Glazed Ham with Pecan Crust

Looking for the perfect menu to entertain guests this Easter? Holiday meals are known for their classic dishes and these have a delicious twist!  Just wait until you taste this classic Glazed Ham with Pecan Crust – you don’t have to make an extra trip to the ham store. And of course with my sweet tooth I have to include a dessert!  The Tropical Yam Trifle is an incredible finish to your meal and includes the fabulous Louisiana yams.

Glazed Ham with Pecan Crust from Holly Clegg’s trim&TERRIFIC Home Entertaining the Easy Way

No need to buy a honey baked ham at the store with this stunning ham with incredible taste, yet, so simply prepared.

Makes 20 – 25 (5-ounce) servings

1 10-pound fully cooked bone in ham

2 cups apple cider

1 cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.  Insert meat thermometer into center of ham without touching bone.  Place ham in baking dish, pour cider over.
2. Roast in oven, basting with cider every 30 minutes for total cooking time of 12 – 15 minutes per pound or until thermometer registers 140°F.
3. Meanwhile, in bowl, combine brown sugar, mustard and pecans.  Remove ham from oven last 40 minutes, firmly pat sugar pecan mixture all over ham.  Return to oven, continue roasting until crust is brown and ham is done.
4. Slice and serve with sauce.  Some of topping falls into sauce making it the perfect accompaniment to ham.

Nutritional information per serving:

Calories 306, Protein (g) 35, Carbohydrate (g) 12, Fat (g) 13, Calories from fat (%) 38, Saturated Fat (g) 3, Dietary Fiber (g) 1, Cholesterol (mg) 75, Sodium (mg) 1824, Diabetic Exchanges: 5 lean meat, 1 other carbohydrate

Terrific Tip:  Garnish ham with crab apples or pomegranates while in season.

Planning your Easter Meal – Glazed Ham with Pecan Crust

James' first food - Sweet Potatoes!

You know how much I love our Louisiana Sweet Potatoes or yams, as they are the sweetest and most moist variety – so it was only fitting that I had to share this super cute picture with you. Lee is the dietitian who works with me, and I cannot believe her precious little boy, James, is already 6 months old! He had his first food this week and what what is? Sweet Potatoes, and he loved them of course!

James’ First Food – What Else? Sweet Potatoes!

Warm up with this easy to make family favorite.  Beginning with ground sirloin and just adding convenience items, the kids will gravitate to the burger style soup.  Packed with an abundance of flavors and ingredients, this chunky soup has chili characteristics, being hearty and satisfying.  The Louisiana yams add a natural sweetness contrasting with the southwestern seasonings.  Thumbs up!

My new addiction is the Eggnog Spice Bundt Cake which deserves a post of  its own. This sensational cake begins with a spice cake mix with easy ingredients including light eggnog to give it that holiday taste.  When you take a bite of this moist cake with butterscotch and pecans, you melt.

WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE COOKING SEGMENT:  WBRZ Holly December

Southwestern Soup and Eggnog Spice Bundt Cake-Two Winter Favorites

Looking for some easy impressive recipes!  My Meaty Italian Dip (freezes well if any left) is a crowd pleaser that takes minutes, yes minutes, to prepare…if you can open up cans and jars-done.  And if you love that sweet salty combination, wait until you try my three ingredient Sweet Potatoes Wrapped in Proscuitto-make ahead and pop in the oven when ready to serve.  My new book has all easy and quick recipes:  Too Hot in the Kitchen:  Secrets To Sizzle At Any Age–I can’t even decide my favorites….there’s more recipes on my website from Too Hot!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Christmas Cooking Video-Two Favorites-Sweet Potatoes and My Meaty Italian Dip

Kathleen is hiding!

 

Good Day in Dallas

WATCH MY COOKING SEGMENT on Good Day on Fox in Dallas/Ft. Worth.  Finally, it is getting cool outside so I prepared one of my favorite soups featuring the naturally sweet Louisiana Yams, Shrimp, Corn and Sweet Potato Soup.  The other recipes I showed had less than three ingredients, yes, that is true!  Melting in your mouth, Pull Apart Bread made with reduced fat crescent rolls and Chocolate Fudgies described as “chocolate air.”  All the recipes are from my quick, easy new book, Too Hot in the Kitchen: Secrets To Sizzle At Any Age.  Sizzle in your own kitchen with these recipes!

Cooking on Good Day on Fox in Dallas with Louisiana Yams!

Labor Day wouldn’t be complete without barbecue, potato salad and red white and blue.  This Labor Day, I have a new twists to some of your old stand-by favorites.  Try my Southwestern Sweet Potato Salad with rich roasted Louisiana yams, combining Louisiana and southwestern into a colorful explosion of flavors.  Roasting brings out an intense flavor.  Always line the pan with foil for easy clean up!   And, the Berry Good Oatmeal Cookie Cake is perfect for a red, white, and blue dessert-decorate this oversized oatmeal cookie with a citrus cream cheese filling with blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.  These two recipes will be Labor Day favorites that will go with whatever barbecue you throw on the pit.

These recipes are from my new book Too Hot in the Kitchen-if you are someone that enjoys reading cookbooks, wait until you see this one-100 color photographs, quotes, Spicy Advice and new trendy EASY recipes.

Easy Healthy Labor Day Recipes-No Mayo Potato Salad and Red, White and Blue!

