Crock Pot Ham

1 8-lb bone in picnic ham (smoked, not honey glazed)
4 cups brown sugar

Discard glaze/ seasoning packet. Scatter 3 cups brown sugar on the bottom of the crock pot. Rub one cup brown sugar on the ham. Turn crock pot on low for 8 hours. Serve.

Hawaiian Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

Recipe from Cooking Light Super Fresh & Simple Meals

1/4 C Pineapple Juice

2 T Ketchup

2 T lower sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp Minced, peeled ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 (6 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 C hot cooked long-grain white rice

1/4 C fresh cilantro

SALSA:

1 red bell pepper; halved lengthwise.

sliced pineapple

1/2 red onion, chopped

Directions:

1. Combine 1st 5 ingredients. Reserve 1/4 C marinade. Place remaining marinade in a zip lock plastic bag. Add chicken to bag. Seal. Chill for 4 hours.

2. Heat a grill pan over med-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove chicken from bag. Discard marinade in bag. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan. Baste with 2T reserved marinade. Cook 6 minutes. Turn chicken over. Baste with 2T reserved marinade. Cook 6 mins (*or until done; until temp reaches 160 degrees).

3. Add pineapple slices & bell pepper halves to grill pan. Cook until browned. Dice. Add chopped red onion.

4. Combine rice, 1/4 tsp salt and cilantro.

5. Serve!

Yields 4-6 servings

Skillet Lasagna

This recipe is from Cook's Illustrated Best 30 minute recipe

1 lb meatloaf mix (1/2 lb ground pork, 1/2 lb 85% lean ground beef- but I use italian seasoned ground turkey meat)

2 cloves garlic minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

6 oz curly edge lasagna noodles (8 noodles, broken into 2-in pieces).

**I use Barilla Campanelle noodles instead

1 (26 oz) jar marinara sauce

2 C water

1/2 C mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 C grated Parmesan Cheese

3/4 C whole milk ricotta cheese (I used part-skim, didn't seem to make a difference)

1/4 C minced fresh basil

Directions:

1. Cook meat in skillet over high heat, breaking into pieces until fat renders, about 3-5 mins. Drain meat and return to skillet.

2. Stir in garlic, pepper flakes and 1/2 tsp salt and cook over med-high heat until fragrant, about 30 secs.

3. Sprinkle broken noodles into skillet, then pour marinara sauce & water over top. Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain vigorous simmer, until noodles are tender, about 20 mins.

4. Off heat, stir in half of mozzarella & half of parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Dot heaping tablespoons of ricotta over noodles, then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella & parmesan. Cover and let stand off heat until cheese melts, about 3-5 mins.

5. Sprinkle with basil and serve!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust from Eat.Drink.Smile

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Serves 2; Adapted from this bulletin board.


Ingredients:

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
olive oil (optional)

pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your choice of toppings*


Directions:

To "Rice" the Cauliflower:
Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes. There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself.

One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

To Make the Pizza Crust:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).

Enjoy!

P.S. It's actually good. Even Natalie ate it!

Sweet Potato Waffles from Food.com

1 cup whole wheat flour (if you have it. If not, use regular flour)
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon clove
2 eggs , seperated
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 cup pureed cooked sweet potato
3 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Directions:
1In large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and spices. 2In seperate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, milk, sweet potato, oil and orange rind. 3Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients, stir together until just moistened. 4In a bowl with electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; add sugar, beat until stiff peaks form. 5Fold into batter; pour batter onto a heated nonstick lightly greased waffle iron. 6Cook until golden brown until waffle iron stops steaming, about 5 minutes. 7Yield 12 waffles. 8NOTE: These waffles freeze well; After freezing, just microwave them for about 30 seconds and pop them briefly into the toaster.