Honey Baked Ham Recipe

A go-to method for spiral sliced ham. In the past I've hated how I'd always ended up with some dry slices, but not here.

I like Cook's Illustrated's method for spiral sliced ham so I used the same method here and just added different glaze rather than the orange maple one they used.

So many ham recipes (at the same weight) are cooked at 375 degrees for up to 3 hours but why? The ham is already fully cooked, it just needs to be warmed through for serving.

Here the ham is first brought up to room temperature in warm water so it heats more evenly in the oven. From there it's wrapped in an oven bag for faster cooking, and moister end result.

And then finally at the end it's unwrapped and coated with the glaze and heated at a higher temperature to help brown and caramelize it a bit.

It's the perfect protein for a holiday feast!

Serve it with twice baked potatoes and cornbread for a classic meat and potatoes dinner.

Slow Cooker Spiral Sliced Ham

One of best ways to cook a (pre-cooked) ham in a crock pot is to cook it on low, covered with a simple glaze to upgrade it, just until it's heated through.

Here a savory smoked ham roast is generously coated with the perfect autumn inspired glaze. It includes apple juice concentrate, maple syrup, brown sugar and mustard. It lightly sweetens the ham and gives it a welcome extra layer of flavor.

At the end of cooking, you can choose the thickness preferred for the glaze. It will be very runny (more like a broth) so you can choose to thicken those juices from the crockpot with some cornstarch, or just keep it as is and spoon some over the sliced ham for added moisture and seasoning.

This is a recipe that is easy to modify to include other flavors you like or use up ingredients you may have on hand. Here are some ideas:

Possible Substitutes

• Try it with pineapple juice concentrate in place of apple juice concentrate.
• Switch out the spice. We went with ginger because I like it with this blend of ingredients but cloves or even cinnamon can be added.
• You could even use fresh ginger here in place of dried (add a few teaspoons).
• If you don't have real maple syrup try it with honey.
• Dijon Mustard will work for spicy brown mustard. Add more mustard if you want more tangy flavor.

Thanks to the Michigan Cherry Committee for sponsoring this post!

Cold and Refreshing Farro Salad

This is my idea of the best farro salad! Made with an abundance of fresh ingredients, a nice blend of textures and a delicious balance of flavors. It's sure to be the highlight of any meal!

It's savory, sweet, tangy, tart, vibrant, perfectly simple and yet it's a salad you'll remember.

The star of the salad is not only the farro but also the Montmorency dried cherries. You'll love their concentrated, unique, and exciting flavor and chewy texture.

They make for a great snack, a delicious salad topping, and are so tasty mixed into oatmeal or baked goods.

Farro Salad Video

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A few benefits and details about Montmorency Tart Cherries:

• Did you know Michigan Montmorency tart cherries are a natural food source of melatonin? Studies have shown that consumption of tart cherry juice can prevent insomnia and improve the quality and duration of sleep.
• They are a heart healthy fruit. Studies indicate that they may help lower levels of cholesterol and triglycerides and reduce inflammation.
• They may help naturally reduce inflammation related to arthritis and gout.
• You can find them available year round in dried, frozen, canned or juice form.
• By choosing these you are supporting locally American-grown fruit (75% of these cherries are grown in Michigan, the other 25% elsewhere in the U.S.).
• When purchasing your Montmorency cherries, look for “U.S. Grown” or “Product of the U.S.A” to make sure you are getting real U.S. Montmorency tart cherries”
• Imported tart cherries are boxed in shipping containers and may travel more than 5,000 miles before reaching your grocery store. Michigan Montmorency cherries go from a U.S. farm to your local grocery store (See photo referral below for a comparable, the cherries above are Michigan Montmorency while the cherries below are imported).
• They are also available in a sweetened variety which is what I opted to use here since we've already used a tart dressing.

You'll love these deeply colored, juicy jewels as the perfect finishing touch to this full flavored salad!

What is Carne Asada?

Carne Asada is a Mexican dish made with marinated beef (using less expensive cuts of steak such as skirt, flank, tenderloin, or rib) and it's usually cooked on a grill or in a heavy skillet.

Most frequently it's served alone or in tacos but can also be added to many various dishes (see ideas below).

Personally, it's one of my favorite things to order when eating out at Mexican restaurants, but of course I also love to make it at home.

This recipe is the best blend I've come up with, with a little of this and a handful of that. And together it creates one perfectly harmonious blend of flavors. Chef's kiss on this one!

Try these other fruit pizza favorites: Sugar Cookie Fruit Pizzas and Brownie Fruit Pizzas.

