Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Ham

This year, I made a Christmas ham twice.  Once for our Christmas party at church, and once for my family's Christmas party.  Both times I used this recipe and the flavor came out delicious!  It is also such an easy way to cook your ham for a big meal, like Christmas or Easter.  You can put it in a few hours before and then forget about it and focus on everything else you are cooking!


Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Ham
slightly adapted from: fivehearthome.com

7-8 pound spiral sliced ham (fully cooked)
2 c. pineapple juice
2 c. brown sugar
4 tsp. Dijon mustard
4 tsp. balsamic vinegar
4 tsp. honey

In your crock pot, stir together the pineapple juice, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar and honey, until the sugar is dissolved.  Slice your ham off the bone, and lay it in your crock pot.  Using a basting brush, gently baste the sauce over all your ham.  Do this occasionally while it is cooking.  Cook on low for about 4 hours, or until ham is hot (it should be 140 degrees).  Be careful not to over cook your ham.  I did this the second time, and it came out in tiny shreds.  But it still tasted great, and it was easier to chew, right?!

Creamy New Potato Soup

This is the time of year when soup and vegetables from my garden sound so appealing.  The other night I was really wanting something.  I just wasn't sure what.  So I let my taste buds lead the way, and I ended up with this soup.  It was delicious, and Fall-y, and worked for a sick neighbor, too!

Creamy New Potato Soup
by: Carolyn

4 c. chicken broth
1/2 tsp. onion powder
small potatoes, or larger ones, cut into chunks (I used all my little "new" potatoes from my garden)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 c. milk
1 bag of frozen peas
fresh ground pepper
ham, cut into small pieces

In a large pot, bring the chicken broth, onion powder and salt to a boil.  Add the potatoes and cook until they are tender.  Meanwhile, in a saucepan, whisk together the butter and flour over medium-high heat.  Slowly pour in the evaporated milk, stirring constantly.  Continue stirring until it begins to thicken.  Add this mixture to your pot with the potatoes and stir it gently.  Stir in your frozen peas (I added about 3/4 of the bag, but you can add more or less, according to what you like).  Add your sliced ham and milk, and bring it to a low boil, then turn the heat down and cook it until your peas are tender.  

Mashed Potatoes and Ham Casserole

Tonight I needed to come up with a quick dinner without a trip to the store.  I had ham in the freezer & some packages of mashed potatoes to use, and I found this recipe online.  I've already lost the link but it was so easy I actually remember how to make it.  It actually turned out quite delicious.

Mashed Potatoes and Ham Casserole

4 cups mashed potatoes (I used instant potato pearls)
1 1/2 cups diced ham
1/2 onion
2 Tbsp butter (used separately)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/3 cup crushed cornflakes

Dice the onion very fine (I so love my Pampered Chef chopper) and place it in a bowl with 1 Tbsp butter. Microwave the onion and butter, uncovered, for 2 minutes (stirring after one minute)
Prepare your mashed potatoes, and add the onion, ham, salt, pepper and garlic powder (you could use minced garlic instead or leave it out and I'm sure it would be fine).
Grease the bottom of a 1 1/2 quart baking dish, and pour the potato mixture into it.
Sprinkle the grated cheese on top, layer that with the crushed corn flakes, and cut up your remaining 1 Tbsp butter over the top.

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

Brazilian Beans And Rice (Feijoada)

My hubby served a mission for our church for two years in Brazil.  That was 16 years ago.  And for the first time in our 12 years of marriage, I made him some Brazilian food.  I thought it was going to be harder than it was, and so I never did it.  And maybe if I had made this totally authentic, it would have been harder.  But I made it with what I had, and in the slow cooker, and it was actually really easy and really tasty.  If you ever buy a big spiral ham around Christmas time and don't know what to do with the ham bone, here is your answer!  If you've ever had a bag of dried beans sitting in your food storage for about 10 years and didn't know what to do with it, here is your answer!  This is the recipe you need to use up random food items that you don't really know what to do with.  Yay!

Brazilian Beans and Rice (Feijoada)
adapted from: honestcooking.com

1 lb. dry black beans
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 onions
1 ham bone (or any of your spiral ham that is leftover-I had a ham bone and also some ends of the ham that weren't sliced and I didn't know how to use them)
5 cloves garlic, minced (2 1/2 tsp. already minced)
1/2 lb. bacon
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp. pepper
fresh ground salt to taste (you don't need much, the ham and bacon will make it salty)

Dump your black beans into your crock pot and then fill up the crock pot with water until it covers the beans.  In the morning, drain the water from the crock pot.  Then add six cups more water to the crock pot (just to get fresh water).  Thinly slice your onions.  In a frying pan, pour your olive oil and saute' your onions until they are translucent.  In the same frying pan, caramelize the edges of your ham bone, then add the onions and ham bone to the crock pot.  In the same frying pan, cook your minced garlic for one minute, then add to the crock pot.  Add your bacon to the frying pan and cook it until it is almost crispy, then throw it in the crock pot, too.  Add the beef bouillon cubes, pepper and salt to the crock pot and gently stir it all together.  Cook it on high for 1 hour, then turn it down to low for 5-6 hours.  At the last hour of cooking, remove the ham and bone,discard the bone and shred the ham, and then return the shredded ham to the crock pot.  You may want to cut the bacon into chunks (if you have little kids like I do).  The original recipe called for a couple of different kinds of sausage as well.  I think you can basically add any pork item that you have on hand and you won't go wrong.  I served mine with brown rice, orange slices and a salad, and it was delicious.

Ham & Vegetable Casserole

I've been asked to post some of the recipes that I used to cook.  However, I'm not sure which ones my family liked.  This was a request from your dad, so when I cooked it, I took a picture and decided that I would post it.  This recipe came from one of the ward cookbooks and was submitted by Mary Heaton.

4 cups diced carrots
4 cups diced potatoes
1 onion, diced
4 cups boiling water
1 tsp salt

Cover and cook the above until almost tender (15-20 minutes).  Drain the vegetables and reserve the water to use as follows: 

Add evaported milk (1/2 c to 3/4 c - I just use a small 5 oz can of evaporated milk) to the water you saved from cooking the vegetables.  Make a white sauce using 4 tblsp butter and 4 tblsp of flour and the water/milk mixture.  (To make a white sauce, melt the butter over a medium heat, add the flour and mix, then slowly add your liquid and stir continually until it thickens.)  Add 1/4 lb of shredded cheese to the white sauce and stir.

Put your vegetables in a large bowl and add 2 to 4 cups of diced ham (depending on how much ham you have and how "meaty" you want your casserole).  Pour your cheesy white sauce over the top of the ham and vegetables and gently stir it up. 

Then pour into a rectangular baking dish (don't cover it) and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown.   I used a 10.5 X 14.75 X 2.25 inch, which is a bigger baking dish, but my ingredients completely filled it and left just enough room that it didn't boil over.  This makes a big casserole, so if you have a small family and don't want leftovers, I would split the recipe in half.  We will be eating this for a few days.

Scrambly Hambly

So, it's 5:15, my boys are watching Curious George, and I have about 15 minutes left before it's over and we all melt down if I don't come up with something to eat QUICK.  I searched every label we had for quick, easy, and casserole, knowing that my dear sisters wouldn't let me down in a moment of desparation.  And you didn't.  Except that every single one of those labels took me to the same Creamy Chicken Casserole.  Oh, and I have no chicken.  So, here's something chicken-less, quick, and easy for the desparately hungry.

Scramble some eggs

Fry some ham 

Stick it all between two pieces of buttered toast

(preferably buttered side in)

There you have it.  That will be our dinner tonight, and many nights to come.