5 Ideas for Leftover Ham

I love Christmas ham. I have no desire to eat ham all year long, but I always look forward to the spiral ham with the brown sugar-maple glaze, and it never lets me down. However, after that delicious Christmas meal, I usually have enough ham leftover to eat for days and days. But I am learning that that's a good thing. There's a lot you can do with leftover ham!

1/2/15 Updated: Additional recipes below!

1. Ham and Broccoli Quiche
Quiches are a genius way to use up leftovers. This recipe belongs to my mother-in-law. But if you're not a broccoli fan, through in ham with spinach or tomato and onion. Use cheddar or if you prefer, swiss cheese. That's the other great thing about quiches--they are so versatile. 

Ingredients:
1 store-bought refrigerated pie crust
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups half and half 
1 1/2 cup cubed cooked ham
1 cup frozen broccoli florets, thawed, drained, and chopped*
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a pie dish with the pie crust.

Bake the empty pie crust for 5 to 8 minutes. (Again, not necessary but helpful)

Place 1 cup of  the cheese, ham, and broccoli in the bottom of your pie crust. Beat the eggs and half and half together in a bowl then our into pie crust. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the egg sets in the center.

*Again, make sure your broccoli is well drained or else your quiche will come out watery and runny. 
ham mustard grilled cheese

2. Loaded Baked Potato with Ham and Cheddar
I just made these the other night and they are delicious. Made in the microwave, they are a quick and easy side dish. And if you're getting tired of leftover ham, these are a good way to use some of it up without making it the main focus of your meal.

Ingredients:
4 russet potatoes, scrubbed
1 cup cooked diced ham
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/3 cup green onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Directions:
Pierce each potatoes on top and bottom with fork. Place on a plate and cook for 5 minutes on high power. Flip potatoes over and cook for another 5 minutes.

Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice in half horizontally. Scoop the flesh out, leaving about 1/4-inch shell. Place the potatoes in a bowl and combine with ham, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, green onion and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the potatoes evenly between the 8 potato skin shells. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Microwave for another 1 to 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Or put under the broiler for 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Ham Grilled Cheese Sandwich
I made this for Eric the day after Christmas. It's a little twist on your traditional ham sandwich. I used cheddar--I'm not a big swiss cheese fan and a think ham and cheddar go together brilliantly. Anyway, he said it was so good, I had to go and make myself one.

Ingredients:
2 slices of sandwich bread
Butter
leftover ham
Cheddar cheese (we use shredded because it melts better)
Dijon mustard

Directions:
Butter one side of each piece of bread. Place ham on the unbuttered side of one piece of bread. Spread on mustard then add cheese. Cook the sandwich on a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat until the bread is a golden brown. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown.

4. Ham and Cheese Omelette
I could eat this omelette every day. 

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 tablespoon milk
Leftover ham, diced
Cheddar cheese, shredded (or swiss, if you prefer)
Green onions, thinly sliced
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a bowl whisk together eggs and milk.

Spray skillet with cooking spray and heat pan over medium-high heat. When pan is hot pour in egg mixture. When the bottom of the egg cooks, flip it over. The ham, cheese, and onions on half of the omelette. When the egg is completely cooked, fold it over, and place omelette on your plate. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Homemade Ham Pizza
So I was going to make this until I realized that I didn't have any pizza sauce, tomato sauce, or even spaghetti sauce in the house. I probably will make it after my next grocery shopping trip. But if you don't feel like making a pizza yourself, you could always add some chopped up ham to your frozen pizza.

Just swap out the pepperoni for ham.

Ingredients:
Crust
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 packet active yeast
1 tablespoon sugar 
1 cup warm water

Toppings
Ham, chopped
Pizza Sauce
Mozzarella, shredded
Any other preferred toppings

Directions:
Place water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast. Add 2 1/2 cups flour, oil, and salt; combine. Add more flour until dough forms a bowl. Knead 5 to 7 times. Roll into a bowl, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or damp cloth. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease pizza stone with cooking spray.

Punch dough and place it on the pizza stone. Work it into a crust with a 12-inch diameter. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from oven and add sauce, cheese, and toppings.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown.

1.2.15 Update!
Ham in an egg salad, who knew how amazing that combination was! Here is the recipe. I had it for lunch two days in a row, so good.

I also used leftover ham to replace the bacon in my Pumpkin Soup with Sage Croutons and Bacon. Delicious! 

My husband fried up some ham (we had a lot leftover) then put barbecue sauce on it. He said it was really good, but I didn't try it.