In this fruit pizza recipe you get a soft and tender sugar cookie base that's covered with a rich cream cheese topping, and layered with a generous amount of vibrantly flavored fresh fruit.

Then it's finished with a sweet apricot jam which gives the pizza the perfect finishing sheen.

Simply put it's a staple summer recipe! I love to make it at least once every summer and top it with a colorful variety of seasonal fruit.

You just can't go wrong with a cookie topped with a sweet and tangy frosting, lots of tasty fruit and a simple fruit pizza glaze.

And the possibilities of how it can be decorated with creative patterns are endless. Such a fun dessert that everyone will love!

It's truly the perfect accompaniment to roast turkey or roast chicken.

The Best Cranberry Sauce Recipe!

Is there anything like a delicious, made from scratch Thanksgiving or Christmas meal? Chances are most of us have settled for the stuff that comes out of a can or a box, and that's just it, it's settling.

If you've been one of those people that has been settling, I would highly recommend this year you give the homemade alternative to the pre-packaged and processed Thanksgiving foods a try. The two are a night and day difference.

Canned cranberry sauce and homemade cranberry sauce just don't even compare.

One comes in the shape of a can while it's homemade opponent has a spoonable texture and tastes like fresh fruit. And the homemade sauce isn't jelly like, it's perfectly sauce-like, the way it's meant to be.

I look forward to this every year! Try it and you'll never look back, trust me!

Chicken Marinade Recipe with Triple Citrus

Every summer it's all about those chicken marinades right? Because who likes bland and boring chicken without some extra flavor?

This marinade is incredibly easy to make! Don't be intimated by that list of ingredients, you can see in the ingredients photo below it's actually not much and you probably have a lot of what you'll need already.

Thanks to using all that fresh citrus, both juice and zest, you get a deliciously summery marinade you'll want to make time and time again.

You'll love that it's not overwhelming like some of those vinegar based chicken marinades can be. The splash of citrus is a nice welcome touch that always enhances the flavors of chicken.

Another fun way to use this marinade is to make grilled chicken skewers, instead of using whole chicken pieces cut into 1-inch cubes, marinate then thread onto skewers and grill.

Just be sure to plan ahead with this recipe because you'll want to let the chicken soak for at least one hour to absorb that flavor.

The Best Fruit Salad Recipe

I first shared this recipe 5 years ago but it's one of my favorite recipes, so for new readers or in case you missed it I thought it needs to be revisited. Plus I thought this exactly what mom's want on Mother's Day for brunch paired with waffles, crepes or Eggs Benedict!

I know Skittles are good, but I'm thinking this has got to be the right way to get a taste of the rainbow. This blend of colorful fruits all come together to make a gorgeous rainbow, made with healthy ingredients!

Kids will love this this fruit salad and it is an easy way to get them to eat plenty of fruit at once.

Watch the Video!

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A Fruit Salad Dressing without Cream or Pudding

Plus this version is so much butter than those frozen whipped topping fruit salads.

This recipe shows you how to make fruit salad without the heavy, creamy fruit salad dressing that you're used to seeing. It leaves plenty of room for all the flavors of the fruit to shine without drenching it in sugar and other random flavors.

Plus it doesn't use any of those packaged pudding mixes. Why should we coat all the vibrant and incredible flavors of the fruit with an artificial flavor from a pudding mix?

Let's not ruin a good thing like fresh fruit by coating it with packaged ingredients where we can't even pronounce the ingredients on the label.

All it takes is a little honey and lime to really make that fresh fruit sing. 100% natural honey and lime make this fruit salad shine (literally and figuratively).

You get bite-sized pieces of chicken that are fried to golden brown perfection, and they're coated in the most amazing sweet and sticky sauce. Talk about delicious comfort food!

Homemade Orange Chicken

This easy orange chicken recipe is a classic Chinese take-out dish that's super popular here in the U.S.—for good reason. The lightly battered and fried pieces of chicken coated with an irresistible sweet and tangy orange sauce... it's satisfying and delicious.

Everyone in the family will love this recipe! It will likely be one of those recipes that the spouse, kids, friends, parents, etc. request again and again.

The secret is in the sauce. The tangy and sweet orange sauce is really what makes this recipe stand out. It's a delicious blend of fresh orange juice and zest, plus chicken broth, which is healthier than restaurant versions and even more tasty. Then you also get a sweet, salty, and sour blend from the sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar with a fresh finish of flavor from the ginger, garlic, and onion.

Skip the take-out tonight and make this delicious Chinese dish at home! You'll save money from takeout or DoorDash, and save some calories and preservatives from your diet.

