Orange Glazed Ham

Just in time for all you last-minute people out there...the perfect ham for your Christmas dinner!  We always have our Christmas dinner on the Sunday before Christmas because frankly I think I deserve a day off too.   So we always do easy fix-it-yourself type of stuff on Christmas day.  We usually have leftover ham or turkey from our Sunday Christmas dinner so we do ham or turkey sandwiches, and I always love to have my Deviled Ham Cheese Ball and crackers lying around for the snacking too.

But for you out there who like to have a nice fancy dinner this ham's for you.  It is super easy to do & tastes a-maz-ing!!  And I like that I can just buy a cheaper ham instead of the spiral cut ham and it is just as good if not better.  Always nice to save a little dough, especially at Christmas time!

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas spent with family and friends!

Orange Glazed Ham

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1 ham, fully cooked (5-8 pounds)
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon ground mustard

Place ham in a roasting pot and cover with a lid.  Bake ham at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes per pound or until a meat thermometer inserted into the middle reaches 140 degrees.

Mix brown sugar, orange juice and mustard and pour over the ham when you have 20 minutes cooking time left.  Cover ham again and continue cooking for the last 20 minutes.

Delicious!  The orange in the glaze is perfect with the ham.  I just love it!  You can also substitute pineapple juice for the orange juice if desired.

Enjoy & Merry Christmas!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Oh my!!  We love ourselves some chicken cordon bleu!  I rarely make it because I'm not too fond of cutting into the chicken and stuffing them, or flattening and rolling them!  I'm a snob that way!:)  So when I saw this recipe I knew it was one I was going to have to try it, just put the chicken in the casserole, no stuffing or rolling!!:)  Really, really delicious...whole family loved it!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

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Topping:

4 slices white sandwich bread, torn into quarters

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

3 pounds russet potatoes (about 4-5 medium sized ones), peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3 medium garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed

6 tablespoons flour

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

3/4 cup heavy cream or milk (I used skim)

2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (6 oz.)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and sliced thinly

9 ounces ham, chopped

For the topping process the bread and butter in a food processor until coarsely ground. (I used my blender and it worked great!)  Set aside.

For the filling, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, making sure the oven rack is in the middle.  Place the potatoes, 6 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt in a large pot.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are partially cooked, about 2 minutes (you don't want to overcook them because they will continue to cook in the oven.)  Carefully drain potatoes, or remove them with a slotted spoon, and transfer them to a bowl.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Cook until the onions are softened, about 6 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.  Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and the cream or milk.  Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking often, until slightly thickened (if using milk instead of cream, you may have to cook longer for it to thicken up a bit!.  Off the heat, whisk in the Swiss cheese, Dijon, and cayenne pepper until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and set aside until ready to use.

Toss the potatoes with half of the sauce and spread into the bottom of a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  Layer the chicken on the potatoes and then spread the ham evenly over the chicken.  Make sure the chicken is in a single layer so that it cooks thoroughly.  Pour the remaining sauce evenly over the chicken and sprinkle with the bread crumb topping.  Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the casserole is bubbling, 30-35 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes before serving. 

Cheesy Potato & Ham Soup

Do you have leftover ham lurking in your fridge and are you wondering what in the world you are going to do with it (besides Ham sandwiches!)?  This is such the perfect answer!  This soup is so cheesy & creamy & wonderful!!  My kiddo's all gave it a 10! 

Cheesy Potato & Ham Soup

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This is Tony's (hubby) bowl...I thought it looked really pretty with all that pepper on it!  But don't think you have to add that much to your bowl...I wouldn't be able to handle it myself!:)

2 cups diced peeled potatoes (5-6 small to medium sized potatoes)

2 cups water

1/2 cup sliced carrot (or matchstick carrots...much easier!)

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk (any variety...I used skim)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 to 1 1/2 cups cubed cooked ham
1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Boil the potatoes, carrots & onion in the 2 cups of water. When it reaches a full boil, reduce the heat and cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. (This is Kyla's picture...she actually peeled all the potatoes and cut them and then added the carrots and onions and boiled them and got that part all ready for me!  She's becoming a pretty good photographer too!)

While the vegetables are cooking, in another saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour until smooth and then slowly add the milk while stirring. This will ensure you have not yucky lumps in your soup!! Add the salt & pepper. Bring to a boil and cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese until melted.

Pour cheese mixture in with the undrained potato mixture and stir until combined. Add the ham and peas. Heat through & serve!

This soup made just enough for family (of 6) to all have one large bowl full.  If you're feeding more than that or would like to have leftovers I would suggest doubling the recipe!

In case you didn't notice...I finally figured out how to add a PRINT RECIPE link so you can print our recipes right from our site without all of the pictures and other "junk":) to run out all your ink!!  We will be adding the PRINT RECIPE link to all of our recipes, but that will probabaly take me days...weeks...I'll just say a while!:)  Hope this new little perk helps you out!:)

Skillet Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

My family LOVES potatoes. It's nice to find another way of making them other than mashed! I love scalloped potatoes but never think to make them until it's too late to because they usually have to bake in the over FOREVER!! Well, I found this recipe where you just make them in your skillet. It was so much faster and they were still super delicious!

Skillet Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

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4 medium potatoes, pelled and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup milk

2 to 3 tablespoons onion soup mix (I think 2 is enough)

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley (I used 1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley)

1 cup velveeta cheese, cubed or 1 cups grated cheddar cheese (I opted for the grated cheddar)

1 cup cubed fully cooked ham

In a large skillet, cook potatoes in butter until potatoes are lightly browned. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover and simmer for 14-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the milk, soup mix and parsley; then stir in the cheese. Pour over potatoes. Add the ham. Cook and stir gently over medium heat until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.

Ham glaze

This ham glaze is so good. It's a recipe from my Mom that she has had for years and one that I used to eat growing up. So if you've got any more ham leftover (or are like me and grabbed a few hams after Christmas that were on a great sale) you've got to give this glaze a try. Ham and pineapple were just made for each other!!:)

Ham Glaze

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1 cup brown sugar (packed)

1 T. cornstarch

1/4 t. salt

1 small can (8 1/2 oz) crushed pineapple (with juice)

2 T. lemon juice

Mix brown sugar, cornstartch, and salt together in a small saucepan. Add pineapple. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Makes 1 3/4 cups.

So simple and yet so delicious...that's seems to be my motto!:)