I'm also thinking about trying a ham taco or a ham quesadilla. 

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Loaded Baked Potatoes with Ham and Cheddar

I needed to use up the potatoes in the pantry before they went bad and decided to make loaded baked potatoes. We didn't have any bacon in the house, but we did have leftover Christmas ham. Oh my god, so good! It was a spiral ham with a brown sugar-maple glaze. The sweetness of the ham just worked with the cheese and green onions. Wow.

Ingredients:
4 russet potatoes, scrubbed
1 cup cooked diced ham
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/3 cup green onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Directions:
Pierce each potatoes on top and bottom with fork. Place on a plate and cook for 5 minutes on high power. Flip potatoes over and cook for another 5 minutes.

Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice in half horizontally. Scoop the flesh out, leaving about 1/4-inch shell. Place the potatoes in a bowl and combine with ham, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, green onion and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the potatoes evenly between the 8 potato skin shells. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Microwave for another 1 to 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Or put under the broiler for 3 to 4 minutes.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Side Dish Recipes:
Alfredo Green Bean Casserole
Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes 
Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake 
Cranberry Sauce Three Ways: Traditional, Orange Zest, and Brandied 
Mashed Potatoes 
Eric's Fried Rice
Fries with Garlic Cheese Sauce

Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip

Forget the ham or the mac and cheese or the mashed potatoes. This Christmas, all anyone cared about was this amazing dip. It's savory and refreshing and delicious. Both my mom and mother-in-law insisted on taking some home and my husband made me go out and buy some more crackers so he could finish off our leftovers. If only cranberries were available year round, I would make this dip throughout the year.

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
1 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries, rinsed and dried
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons lemon juice
dash of salt
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened (I used low fat)

Crackers for serving. We used butter crackers, but my mother-in-law also ate the dip with tortilla chips.

Directions:
Finely dice cranberries. You can do this in your food processor (which is what I did) or dice them by hand. In a large bowl, combine diced cranberries, green onion, cilantro, pepper, sugar, cumin, lemon juice, and salt. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours (and let mine sit over night). This allows the sugar to dissolve and be absorbed by the cranberries.

Before serving, spread the cream cheese evenly on your serving plate. Pour on cranberry mixture over the cream cheese. Serve with crackers.

Cream Cheese

Cranberry dip, molasses chews, cinnamon sugar chips, ginger truffles

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Appetizer Recipes:
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Jalapeno Popper Wontons 
Homemade Pizza Rolls
Spinach Balls with a Spicy Tomato Dipping Sauce  
Parmesan Veggie Crisps 
Cheese Puffs for Cheese Lovers!
Cheesy Twisty Straws

Molasses Chews

Normally I have a huge Christmas baking list that I have to whittle down to something manageable. This year, I'm feeling a little burnt out, I think. This is the only new recipe I tried this year (and it's a keeper!). I mostly made cookies and candies I've done before, and not that many (see my Christmas baking list at bottom of post). I have to admit, it was kind of nice enjoying my favorite treats again.

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup whole milk
1 cup unsulphured molasses
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Candy thermometer

Directions:
Line an 8x8-inch glass baking dish with wax paper and lightly grease with cooking spray.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine butter, chocolate, milk, molasses, and sugar over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Insert candy thermometer in the pan.

When the temperature reaches 248 on the thermometer, remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla.

Carefully pour the molasses caramels into the prepared pan. Allow to cool and set for at least two hours. Remove the molasses chews from the dish and cut into bite-size squares. If you find the caramel sticking to the knife, spray the knife with cooking spray. Wrap the individual chews in wax paper.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Christmas Baking List 2014:
Kiss Cookies
Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies 
Spiced Rum Brown Butter Cookies
Homemade Marshmallows
Pumpkin Caramels!
Gingerbread Hot Chocolate

Gingerbread Hot Chocolate

Last year after I made my Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies, I kind of fell in love with everything gingerbread. This year after making the cookies once again, I decided to try to make a gingerbread hot chocolate, which really isn't that hard--you just add gingerbread ingredients (molasses, ginger, clove, and cinnamon) to the hot chocolate. It was almost like drinking one of my gingerbread cookies.

