am going to use cottage cheese- just for a lighter dough, eh hem, as light as it can be considering all the butter in these babies). Mix it only until it comes together.  Empty out onto a floured surface and flatten into a rectangle.

Fold the sides of the rectangle in like you would a business letter, trifold.  Flatten a bit again and repeat the folds.  Flatten a little, cut in half.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate (for an hour and up to 24 hours).  You can freeze this dough if you like at this stage.

Once you remove the dough from the refrigerator, Roll out and make crescents or use to make a calzone or like you would for any recipe calling for "canned" crescent rolls.  Voila.  From scratch. Minus preservatives and chemicals.

Broccoli, Ham and Cheese calzones.

Split Pea Soup II

A lot of soup here lately.  I did not make these all this week.  Its been over the past month or so. It sure had been soup weather.  Bitter cold temps.  A bowl of soup just warms you to the bone.  Its one of my favorite meals to make in the winter-  soup, with a nice loaf of bread and a salad.  Love it.  So easy.  And I can prepare it the night before, in the morning, whenever and just reheat before dinner. 

This is a classic, split pea soup.  I hated it as a child.  Hated peas.  Yes, thats all changed.  Except canned peas- I still can't stand them

SPLIT PEA SOUP
Printer version found here.

2 cups split peas
1 ham bone
2 cups carrots
1 cup onion, minced

1 bay leaf
2 quarts water
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup celery


In a soup pot combine split peas, water, bay leaf, one cup onion and a ham bone. Cover and gently simmer for about 30 minutes.  Remove ham bone and cut up any meat that may be in there.  Add carrots, thyme and celery to the pot. Cook for another 30 minutes more. Remove bay leaf and discard before serving.

* I know this may sound strange to some but I dont like really sweet soups so sometimes I add vinegar.  If tomatoes or carrots or whatever makes my soup too sweet, I add in cider vinegar.  Maybe a tablespoon or two, depending.  Its a taste thing.

Hoppin John Soup

It kind of looks ugly but don't be fooled by its appearance- it's delicious.  Loaded with some really good things- it makes for an easy and nutritious meal. I make a lot of soups a day ahead of time. It gives it time to marry. 

So great to have soup after you spend any time out in the cold. Serve some cornbread with it for a complete meal.

Hoppin' John Soup
Printer friendly recipe found here.

1 pound dried black-eyed peas
2 small smoked ham hocks or meaty ham bone
2 medium onions, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
4 cups kale*
1 bay leaf
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 quart diced tomatoes
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 green onions, sliced

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, combine the black-eyed peas, ham bone or ham hocks, and 6 cups water. Cut 1 of the onions in half and add it to the pot along with the garlic and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until the beans are tender but not mushy, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove the ham bone or hocks, cut off the meat; dice and set aside.

In a frying pan sauté onions, celery and peppers in oil. until lightly golden and add to the pot of soup. Also add in the rice, 2 cups water, kale, seasonings, tomatoes and salt. Cook for about 20 minutes.  Add green onions to the serving bowls.

*I used my kale that I had froze in the summer.  All cooked, I added about 2 cups.  If you buy it at the store- you may want to par boil in another pot because it sometimes can leave behind a bitter taste.  I have not found this with bagged baby kale though.

Ham in the Crockpot

Aren't crock pots wonderful?  I have two.  One oval and one round.  I do use both of them.  I feel like I really need to use them more.  Its always great to come home to a meal already prepared.  Like you have your own personal chef.  

This is not the best picture. But this is the best way to prepare ham, especially if you have things to do.  You can tuck that sweet little ham in the crock pot for the day while you go out sledding or shopping or skiing or whatever.  Then when you come home you can cook up whatever sides you like and you are good to go for dinner.

I don't cook a lot of hams but when I do this is my preferred way to do it.
 

Ham in the Crock Pot
Printable Version Here

1 1/2 cups brown sugar, divided
1 can pineapple chunks or crushed
1 ham (I used a spiral sliced ham)

In the crock pot, place a cup of brown sugar at the bottom, smoothing it out in a thin layer.  Place your ham on top of the brown sugar.  Pour the can of pineapple over top.  Then sprinkle about a 1/2 cup more of brown sugar on top.  Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours. Crock temps can vary, adjust accordingly.

Ham and Potato Soup

I have found a great site that I wanted to share with you:  Personal Life Media.  It's a site that has podcasts on everything.  My favorite that I listen to all the time is Inside Out Weight Loss.  Renee Stevens has wrote a book by the name, Full-Filled and she also offers free podcasts on working toward the goal of ending everyone's weight loss struggle.  They are some pretty powerful podcasts.  In the beginning I listened to several of them over and over again.  There are over 200 though.  Renee Stevens website is here.  The podcast site is here. And Personal Life Media home page is here.

These podcasts have helped me to shift my attitudes about weight loss.  It has made a significant difference in my life.  Not just for weight loss but also my personal life.  I have made many small changes.  I kind of looked at it like this, the changes are like a wave building in the ocean, gaining momentum. And these things do build on each other.  I hope you can get some wisdom from listening to these podcasts, I know I definitely do.

Ham and Potato Soup
Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
2 ribs celery, diced
1 large finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.