Serve my Better Than Takeout Chinese orange chicken with white rice, brown rice, or even cauliflower rice. And be sure to use chopsticks, Chinese food just tastes better when eaten from chopsticks right? :)

Chinese Orange Chicken Ingredients

For the easy orange chicken and the special orange sauce you'll need:

• Chicken breasts
• Chicken broth
• Orange juice and zest
• White vinegar
• Soy sauce
• Granulated sugar
• Dried ginger
• Yellow onion
• Garlic
• Sriracha
• Pepper
• Cornstarch
• Water
• Eggs
• Vegetable or peanut oil, for frying
• Green onions and sesame seeds, for garnish

How to Make Better Than Takeout Orange Chicken

• To make this homemade orange chicken, you marinate chicken pieces in a simple orange chicken sauce, while setting aside 1/3 of the sauce and thickening it for coating at the end.
• Then you dredge the marinated chicken pieces in eggs followed by cornstarch and fry in hot oil until they're perfectly golden brown and crisp.
• And you finish by coating them in that truly irresistible orange sauce.

It may take a few steps to make Chinese orange chicken, but after one bite you'll realize it was most definitely worth it!

Can I Use Honey Instead of Sugar?

To make it just a tad healthier you could try swapping out half of the sugar with honey for another delicious option. I just don't recommend using all honey or the flavor will be too strong.

How to Reheat Orange Chicken

If you have leftover orange chicken, don't reheat it in the microwave. The chicken can become rubbery.

Instead, reheat the Chinese orange chicken in a skillet with a drizzle of vegetable oil. You want to warm it over medium heat and stir every once in a while to heat it evenly throughout.

An air fryer can also be used to reheat orange chicken, just toss every few minutes and remove the pieces before they crisp up too much.

Tips for the Best Orange Chicken

• Fry the chicken in batches to prevent the oil temperature from dropping. The oil needs to stay hot enough to fry the chicken properly.
• Freshly squeezed orange juice is key in this recipe. The bottled stuff doesn't compare!
• I like to garnish my homemade orange chicken with sesame seeds and chopped green onions. It adds a pop of fresh flavor and nice texture.

More Easy Chinese Chicken Recipes You'll Love:

• Lighter Orange Chicken
• Cashew Chicken
• Chicken Chow Mein
• General Tso's Chicken
• Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken
• Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry
• Chicken Fried Rice
• Szechuan Chicken Stir-Fry

Shrimp Recipes

Believe it or not I didn't used to like shrimp just a few years ago. I think I finally just had it seasoned in a way that I liked it and it wasn't overcooked and rubbery so things finally clicked, so now I love shrimp and I cook with it all the time. If you are new around here's a list of other shrimp recipes I've shared:

• Shrimp and Aspragus Foil Packs
• Shrimp Boil Skillet or there's the Foil Pack Version
• Garlic Lemon Butter Shrimp
• Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry
• Shrimp and Summer Veggies in Foil
• Quinoa Shrimp "Fried Rice"
• Teriyaki Shrimp and Asparagus
• Greek Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta
• Shrimp and Avocado Taco Salad
• Shrimp and Couscous Foil Packs with Avocado Mango Salsa
• Shrimp Fajitas
• Lemon Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp

And now we have this super tasty Orange Garlic Shrimp to add to that list!

Orange Garlic Shrimp Recipe

This recipe comes from Jessica Gavin's newly released cookbook, Easy Culinary Science for Better Cooking. Jessica is the talented blogger behind JessicaGavin.com, if you aren't already following you definitely should! I couldn't be more in love with this cookbook! Jessica's book is so inviting and each and every photo will leave you hungry for more, the pictures are beautiful!

I love how her degree in culinary science is really the foundation of this book. Jessica guides you through the hows and whys of the recipes which is one of the things that really sets this cookbook apart from others.

It gives you that Cook's Illustrated vibe where you're actually learning about what's happening, along with offering key tips so you can become a better cook.

The book includes lots of entrees, some appetizers and sides as well as and desserts and other baked goods. The emphasis seems to be on Asian, Latin American and Italian recipes which are all cuisines I love.

To give you an idea of recipes in the book there's Chicken Egg Rolls, Pan Roasted Greek Chicken and Vegetables, Pan Seared Rib Eyes with Miso Butter, Crispy Vegetable Fritters, Chicken Carbonara Pasta, Thai Green Curry with Shrimp, Italian Meatballs, Lemon Raspberry Cream Scones, and Nutella Cheesecake Brownies. Doesn't it all sound too good?

If you'd like to read more about the book or to purchase a copy of your own follow this link HERE.