Nutty Yam Banana Bread

You guys requested more breakfast items that are weekday friendly so hang in there, I’m working on it. I found my recipe for Banana Yam Bread… and it is delicious! You really won’t believe this as it is diabetic friendly!!!  You can make this bread the night before and have it for breakfast. Cut some fresh fruit up and have it with the bread as well. If you want to induldge, smear a little bit of reduced fat cream cheese on your slice (or even peanut butter if you love peanut butter!). You can also wrap your piece in a damp paper towel and microwave it for a few seconds for a warm moist piece the next morning. Hope you enjoy this one!

Banana Yam Bread from Holly Clegg’s trim&TERRIFIC Diabetic Cooking

16 servings/serving size: 1 slice

1/2 cup mashed bananas (about 1)
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes (Louisiana yams)
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg white
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven 350º F.  Coat 9x5x3-in nonstick loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, mix together bananas, sweet potatoes, brown sugar, oil, vanilla, egg, egg white.  In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon.
3. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture, mixing just until combined. Stir in pecans. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Nutritional information per serving
Calories 137
Protein (g) 3
Carbohydrate (g) 18
Fat (g) 6
Calories from Fat (%) 39
Saturated Fat (g) 1
Dietary Fiber (g) 1
Sugars (g) 7
Cholesterol (mg) 13
Sodium (mg) 94
Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 fat
Terrific Tidbit: One 15-oz can of sweet potatoes= 1 c fresh cooked – or leftover sweet potatoes work fine too.

Banana Yam Quick Bread-Diabetic and Freezer Friendly

Louisiana sweet potatoes and cornbread combine for the ultimate stuffing

Christmas is not far away and I am starting to make my grocery list ahead of time. Traditionally families have cornbread dressing and sweet potato casserole, but I just cannot shy away from this Yam Cornbread Stuffing…why not have the best of both?! What could be better than naturally sweet yams and cornbread team up for a mouthwatering savory stuffing – you will never believe its diabetic-friendly—which is really the healthiest way to eat! For a time-efficient approach, prepare the cornbread and toast the pecans a day ahead.  And you can even purchase premade cornbread for a time-saver. Sweet potatoes are loaded with fiber, vitamins and minerals pack this dish with nutrition. Look for Louisiana yams–the sweetest of sweet potatoes.

Yam Corn Bread Stuffing from trim&TERRIFIC Diabetic Cooking

The combination of fresh sweet yams, cornbread, ginger, and toasty pecans will make this stuffing recipe a new fall favorite.

10 servings/serving size: 3/4 cup

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 cups peeled chopped Louisiana sweet potatoes (yams)

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup sliced celery

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon ground ginger

5 cups crumbled cooked cornbread

1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1/2 cup fat-free low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1. Preheat oven 375°F.

2. In large skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté sweet potatoes, onion, celery 7-10 minutes, or until just tender. Stirring frequently.

3. Spoon mixture into large mixing bowl. Stir in parsley and ginger. Add cornbread and pecans, toss gently to coat. Add broth to moisten.

4. Place stuffing in 3-quart casserole dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, 35-45 minutes, or until heated through. Serve.

Nutritional information per serving

Calories 242, Protein (g) 4, Carbohydrate (g) 36, Fat (g) 9, Calories from Fat (%) 79, Saturated Fat (g) 1, Dietary Fiber (g) 3, Sugars (g) 12, Cholesterol (mg) 6, Sodium (mg) 334, Diabetic Exchanges: 2 1/2 starch, 1 1/2 fat

Terrific Tidbit: Premade cornbread from the bakery department of your supermarket works fine in this recipe. You can prepare this stuffing ahead of time and refrigerate it up to 3 days, then bake it when you’re ready to serve.

Best of Both! Yam Cornbread Stuffing

Watch Holly prepare Crawfish and Sweet Potato Bisque on her November cooking segment on This Week in Louisiana Agriculture.  Here is the recipe for Crawfish and Sweet Potato Bisque

Click here to view the embedded video.

Holly’s trim&TERRIFIC Kitchen on This Week in Louisiana Agriculture

Sweet Potatoes or Yams?

 Tis the season of the yams!  We know our holiday table wouldn’t be complete without a bubbling hot rich sweet potato casserole. Or is it a yam casserole and what is the difference?  Well, a true yam actually is a tuber grown in the tropics, and a true sweet potato is an enlarged root of the sweet potato plant that is starchy when harvested but becomes sweeter after storage.  In the 1930′s, as Louisiana sweet potatoes were shipped to the eastern states, the consumer recognized that Louisiana sweet potatoes were moist, sweet and soft when baked.  Thus, “Louisiana Yams” (yam comes from African word “nyami” means “to eat”) became the trademark of the Louisiana sweet potato distinguishing them as the sweetest and most moist variety. 

 Here’s one of my favorite Louisiana yam recipes that I have no willpower–natural sweetness of yams, tart cranberries and a toasty pecan praline topping.

Sweet Potato Coffee Cake with Praline Topping from Holly Clegg trim&TERRIFIC Freezer Friendly Meals

Versatility and new yam ideas!  This nutritional vegetable packed with antioxidants and fiber adds a natural sweetness to any recipe from soups, stews, casseroles and breads. 

 Terrific Yam Tidbits:

 1 (15-ounce) can sweet potatoes (yams) drained and mashed equals 1 cup.

• 1 medium sweet potato, cooked equals 1 cup mashed
• If a recipe calls for canned sweet potatoes, fresh cooked sweet potatoes may be used.
• Bake sweet potatoes, wrap well, and freeze to pull out for a quick dinner side.
• Sweet potatoes (yams) should not be refrigerated unless cooked.
• Look for Louisiana yams in your grocery!

Sweet Potatoes or Yams?