Honey Baked Ham Recipe

A stunning Honey Baked Ham is a classic holiday centerpiece that is an easy recipe to make at home. It is a real crowd pleaser with a sweet, crispy brown sugar ham glaze atop the juicy, spiral sliced ham and a ham gravy that will have you reaching for a straw! It is that good!

Bacon & Cheese Omelet with Queso Blanco Sauce

THIS is a great way to start the day! It will fill you up for hours!! It is full of protein and low in carbs, so if you are cutting out the carbs for the new year, this is a great go-to meal anytime of day!  If you don't want to bother with the bacon, you can easily sub in ham, which is what I usually do simply because I can be a little lazy when making breakfast...especially on a weekday!

I'm not the best omelet maker. I have no idea why my omelets are less than stellar, but they do not measure up to Madison's omelets. I've watched her and know exactly how she works, but mine are still inferior looking.  They taste almost as good though, so that is what counts!

Make the queso blanco up ahead of time. I recommend making a 1/2 batch, but you won't be disappointed if you make a full batch and freeze some of it. I have it on good authority that it thaws and reheats perfectly! This stuff really does take an omelet to a whole new level. I've even made just a plain omelet and poured some queso over it - yummmmm. 

Ingredients (serves 1)

1 slice of thick cut bacon (or a slice of Virginia Baked Ham)

2 large eggs

splash of milk

a couple tablespoons cheddar cheese (or your favorite cheese. I like to use a slice of American sometimes)

Queso Blanco 

Directions

Heat a non-stick skillet (about 9" skillet) over mid-high heat and cook 1 slice of bacon until desired doneness.  While bacon is cooking, beat 2 eggs and the splash of milk (about 1/2 tablespoon) until well mixed. Remove bacon to a plate, blot dry, and cut into pieces. Drain off fat from pan and reduce heat to medium. Pour beaten eggs into skillet, sprinkle with bacon pieces (or ham), and let sit until it starts to set. Once the sides start to cook you can push them in towards the middle and let the uncooked part drain to the edges. Keep doing this until most of the egg mixture is set. If you want to speed up this process you can cover the skillet.  Meantime, get  your cheese ready and heat the queso in a microwave. Once the egg is cooked, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with cheese and fold in half. Slide the omelet onto a serving plate and drizzle with queso. Enjoy!

Eggs Benedict Breakfast Pizza

Our family has a tradition of celebrating Christmas together on Christmas Eve at the in-law's house. However, they are in the middle of packing up for a move, so we all got together for a holiday brunch at my house on Christmas Day.

Madison made her famous Angle Food Cake French Toast, and it was AMAZING as usual! I made this Eggs Benedict Breakfast Pizza. It was a huge hit! It disappeared quickly! I didn't have any left over to get a photo, so I decided to make it again but in a smaller version

We had it for dinner, and there were 2 1/2 pieces leftover - perfect!  Or so I thought...  The next morning, when I went to fetch it from the fridge to get it ready for its close-up, this is what I found...

REALLY, Don???  haha  He was up very early for work... I guess he couldn't resist having it for breakfast and figured this would suffice for the photo shoot!  NOT!!!  It is really delish - I can't even be upset with him, but shhhhhh! don't tell him that....

Luckily I had everything I needed to make it ONE MORE TIME!  and Don was at work, so it was safe from his hungry belly!

TIP:  A deep dish pizza pan with holes in the bottom keeps the crust from getting soggy. this one is similar to the one I have and it works great!

Ingredients

12 eggs

1 tablespoon butter

2 (8 ounce) cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

1 (.9 ounce) package Hollandaise Sauce Mix

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

3 slices Virginia Baked Ham - sliced into short thin strips

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (I used a 4 cheese Mexican blend because it is what I had on hand - it was really good with this)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray a 12" deep dish pizza pan. Unroll crescent dough and place rolls in pizza pan with points toward the center, overlapping as necessary. Press to seal all seams and make sure dough is evenly distributed throughout pan and up sides. Bake crust in preheated oven until lightly browned all over - about 7-10 minutes.
• Crack eggs into a cold saucepan and add 1 tablespoon butter. Whisk over medium heat until well beat then use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir until scrambled to desired doneness. Remove from heat an salt and pepper to taste.
• Prepare Hollandaise sauce according to package directions using 2/3 cup milk and 1/4 cup butter.  Pour evenly over baked crescent roll crust. Spread scrambled eggs evenly over sauce and top with ham and cheese. If you prefer a homemade hollandaise sauce give this one a try: allrecipes.com Blender Hollandaise Sauce  I always add 1/2 lemon and taste and then add little at a time to reach desired taste.
• Bake in preheated oven about 15-20 minutes or until crust is nicely browned. Let rest about 10 minutes before slicing.

To make this in a smaller version just 1/2 all the ingredients and bake it in a 9" pie plate -easy peasy!

Don suggested using the Queso Blanco Dip in place of the Hollandaise Sauce for this recipe. I think that would be amazing and will definitely do that...someday!

recipe adapted from allrecipes.com Eggs Benedict Breakfast Pizza

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com Chicken Cordon Bleu II

This is a wonderful recipe!! Whenever boneless, skinless chicken breasts go on sale I buy some up just for this recipe!  I do not normally like cooking with boneless skinless chicken breasts simply because they typically turn out dry and tasteless. Of course they do - someone has taken away exactly what gives them flavor - the bones and the skin!  However, this recipe cannot be made with chicken on the bone, but don't despair it is juicy and flavorful because of the ham, cheese, and deliciously wonderful wine sauce! You'll want to have plenty of bread for dipping in this sauce - let me tell you - it is so good!

Prior to trying this recipe, I had never made Chicken Cordon Bleu in a saucepan; I had always made it in the oven, which is something I will NEVER do again.  So don't be afraid to try this - I am sure you will agree that this is a genius way of making such a wonderfully impressive dish!

I like to serve this with Orzo Spinach and Parmesan Pasta, but it would be equally delicious with Sauteed Garlic Spinach on Mashed Potatoes! The sauce from this recipe and the mashed potatoes - yummmm. Now my  mouth is watering....

 I changed some of the ingredients just a bit:

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 4 cubes Swiss cheese (or your favorite cheese.)
• 4 slices ham
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon chicken base
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

Pound chicken breasts to have a large breast that will be easy to roll. I get a large sheet of parchment paper and fold it in half. I put a chicken breast in between the 2 halves so there is parchment on top and on the bottom of the chicken breast, and then I pound thin. Not too thin so as the chicken starts to fall apart. You just want to make it a good roll-able size. I like to pound all the chicken out first and let it dry out a bit. It just makes it easier with which to work (IMO). 
Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. NOTE: For the cheese I like to use a block of cheese (such as the cracker barrel cheeses), so I can cut about a 1/2 inch thick slice - that way it doesn't melt too quickly and melt out of the chicken. Roll the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika with about a 1/2 teaspoon salt and a 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl; coat the chicken pieces.
Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and chicken base. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until center reaches 160 degrees F (use an instant read thermometer).
Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. It should thicken pretty quickly. Serve warm.