Honey Ham Biscuit Sliders

I've been trying to teach my 14-year-old daughter to cook by having her help me make dinner every night. After a few years of this, I decided to have her cook one meal a week all by herself. So far, she's been doing great and learning important new things every week, like how to manage her time, how to make substitutions on the fly, and how to avoid setting the kitchen on fire! She's become quite adventurous and will sometimes tackle recipes that would scare away the average home cook.

Of course, I think it's great when she can create an amazing gourmet meal, but I also want her to learn some simple recipes that she can make when she goes to college or moves out on her own and doesn't have the time for anything grand. Too many people rely on the drive-thru when they need a quick meal because they don't have a collection of quick and easy recipes they can make instead. This came together in just a few minutes, used ingredients we almost always have on hand, and everybody thought it was yummy, so I can definitely see it on her monthly rotation from now on.

Honey Ham Biscuit Sliders
Prep time 5 min  Bake time: 15 min

Serves 5

1 can biscuits (10 count)
1/2 lb deli ham, shaved
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 cup honey mustard dressing
1 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly spray a 9-inch pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.

Separate each biscuit into two layers. Spread each layer with honey mustard and top with Swiss cheese. Place half of the biscuits, cheese side up, in the bottom of prepared pan. Top with ham. Top ham with remaining biscuits, cheese side down. Brush biscuit tops with melted butter.

Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Heat honey in microwave for 20 seconds. Brush biscuit tops with warm honey. Serve immediately. 

293 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

The Perfect Party Piece

The holidays are over and this busy momma couldn't be happier!  I haven't even had time to blog in weeks!  Sorry if you missed me! = )  I definitely find the holidays more stressful than nostalgic, so why on earth did I plan a New Year's Eve party on top of everything else I had going on?  I really don't know the answer to that other than, when I planned it, the chaos of Christmas was just a vague and distant memory from holidays past.  When the day of the party arrived, though, I was tired of people, tired of parties, and tired of the holidays in general.  Fortunately, I at least had the foresight to plan party foods that were quick, simple, and still spectacular.  Parties call for finger food, and that can be terribly time-consuming, making all those individual bites of food, but this recipe makes a ton of servings, and they're a little larger than your average appetizer, so they go a long way towards feeding a hungry crowd.  Plus, they're chewy, crunchy, meaty, cheesy, and satisfying all at the same time, so you don't have to have a lot of other hors d'oeuvres to round out your buffet.  As it turned out, the party was a lot of fun, very little stress, and a great way to round out the holidays, thanks in no small party to this fabulous party bread!

Party Bread
Prep time: 15 min  Bake time: 20 min
Serves 15

1 loaf French bread
4 oz deli ham, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, diced
1/3 cup yogurt
1/2 stick melted butter
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 cup chives, minced
salt and pepper, to taste 

Slice bread into 1/2 inch thick slices (1 got 15 out of mine.)  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and top with sliced bread.

In a large bowl, stir together yogurt, butter and sour cream.  Add ham, garlic, onion, paprika, salt and pepper,1 cup of the cheese and half the chives.  Spread generously on top of bread slices, then sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown and melted.  Top with remaining chives and serve warm.

95 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Cherry Pineapple Glazed Ham Steak

One of our local radio stations started playing Christmas music today.  Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas music, but we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet!  I am definitely not ready for Christmas.  To be honest, I don't really like Christmas.  Thank you, Jesus, for the miracle of Christmas, but the modern holiday I could do without.

To me, Christmas is nothing but stress: finding gifts for impossible-to-buy-for people, cooking a ton of food and then feeling guilty about eating it, traveling hours and hours to the arctic tundra of Indiana to visit family, untangling dozens of strands of lights only to have them quit working as soon as I hang them up, and pulling half-digested tinsel out of the cat's butt (yes, I really have had to do that, on multiple occasions!)  One of these years, I'm going to ignore societal expectations and spend Christmas all by myself on a sunny beach. But, alas, not this year.

Despite the eater's remorse I always feel, the best part about Christmas is definitely the food.  The cut-out cookies I make every year with my mom, the peanut butter buckeyes I make "for my dad," the yule log that's basically a gigantic Swiss cake roll. Okay, clearly I favor the desserts of the season, but how about that glazed ham?

You know, the one covered in pineapple rings and studded with cherries? Now that's a great combination.  Did you ever notice how it never tastes quite as wonderful as it looks, though?  That's because the ham to glaze ratio is off!  You take this huge hunk of meat and put fruit and glaze only on the outside, so each slice gets only a microscopic amount of the good stuff!  In a perfect world, every bite would be slathered in that fruity sauce.  Well, this recipe gives you just that, without the stress of the holiday season.  Whether or not you share it with those relatives you'd rather avoid is totally up to you!

Cherry Pineapple Glazed Ham Steak

Total time: 15 min
Serves 4

1.5 lb ham steak (I use thick cut, fully cooked)
2 Tbs butter
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks (or tidbits, drained)
4 oz maraschino cherries (in juice)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves


Melt butter in a large skillet and add pineapple. Sauté till nicely browned.  Add cherries, sugar, and spices and stir till sauce starts to thicken, about 2 minutes at medium heat.

