Ahhhh….a Holiday Ham (what a special treat for Christmas/Easter!) ! I just love making a ham because it is super easy, looks beautiful, and the leftovers can be made into so many things (ham salad, omelets, ham sandwiches, etc). If you have been asked to host Christmas this year and are intimidated by making a ham, please let me ease your mind..it really is one of the simplest meats you can prepare! There is a small trick I use to make the of ham less salty and more sweet..I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!
~Janelle
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| I purchased a half ham (this would serve about 10-12) |
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| Start off by slicing the ham 1/4″ through diagonally one way and diagonally the other way to create a diamond pattern. |
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| In a small bowl mix 1 cup of brown sugar with 2 tsp of cinnamon-set aside. |
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| Place ham in a roasting pan and pour 1 liter of lemon-lime soda over top (this is a trick I learned that mellows the naturally salty flavor of the ham) |
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| Then, pat the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture all over the ham trying to get into the slices as much as you can (this will not be perfect) |
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| Bake in the oven uncovered for 40 mins and take out. (as you can see the slices opened a bit) |
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| Drain the juice of 1 can of pineapple rings into a small bowl and mix in 1 cup of brown sugar |
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| Pour over ham |
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| Sick a cherry in the center of a diamond and hold in place with a tooth pick, then add a ring of pineapple around it..cover the top and the sides of the ham in this way |
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| Bake covered for 1 1/2 hours. Every 20 mins or so ladle the juice mixture over top. |
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| Ready to be carved. Take off the pineapple and cherries and set aside on your serving dish (they are a great accompaniment). |
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| Dinner time! |
Christmas Ham
1/2 boneless ham
1 liter of lemon-lime soda
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 can pineapple rings and juice
1 jar of cherries
toothpicks
Preheat oven to 400. Slice diamonds into ham and place in a roasting pan. Pour 1 liter of lemon-lime soda over top of ham. Mix 1 cup of brown sugar with 2 tsp of cinnamon and cover ham with this mixture. Bake uncovered for 40 mins and take out of oven. Open can of pineapple and pour juices out and stir with 1 cup of brown sugar, pour this mixture over ham. Stick a cherry into center of diamond fasten with a toothpick, place pineapple rings around cherry and toothpick, cover ham this way. Bake covered for 1 1/2 hours more remembering to ladle with juice from the bottom of roaster. Let sit for 15 mins before carving. Carve and serve along side of roasted pineapple and cherries
Enjoy!
~Janelle
I am participating in Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays @ At the Well, and Tasty Tuesdays @ Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. To see more recipe ideas, please visit these lovely ladies sites!
This is sooooo much better than just throwing a ham into the oven at 350 like I do. I've always loved a good ham, but had no idea how to do it! I need you to move in here–stat!
AND I love the photo!!!
Darlene, I just love you 🙂 Sometimes I wonder…"why do I take pictures of silly ole me cooking?", then you offer me encouragement! This ham is the bomb..even if you only added the pop (that is what we call it-I had to call it lemon lime soda for anyone to know what I was talking about, lol) it would make the ham sweeter/less salty!
thanks for putting my blog button thingy on your sidebar! YOU ROCK, GIRLFRIEND!
And now I must go work out, because I visited your website!
hug!
Gina, I posted you on my FB page and had 4 friends comment on how much they enjoyed visiting your blog 🙂 They said they had some pretty good laughs!!! I really enjoyed it too! Thanks for sharing God's love!
Hi Janelle, got your link through courtney's livingwell blog for today. I want to thank you for this recipe. My family have done ham pretty much this way all our lives… its traditional where I come from. My husband, however, needs to cut his sodium intake due to high blood pressure, so thank you thank you for this tip on mellowing the sodium. I'll certainly be visiting you again.. I love being in the kitchen too! God Bless you. Lisa
This recipes looks and sounds delicious! I'm trying it for our Christmas ham this year. I'm going to be making dinner for my family of 4 on Christmas Eve but I need dishes that can be prepared ahead of time and then warmed up quickly and easily later that night since we'll be attending our church's 5:00 family service on Christmas Eve. Any good side dish suggestions?
Oh, by the way, I made your soft sugar cookies for a family get together this past weekend and my husband said they were better than any other sugar cookie I had made. Thanks for sharing all these wonderful recipes!
Tiffany…I would make mashed potatoes (easy to warm up..just add a little milk if firm up) peel, quarter, and boil 8 potatoes until tender-place in a bowl and beat with mixer-add 1/2 cup butter and salt and pepper, beat again..then slowly add milk to your liking about 1/4 cup. and beat until smooth..place in a covered dish and refrigerate. Add corn and a side salad and you will be good to go! I suggest getting the "brown and serve" rolls in the bread aisle for a home baked taste in 5 mins..For dessert, make it easy on yourself and do a box brownie mix in an 8×8 with chocolate frosting and Christmas sprinkles. SO glad you enjoyed the sugar cookies!!!! Merry Christmas to you Tiffany!!!!
@ Lisa…you are so welcome!!!! Merry Christmas!
WOW thank you so much!! I needed a ham recipe as I had no idea how to make one!
No problem! Merry Christmas Kathryn!
I’m calling this one an Easter Ham too! Yum!