Gingerbread Hot Chocolate with Homemade Marshmallows

Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
4 cups water or milk
1 1/3 cup hot chocolate mix (homemade or store bought)
2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove

Directions:
Heat water or milk in a pan or in the microwave. Dissolve hot chocolate mix, molasses, and spices in water or milk. Pour into 4 mugs. Add marshmallows or Reddi Whip, if desired.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Drink Recipes:
Butterbeer from Harry Potter 
Pumpkin Hot Cocoa
Spiced Cinnamon Tea 
Spiced Cranberry Juice 
The World's Easiest Spiced Apple Cider 

Cheesy Potatoes

This recipe belongs to Eric's mom. I think I first had her cheesy potatoes the first time I had dinner at Eric's parents' house. I fell in love with them with first bite. So when she asked if she could bring anything to Thanksgiving dinner, I immediately thought of these potatoes. They were a nice change up from mashed potatoes, too.

Ingredients:
2 cups (10-3/4-ounce each) condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 package (32-ounce) frozen hash brown potatoes (also very good with southwestern has
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, and garlic salt. Add potatoes and cheddar cheese. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Side Dish Ideas:
Alfredo Green Bean Casserole
Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes 
Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake 
Sauteed Kale with Bacon 
Simply the Best Macaroni and Cheese
Very Simple Roasted Potatoes 

Easy Every Day Rolls

I'm in love with these rolls for so many reasons. They are so simple yet so good. Chewy and light and everything a roll should be. I made them for Thanksgiving and will probably make them again for Christmas, but I could easily make them for dinner any night of the week.

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
2- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (1 package)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup warm water
3 tablespoons butter, melted and divided

Directions:
Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast, salt, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and water in the bowl of a standing mixer. Mix well with the paddle attachment until mixture is smooth. Add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time until dough is tacky and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Change to the hook attachment and kneed until smooth, about 4 to 6 minutes. (You could also knead by hand).

Grease a bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 45 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Punch down dough and divide into 12 balls. Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray and place the dough balls into the dish. Cover once more with plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size again. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the roll for 15 minutes or until the tops turn golden. Remove from oven and brush with remaining tablespoon of butter.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Bread Recipes:
Basic Pizza Dough Recipe
Homemade Bread Sticks 
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Homemade Pita Bread
Parmesan Onion Rolls 
Soft and Chewy French Bread 
Sour Cream Dinner Rolls  

Sugared Nuts

Just before Thanksgiving, we were over at my in-laws, and my mother-in-law had just been to Frankenmuth with her girlfriends. She had bought some cinnamon-sugared almonds that were amazing like all sugared nuts are. I decided to see if I could make them myself and was excited to discover how easy they were. I put out a bowl of them at Thanksgiving dinner and let's just say they were a favorite. (However, my baked apple chips seemed to be the most popular appetizer).

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3 cups nuts (I used peanuts)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg white and the water until frothy.

In a second bowl, mix together the white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

In a large third bowl (or a large Ziplock bag), toss the nuts with the egg white until the nuts are well coated. Add the sugar-cinnamon mixture and toss until all the nuts are evenly coated.

Spread out the nuts on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring halfway through baking time.

Allow to cool before serving.

I also made some buffalo spiced nuts, but there weren't anything to write home about.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Appetizer Recipes:
Bacon and Cheese Deviled Eggs 
Cheese Puffs for Cheese Lovers!
Buffalo Chicken Dip 
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Parmesan Veggie Crisps 
Snowflake Tortilla Chips
Roasted Peas 

Sourdough-Cornbread Stuffing with Bacon

I've always wanted to make my own stuffing. It's my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. Since I was hosting this year, I thought I'd give it go. I looked through zillions of recipes and finally decided on a sourdough-cornbread. Sour, sweet, and bacon adds salt. Both my mom and mother-in-law insisted on taking leftovers of this home.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
12 ounces sourdough, torn into bite-sized pieces
12 ounces baked cornbread, cubed or coarsely crumbled
1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups diced yellow onion
2 cups diced celery
2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoon fresh sage
2 tablespoon fresh thyme
16 ounces bacon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place sourdough and cornbread pieces onto two cookie sheets and bake for 25 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside.

Cook bacon in a large rimmed skillet according to package directions. Once cooked, place bacon on paper towel-lined plate to absorb extra grease. Cut bacon into 1-inch pieces and set aside.

Discard all the bacon grease except for tablespoons. Add butter to pan with bacon grease and melt over medum heat. Saute onions and celery until tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pour in chicken both. Add sage and thyme. Stir then reduce heat to simmer. Add half of the cooked bacon. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Place toasted bread into a large bowl. Carefully pour broth and veggies over the bread and toss, making sure all the bread is wet.

Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer stuffing to baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining bacon. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is just golden brown. Stuffing should still be moist.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Side Dish Ideas:
Alfredo Green Bean Casserole
Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake 
Cranberry Sauce Three Ways: Traditional, Orange Zest, and Brandied 
Mashed Potatoes
Eric's Fried Rice
Sauteed Kale with Bacon
Simply the Best Macaroni and Cheese

Turkey-Brie-Cranberry Sandwich (And More Leftover Turkey Ideas)

Eric and I hosted our first Thanksgiving this year and made our first turkey. I love turkey and was so happy that ours turned out moist and beautiful and delicious. But as much as I was looking forward to eating turkey, I may have been looking forward a bit more to make a turkey-brie-cranberry sandwich with the Thanksgiving leftovers. I'm sure you've seen this sandwich on Pinterest. Well, it's just as delicious as all those pictures would lead you to believe. Even Eric, who isn't a big cranberry sauce fan, loved it. We also tried out a bunch of other wonderful recipes for leftovers. I don't think I could ever get tired of turkey!

1. Turkey-Brie-Cranberry Sandwich

Ingredients:
Leftover turkey breast meat
.67 ounce wedge of brie (or a little more than a tablespoon)
Cranberry sauce
2 slices of sourdough bread
Butter

Directions:
Butter one side of each slice of sourdough bread like you're making a grilled cheese sandwich. Spread the cheese on the unbuttered side of one slice. Add as much or as a little turkey and cranberry sauce as you'd like. Place the second piece of bread on top, butter side up. Over medium-high heat, grill the sandwich in a skillet until golden. Flip and grill other side until golden.

2. French Fried Onion and Bacon Turkey Sandwich
This one may have been Eric's favorite. He eschews onions but absolutely loves french fried onion. We had some leftover from the green bean casserole and he usually put them on his hamburger so I thought I'd try them on a turkey sandwich. Not a healthy sandwich by any means, but pretty damn good.

Ingredients:
2 slices of sandwich bread (toasted or untoasted, Eric likes his toasted)
Leftover turkey
1-2 slices of bacon, cooked
French fried onions
Roma tomato slices
1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
Dijon Mustard

Directions:
Spread the cream cheese on one slice of bread. Then comes turkey, mustard (Eric hates when his mustard touches bread. Is this a thing or just one of his quirks?), bacon, tomatoes, French fried onions, and second piece of bread. If you want the sandwich warmed, you can place it under the broiler for a minute or so.

3. Barbecue Turkey Sandwich
I was looking through the fridge, trying to come up with ideas for all the leftover turkey when I saw the bottle of barbecue sauce and thought: why not? So, so good.

Ingredients:
Sandwich bread or a hamburger bun (toasted or untoasted)
Leftover turkey
Your favorite barbecue sauce
Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:
You can make this two different ways: stovetop or microwave. For the stovetop: put the turkey and barbecue sauce (use as much or little as you'd like. We tend to go a bit heavy whenever we use barbecue sauce) and stir to coat. Heat over medium heat until meat is hot. Or mix the turkey and barbecue sauce together in microwave-safe bowl and heat until meat is hot. Place the desired amount of turkey on the bread or bun, top with shredded cheese.

4. The Turkey Taco
Eric and I can turn just about any leftover into a taco and it's always good.

Ingredients:
Leftover turkey
Taco seasoning
Tortillas or hard shells
Any of your favorite taco fixings such as:
     Lettuce
     Tomato
     Salsa
     Sour Cream
     Shredded Cheese

Directions:
Toss your leftover turkey with the taco seasoning. Start with a little than add until you have the desired taste. Heat meat in microwave and assemble your taco.

5. The Ultimate Comfort Food Casserole
Just replace the chicken in this recipe with turkey and you have the best casserole ever. I've been making this for years with both turkey and chicken (with turkey is my favorite). Eric is madly in love with this dish, and I've got both my parents and my in-laws hooked on this recipe. Plus, it not only uses up leftover turkey, but leftover green bean casserole and mashed potatoes!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Apparently Cranberry Bliss Bars are an amazing dessert you can buy at Starbucks. I've never eaten one so I can't say if this copycat recipe taste anything like the real thing. However, I can tell you that these Cranberry Bliss Bars are out of this world! Blondies, cream cheese frosting, white chocolate chips, dried cranberries . . . Eric can't stay away from them. They just might be new annual dessert we make.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Blondies
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of ground cinnamon
3/4 cup dried cranberries (homemade or store-bought)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Frosting
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:
Blondies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and melted butter and allow to cool to room temperature (so it doesn't cook the eggs). Add eggs and vanilla and beat with electric mixer.