Remove fruit from pan, leaving glaze, and add ham steak. If using one very large ham steak, I like to cut it into single serving sizes before cooking. Sauté until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Serve topped with fruit and drizzled with glaze.


463 calories per serving. Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Roll Me Out the Door Roll-ups

If you are a big fan of health food, you might as well quit reading this post right now.  Opposed to processed meats and prepackaged convenience foods?  Turn away quickly.  Vegan?  Run screaming in terror.  This recipe is pure, unadulterated junk food.  Perfect, greasy, cheesy, meaty deliciousness.  And some days, that exactly what I want.  I think this recipe was supposed to be an appetizer, divided into 12 small servings, but I served it as a main dish cut into only 5 pieces and still wanted more.  Definitely not my best diet day, but it sure tasted good.  If it hadn't been for my extreme self control, you'd be rolling me out the door right about now.  That, and I had to share with the rest of my equally desirous family.  Next time, I'm making 2.

Club Roll-ups
link to original recipe
Prep time: 15 min  Bake time: 25 min
Serves 5

1/2 lb bacon
1 (11-oz.) can Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crusty French Loaf
4 oz shredded sharp Cheddar or Swiss
2 oz thinly sliced cooked deli turkey 
2 oz thinly sliced cooked deli ham

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towel; crumble.

Meanwhile, unroll dough and sprinkle with cheese. Top with turkey, ham and bacon. Starting with long side, roll up dough; press edges to seal. Make 3 to 4 slits in top of loaf. Place on sprayed cookie sheet.

Bake at 350°F. for 23 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes.

509 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list! 

A Better Bagel Bite

Have you ever bought those frozen bagel bites before?  Every time I see them in the store, the picture on the front of the box looks so yummy I can't resist them.  Unfortunately, they don't taste nearly as scrumptious as they look.  Plus, they want like $4 for only a dozen or so bites!  Outrageous.  Especially when I can make them myself in practically no time at all and they taste awesome!

You can make this with mini bagels if you want them as a snack or appetizer, but I like to make them with regular size bagels and serve them for dinner.  Add a veggie or salad and you've got a super quick meal that everybody likes.  Cheesy, chewy, bacony - perfection!  You can also make a pizza version of this by subbing pizza sauce for the mayo and using your favorite pizza toppings.  Yumm-o!

Ham & Cheese Bagel Bites
Prep time: 10 min  Cook time:5 min
Serves 4

1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
1/2 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 bacon strips, cooked and diced
3 bagels, halved (or 8 minis)

Combine cheese, ham, mayo, and bacon.  Spread evenly over cut side of bagels.  Place on ungreased baking sheet and broil till lightly browned and bubbly.

604 calories per serving.  Click here for nutritional info and shopping list!

Releasing my Inner Dweeb!

So, the first time I heard of blogging I thought, "Well, that's for dweebs!"  Then a few of my non-dweeby friends started blogs and I thought, "Well, maybe blogging is okay, if you're into that sort of thing."  Then I joined Pinterest and started discovering how just about every good pin I found came from somebody's blog and I thought, "Well, I guess blogging is all the rage now, but you have to really think you're somebody special to expect people to 'follow' you just because you start a blog." And THEN I got asked for one of my favorite recipes for like the hundredth time and I thought, "Maybe I should just start a blog so I can share all these great things with everybody who wants them!"  So, I guess I owe all you blogging dweebs out there an apology.  And maybe a really good recipe to convince you to follow my blog.
 
My 13-year-old daughter likes to complain that I give WAY too many details (although, personally, I think I give just the right amount of details to keep the story nice and juicy) but I will take her admonishment to heart and promise not to be one of those annoying bloggers who thinks every post should include a five paragraph soliloquy on the highlights of my day.  This blog is about recipes, and maybe just a few juicy details to whet your appetite.  I won't promise to blog every day--I do have a life, ya know!  But when I find a great recipe, I promise I'll share it.

I thought long and hard about what should be the first recipe I post, but it's getting late and I'm hungry, so just about everything sounds fabulous right now.  So instead of trying to post the very best recipe I know or something incredibly impressive to start this blog out right, I think I'll just start from today and share what we had for dinner tonight, cuz it's a keeper.  Hope ya like it!

Sassy Tailgate Sandwiches
Prep time: 15 min  Wait time: 20 min  Bake time: 20 min
Serves 12

1 (12 count) package Hawaiian bread rolls
1 lb shaved Black Forest ham
12 slices Gruyere cheese (or provolone)
1/2 cup chive & onion cream cheese spread
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Tbs dried minced onion
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cut all rolls in half. Place roll bottoms in 9x13-inch pan.

Place equal amounts of ham on each roll bottom. Top with cheese.

On the cut side of each roll, spread a generous amount of the cream cheese spread. Return the tops to the bottoms making sandwiches.

In a separate bowl, mix together the butter, Worcestershire sauce, onion and Parmesan cheese. Pour over your sandwiches and let sit for at least 20 minutes. (You can make these ahead of time and allow to sit in fridge overnight.)

Place sandwiches, covered in foil, in a preheated 350 degrees F oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until warmed through.

262 calories per slider. Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!