Category: Holiday Good Eats

Posted in - Pork, Holiday Good Eats

In Honor of Easter: Crockpot Spiral Cut Honey Ham

Posted on by Northerly Nosh

Slow Cooker Honey Baked Ham

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Adapted from Six Sister’s Stuff

7-10 lb spiral ham
2 Tablespoons Spicy Brown Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Prep Day: Combine sugar, honey, nutmeg, cinnamon, and mustard in a freezer bag. Place in a 2 gallon freezer bag with wrapped ham. Freeze.

Serve Day: Spray your crock pot with non-stick cooking spray (if you have a slow cooker liner, I suggest using it- it will make clean-up a breeze!). Place ham in the crock pot.

Combine sugar, honey, nutmeg, cinnamon, and mustard in a sauce pan on medium heat. Let cook for 2-5 minutes (until ingredients melt and combine) and whisk thoroughly. Remove from heat.
Pour water in the bottom of the crock pot. Pour honey/brown sugar mixture over the ham.

If the lid does not fit over your ham, you can make a tin foil tent (8 lb ham and bigger doesn’t fit in my 6 quart slow cooker).

Use two sheets of tin foil that were each about 12″ long. I tucked the ends all around the edges of the crock pot and then gathered them together in the middle and folded the ends down.

To keep the heat in even more, I placed a towel over the top of my tin foil tent. It worked perfectly!

Cook the ham on low for 6-8 hours. Baste the ham with the juices in the bottom of the slow cooker once every hour (if you want, you can even turn the ham every hour to make sure that all sides are getting cooked in the honey mixture, but after about the third hour, my ham was too tender and just fell apart).

Once your ham is done, remove it from your slow cooker. Pour the juices in the bottom of your slow cooker into a medium saucepan. Mix together 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch with 1 Tablespoon of water and pour into the saucepan. Cook on medium heat until it starts to thicken. Use that as a glaze over the ham or even as a gravy for potatoes.

Even if you don’t have a slow cooker, you can still bake this ham in your oven. Once again, make a tent with aluminum foil and bake 15 to 20 minutes per pound at 350 degrees. Baste the ham once every thirty minutes.

Posted in - Pork, - Poultry, Budget Friendly, Holiday Good Eats

Frugal Fridays: Cajun Jambalaya

Posted on by Northerly Nosh

In honor of Mardi Gras season enjoy this lovely yummy Smoked Sausage Jambalaya recipe!

Cajun Jambalaya

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Serves 8

4 big yellow onions chopped fine – $1.75
about 8 cups water – free
4 cups rice – $1.99
1 bell pepper, chopped – $1.39
2-3 banana peppers, chopped (optional if you want a hot jambalaya) – $.80
3-5 crushed garlic cloves – $.40
2 bundles green onions, chopped – $1.50
About 1lb. smoked andouille sausage, chopped – $4.99
3 large chicken breasts, cut up – $4.00
salt, pepper, red pepper, onion powder – $.15

Total – $16.97
Per Serving – $2.12

Prep Day: Brown your sausage and chicken and put them on the side. Cook down the yellow onions & garlic constantly stirring (add a little water if necessary so it doesn’t get dry in the bottom of the pot) careful not to burn. Place cooled meat and onion garlic mixture in quart sized freezer bag. Place chopped peppers and green onions in another small freezer bag. Place rice in another freezer bag. Label a gallon freezer bag, place all small freezer bags in it, and freeze. Make a pantry bag of these seasonings salt, pepper, red pepper, onion powder.

Serve Day: Put sautéed meat mix in a stock pot. Then add your water (add enough water to cover everything). Season to taste and cook everything until your meat is good and tender. About 15 minutes before you’re going to add your rice put in the peppers and green onions. Add rice and bring to simmer for 15 around minutes or until the rice looks to be getting cooked. Take a big spoon and turn the rice over once(you only want to bring the bottom to the top). Leave over low heat until your water is all out and the rice is tender. You’ll have your Jambalaya. Serve it with french bread and a salad.

Posted in Dessert, Holiday Good Eats

In Honor of Valentines Day: Frozen Meringue Cake

Posted on by Northerly Nosh

Frozen Meringue Cake

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4 large egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup superfine baker’s sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cream:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (6 ounces)

Syrup:
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (6 ounces)
1 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup fresh raspberries, for garnish, optional

Special equipment: One piping bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch tip

Prep Day –

For the meringue: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a pencil, trace two 8-inch-diameter circles, side-by-side, on the parchment paper.

Beat the egg whites until fluffy in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Gradually add the superfine sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, with the machine running on medium-low speed, until the mixture holds soft peaks. Beat in the cream of tartar and salt. Increase the speed to high and beat until the mixture is thick and holds stiff peaks, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Place the meringue in the piping bag. Pipe the meringue into two 8-inch circles on the prepared baking sheet using the traced circles as a guide. Bake until crisp, 2 hours. Turn off the oven and allow the meringues to cool completely while still in the oven, about 2 hours.

For the cream: Beat the cream on high speed until thick using an electric hand mixer. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Continue to beat on high speed until the cream holds stiff peaks. Add the raspberries and beat until incorporated into the cream.

Spread one-third of the cream over each meringue circle. Place 1 circle on top of the other to create 2 layers. Spread the remaining cream on the sides of the cake. Garnish with fresh raspberries if using, and freeze the cake until firm, 3 hours.

For the syrup: Mix the raspberries, vinegar and maple syrup in a small saucepan. Lightly mash the raspberries using a fork. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until thick, 25 to 30 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and allow to cool.

Serve Day – Allow the cake to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Cut the cake into wedges and place on serving plates. Drizzle with the syrup and serve.