The best ham ever. Crock pot too!

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• Harvey Ham Sandwiches
• (from allrecipes.com)
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• 1 (6 pound) bone-in ham
• 1 (8 ounce) jar yellow mustard
• 1 pound brown sugar (I probably used about half of this- just add to taste!)
• 24 dinner rolls, split

Directions

1. Place the ham in a large pot or slow cooker, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 8 to 10 hours. Remove the meat from the water, and allow to cool. If it has cooked long enough, it will fall into pieces as you pick it up.
2. Pull the ham apart into shreds once it is cool enough to handle. It doesn't have to be tiny shreds. Place the shredded ham into a slow cooker. Stir in the mustard and brown sugar, cover, and set to Low. Cook just until heated. Serve on dinner rolls. We don't use any other sandwich toppings with it, but that is a personal choice.
   

Yum.  This was awesome ham, I promise.  Eat it plain is divine, in rolls is wonderful...as a snack great...you can't go wrong.  The mustard is muted, even though that sounds like a lot of mustard.  If you're scared, just add half of the mustard called for and taste as you go.  Try this ham, you will not be disappointed!

Over cheeseball season?

The Best Cheeseball
(from melskitchencafe.com)

*Makes 4 cheeseballs

• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
• 1 cup pecans, finely chopped for rolling

Place finely chopped pecans in a shallow dish and set aside. In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), mix the cream cheese until smooth. Add the cheddar cheese and mix until just combined. Lightly sprinkle all the seasonings and sauces over the cheese mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.

With lightly greased hands, portion the cheese mixture into four pieces and roll each section into a round ball. Coat in pecans. The easiest way to do this is to hold the cheeseball in one hand and scoop up the pecans and press them onto the cheeseball with the other, turning the cheeseball as you go and letting the excess pecans fall back into the dish (this also helps the pecans to go a little further). Cover each cheeseball in saran wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

I halved this recipe.  It was easy to make and delicious.  

A great snack treat- Caramel Corn Puffs!

Caramel Corn Puffs

1/2 bag (the bag was 15 oz) Clover Club Corn Puffs
1 stick butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. light Karo syrup
1 tsp. baking soda

Place corn curls in a large roasting pan or similar pan with sides. In a saucepan cook all ingredients except for baking soda. Stir and cook over medium heat until almost boiling. Add teaspoon of baking soda (mixture will foam!). Pour mixture over the corn curls and stir so all are covered. Place in oven at 250 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, or until crispy. (Mine took 30 minutes!) Stir to prevent bubbling every 10 minutes. To cool, pour onto waxed paper, then break apart. Better than caramel popcorn!

These are melt in your mouth!  Great like popcorn, only without the kernels.  I have never bought these at the store before, but they had natural ingredients, and they were like cheetos without the cheese!  Yummy treat.  Try it.

Oreo Truffles: easy and delicious!

Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened (I used reduced-fat)

1 pkg.  (1 lb. 2 oz.) Oreo cookies, finely crushed (about 4-1/4 cups), divided

chocolate or vanilla bark/melts for melting (I used milk chocolate chips I melted in the microwave at 40 percent power for a minute, stir, watch closely to not cook longer than just barely melted!)

Mix cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until well blended.

Shape into 48 (1-inch) balls with hands or cookie scoop. Freeze for about an hour for easier dipping.  Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs or sprinkles.

Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

These are great!  The cream cheese and oreos combine so well you wouldn't even realize that it is cream cheese.  Truffle-ey and yummy.  Add this to your Christmas candy making!

Another addictive treat..

White Chocolate Gorp
(allrecipes.com)

• 2 pounds white chocolate
• 6 cups Rice Chex ™
• 3 cups toasted oat cereal
• 2 cups thin pretzel sticks (I wanted more to add to the salty-sweet flavor)
  
• 2 cups cashews (I skip)
  
• 1 (12 ounce) package mini candy-coated chocolate pieces

1. Melt chocolate in a large saucepan over low heat or in microwave until just until soft. Stir until melted. Combine all the other ingredients in big roaster pan or bowl. Stir chocolate into mixture. Turn out on waxed paper. Of course anything you like can be added or substituted, but this recipe is a great combination!
2. Combine the crispy rice cereal squares, toasted oat cereal, pretzels, cashews and candy in big roaster pan or bowl. Stir chocolate into mixture. Turn out on waxed paper and let cool.

Make sure to lay these out flat so they don't clump! A very tasty treat. I often just melt a bag of white chocolate chips in the microwave instead of buying white chocolate.

A great Christmas treat or gift

picture from familyfun.com

Oreo Cookie Bark

• 1 (20 ounce) package chocolate sandwich cookies with creme filling
• 2 (18.5 ounce) packages white chocolate

1. Line a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan with waxed paper. Coat paper with non-stick vegetable spray and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, break half of the cookies into fourths with fingers or the back of a wooden spoon.
3. In a microwave safe glass or ceramic mixing bowl, melt one package of the white chocolate according to package directions. Remove from microwave and quickly fold in broken cookie pieces. Pour mixture into prepared pan and spread to cover half the pan.
4. Repeat process with remaining chocolate and cookies, spreading mixture into the other half of pan. Refrigerate until solid, about 1 hour.
5. Remove bark from the pan and carefully peel off waxed paper. Place bark on a large cutting board and cut with a large chef's knife. Store in airtight container.

We gave these as gifts last Christmas and though it takes a little practice to make the pieces look more like art than an odd-looking homemade treat, presentation can help a lot. So put them in Christmas cellophane paper and add a nice ribbon for the finishing touch. It should be a given but the taste is wonderful! Mix it up- mint oreos w/milk chocolate, candy cane cookies (do they make those?) in white or milk chocolate...the possibilities are many!

Mm-mm Sugar Cookies!

Mom's & Grandma's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup margarine or butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 t. lemon extract (or 2 T. lemon zest-so good!)
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 t. baking powder
• 2 t. baking soda
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 cups flour

1. Combine sugar and margarine, creaming until smooth. Add eggs and extracts, stir. Add dry ingredients, alternating with sour cream.
2. Roll out on floured surface. Use cookie cutters for desired shapes.
3. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, don't overbake! Frost when cooled.

These are my favorite sugar cookies! Right up there with Lofthouse. These are soft and have a great flavor that tastes good even without frosting. My mom always added a little orange extract to the frosting (store bought or home-made) for that little extra.