Ham Dinner Slices

3/4 inch thick, cooked ham slices

yellow mustard

brown sugar

Place ham in a single layer in a baking dish. Brush mustard on top and then sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake until warm*

NOTES:

• Super easy and good.
• The original recipe also called for about one cup of milk poured around the ham slices to come halfway up their sides. I did not do this, but did end up with kind of a baked-on mess in the pan all around the ham. I might try the milk thing, but I think it would also work to just line the pan with foil.
• *I baked this for the same amount of time it took for my sweet potato fries to bake. (425 degrees/20 minutes) Since the ham is pre-cooked, it just needs to warm.

SOURCE: Once a Month Cooking

Creamy Icing

1 lb. powdered sugar (3.5-4 cups)

1/2 c white vegetable shortening

5-6 tbls milk or cream

1 tsp vanilla or 1/2 vanilla and 1/2 almond extract

Beat until icing is smooth and slightly stiff.

Source: Joy of Cooking

No-Roll Sugar Cookies

1 c sugar

1 c butter (or margarine, or combination)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 c flour

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp soda

Cream sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Add everything else, mixing well after each addition.

Form into walnut-sized balls. Place on greased cookie sheet (or parchment) and flatten each with the bottom of a sugared glass.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Yield: about 3 dozen

These are the Valentine cookies I bake when I don't have time for cut-out cookies.

Source: "Life Saver" Cookbook (Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers series)

Irish Cream Brownies

BROWNIES:
1 (1 lb. 3.5 oz.) package fudge brownie mix
1/4 Irish cream liqueur
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs

FROSTING:
1/2 c butter, softened
2 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbls Irish cream
2-3 tsp. milk*

GLAZE:
1 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp butter

Mix brownie ingredients and bake according to directions. (Do not overbake, of course!) Cool.

Mix frosting ingredients and spread over cooled brownies.

In small saucepan or microwave, melt glaze ingredients and drizzle over frosted brownies. Refrigerate 15 minutes or until firm.

NOTES

• *I skipped the milk in the frosting and used all Irish Cream. I feel this was a good choice!
• The presentation on the photo is pretty lame because I realized after I'd made about two rows of squizzles that the chocolate probably should've cooled a bit before I held it in my bare hand.

Orchard Salad

1 head romaine lettuce
1 head butter/Boston lettuce
1 tart apple, diced
1 pear, diced
3/4 cup craisins or dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 finely chopped red or green onions(optional)
2 batches Apple Vinaigrette (approximately)


Chop lettuces into bite sized pieces, toss with other ingredients, dress to taste.

Yield: 10-12 servings as a salad, 6-8 as an entree with grilled chicken added.

Note: This makes a very nice dinner if tossed with slices of grilled chicken

Apple Vinagrette

This is as close as I can get to copying the dressing from Panera's Fuji Apple Salad

3 T. Apple Juice Concentrate
1 T. White Balsamic Vinegar
1 T. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 T. Garlic Powder
1 T. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
1/3 C. Olive Oil

Blend ingredients together until well mixed.

Yield: ~1/2 cup

Note: If you can find cider concentrate, or Granny Smith juice it would be better, a bit less sweet.

Winter Veggie Soup

12 oz bacon, diced

2 shallots, minced

5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 large* sweet potato, peeled and finely diced

3 carrots, shredded

1 cup frozen broccoli

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 can beef broth

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese*

salt to taste

plain yogurt or sour cream

In a kettle cook bacon and shallots, until the bacon is cooked but not too crispy; remove bacon, shallots and all drippings to a bowl. Place potatoes, sweet potato and carrots in the pot, cover with water and add a bit of salt, place over high heat and cook until the sweet potatoes are very soft. Strain off and reserve about 2/3 of the water, add broccoli, puree vegetables and the broth they're in until nearly smooth; pour back into the pan. Add beef broth, garlic, pepper, the bowl of bacon, shallots and grease, and enough of the reserved broth to reach the desired consistency; place over low heat and warm through. Taste and add salt if needed. Stir in cheddar until melted. Serve with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.

Notes:

*small nerf football sized

*the sharper the better

I'm sure those of you who like celery could add it when cooking the potatoes, it would also be good with a mix of broccoli and cauliflower.