In a medium bowl, combine together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and combine. Fold in cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Pour batter evenly into baking dish. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the center of the blondies have set. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Frosting
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until well-combined. Pour in half of the melted white chocolate and beat until well combined. Frost the cooled blondies then sprinkle with cranberries. Drizzle the top of the blondies with the melted white chocoalte. Place the cookie bars in the fridge to allow the set then cut into bars.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Dessert Recipes:
Michigan Cranberry Brownies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Caramelitas
Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars (Twix Bars) 
Congo Bars, Blondies, or Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars?
Blueberry Chocolate Chip Brunetties 

Homemade Dried Cranberries

Homemade craisins (dried cranberries) are so incredibly easy to make--they just occupy your oven for a day. I go a little cranberry crazy in the winter and I've already used them to make a cranberry brie grilled cheese sandwich (seriously, sooo good!) and Cranberry Bliss Bars. I chased Eric away from them before he devoured them all, and I'm contemplating making a chicken breast stuffed with ricotta, spinach and cranberries.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions:
Wash cranberries then place them in a sauce pot. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil in a second pot then pour boiling water over cranberries. Let the cranberries soak for about 10 minutes. They will pop (split open) during this time.

Drain the cranberries and gentle dry them. Check to make sure all the cranberries popped. If any of them did not, pierce them with a paring knife.

In a saucepan, combine the water and sugar and bring to boil until sugar is dissolved to make a simple syrup. Add cranberries to the simple syrup and stir until all the cranberries are well coated (you can skip this step, but your craisins will be very, very tart).

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread the cranberries out on the cookie sheet in a single layer and place in the oven.

Bake cranberries for 6 to 8 hours. Since cranberries come in different sizes, the smaller one will dry out quicker than the larger ones so at about 5 or 6 hours, I start checking on the cranberries every hour and removing the ones that are shrivelled but are still somewhat soft.

Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Cranberry Recipes:
Cranberry Sauce Three Ways: Traditional, Orange Zest, and Brandied 
Spiced Cranberry Juice
Michigan Cranberry Brownies 
Sugared Cranberries
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with White Chocolate Chips and Dried Cranberries
Dark Chocolate-Covered Cranberries 

Chickpea Salad

Lunch is my hardest meal of the day. Breakfast is usually tea with oatmeal or cereal or fruit. As I make my grocery list and go shopping, I plan my dinners. But lunches? Easy if there are leftovers in the fridge. Not so easy if there's no leftovers. I tend to eat a lot of egg salad or tuna salad just because I can't think of anything else and it's easy. But that gets boring. In order to chance it up a bit, I decided to make chickpea salad. Oh my god, so so so good. I have a new favorite, easy, heathly lunch!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can of chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed, and dried
1 celery stick, chopped
2 tablespoons onion, minced
1-2 tablespoons mayo (I tend to go super light on mayo. It's all personal preference)
1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional (sometimes I add it, sometimes I don't)
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
salt and pepper, to taste
a dash of garlic powder, optional

Directions:
Coarsely mash the chickpeas (you can use a fork, potato masher, I use a meat mallet) in a bowl. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Serve on bread, with crackers or veggies, or eat as is.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chickpea Recipes:
Chickpea Veggie Burgers 
Hummus without Tahini
Cinnamon-Sugar Roasted Chickpeas 
Roasted Pumpkin Chickpeas
Sweet and Salty Chickpeas
Skinny Chocolate Chip Cookies (Made with Chickpeas)

White Chocolate Covered Cranberries

Last winter I went on a cranberry craze. Well, I'm back at it this year! I've been craving dark chocolate-covered cranberries all year. As soon as cranberries showed up at the grocery store, I bought a bag and made chocolate-covered cranberries. Well, I happened to have some left over white chocolate from making a batch of homemade hot chocolate mix so I decided why not try white chocolate covered cranberries. Just add it to the list of cranberry recipes I love.

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh whole cranberries, rinsed and dried
1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
Line cookie pan with waxed paper.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave on high. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat as needed until chocolate is melted.

Pour the cranberries into the melted chocolate and gentle stir with a spatula until all the cranberries are covered in chocolate. With a fork, transfer the cranberries one by one to the cookie sheet. Place into the refrigerator until chocolate hardens.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Cranberry Recipes:
Cranberry Sauce Three Ways: Traditional, Orange Zest, and Brandied 
Spiced Cranberry Juice
Michigan Cranberry Brownies 
Sugared Cranberries
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with White Chocolate Chips and Dried Cranberries