Slow-cooker ham to kick-start Easter dinner plans
Good morning, Exchangers. We begin with a challenge from T.H.M., who is hereby counting on you to provide “good dinner recipes with menus.”
And this longtime subscriber says, “I don’t like reading Fare Exchange as much on the iPad … but it works.” So may it work for you.
A brief note from a reader comes with a sigh. “No answer yet for the purpose of margarine.” If you are a margarine advocate, tell us why. And tell us more.
SUSTAINING SOUP
Lynetta Iles offered this soup recipe for a repeated place in the news, in the fullness of time. “It was also printed in the Chattanooga Times Free Press Holiday Cookbook, 2007 edition.”
If it looks daunting, it doesn’t need to be. “Once you get the hang of it with all the different steps, it is not that difficult to prepare. I have also carried it to a sick loved one, and I received many rave reviews. I hope all readers will enjoy it as well.”
Vegetable soup, like chicken soup, does seem to have curative properties.
It can also become, in the fullness of additions at the end of this version, a treat containing meat.
Vegetable Soup
1 large onion, diced
3 to 4 carrots, sliced 3 celery ribs, sliced or
diced
¼ cup oil
Salt and pepper to taste 1 (14- to 16-ounce) can
diced tomatoes
1 (14- to 16-ounce) can
chicken broth
1 (14- to 16-ounce) can French-style green beans
1 (14- to 16-ounce) can
green peas
1 (14- to 16-ounce) can
whole kernel corn
4 to 5 potatoes cut into small chunks
In a large pot place onions, carrots and celery. Add enough cold water to fully cover. Place pot on stove, and bring to a boil. Boil until vegetables are tender but not fully cooked. Add oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Add diced tomatoes (do not drain), and hold back the empty can. Add chicken broth. Drain the liquid from remaining vegetables into pot. Place the drained vegetables in a bowl (hold back the empty cans).
Fill the empty tomato can with water, and use the can of water to rinse the remaining vegetable cans. Pour the can of water into pot.
Add potatoes, and cook until tender. Add the bowl of remaining vegetables. Rinse empty bowl, and pour water into pot, plus more water if needed. Cook another 10 to 15 minutes, until all vegetables are fully cooked. The approximate time from start to finish: 1 hour.
This pairs well with grilled cheese sandwiches or a pan of cornbread slices or muffins.
› Variation: Vegetable Beef Soup
Brown ground sirloin in the soup pot first. Set browned meat aside.
Continue the vegetable soup above, and add the reserved meat to the soup pot before the step of adding potatoes.
SPRING FAVORITES
Rosemary Palmer, author of the blog myhomeandtravels.com, occasionally travels to Fare Exchange to see what readers are looking for. The entrée and dessert that follow are good Easter and spring dinner options.
Crockpot Ham
1 (8- to 10- pound) spiral sliced ham Glaze:
1/4 cup unsalted butter 1 cup brown sugar, packed 1 (20-ounce) can pineapple slices, drained (Reserve juice.)
1 teaspoon ground cloves
Melt butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat.
Stir in brown sugar. Add cloves and mix until well combined.
Let cool to touch. Spray inside of crockpot with a non-stick cooking spray
Place ham, cut side down, into crockpot.
Cover ham with brown sugar mixture, gently packing mixture into ham.
Add pineapple slices on top of ham, securing with toothpicks.
Sprinkle reserved pineapple juice over ham, if desired, but don’t over-saturate or brown sugar will run off.
Add lid to crockpot. If not a tight fit, cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.
Baste with juice and let set for 10 minutes before cutting.
Remove toothpicks. For a crispy top, remove from crockpot and place on baking sheet.
Broil on high for 4 to 5 minutes, keeping an eye on it. Place on platter and serve immediately.
Store leftovers in refrigerator in airtight container.
This will keep in the refrigerator 5 to 7 days if stored properly, and up to 2 months in the freezer.
Easy Lemon Muffins
Muffins: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3 teaspoons baking
powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of 1 lemon (approximately 1 tablespoon zest and 2 tablespoons juice) 3/4 cup whole milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 drop yellow gel food coloring (optional)
Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons granulated
sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
In a small bowl, sift together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a larger bowl, mix together lemon juice, zest, milk, oil and egg.
Slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Mix until muffin batter forms.
Add a small drop of yellow gel food coloring into batter and mix until tinted (optional).
Scoop batter into each section of the muffin pan, filling it about 2/3 of the way.
In a separate bowl, mix all of the ingredients for the muffin topping; cut with a fork to create a grainy sugar topping.
Sprinkle the sugar muffin topping over each filled section of the pan. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes.
FINER COCONUT
R.K.G. tried last week’s easy coconut pie and has a recommendation. “I used dried coconut, and a friend suggested using frozen coconut instead, as it is finer.”
The sender of that recipe, Judy Zehnder, confirms that you do need to grease and flour the pan before you add the batter. She added, “The cookbook (‘More With Less’) was commissioned by the Mennonite Central Committee in Pennsylvania in 1976 and has been reprinted many times. Doris Janzen Longacre is credited as the author/ compiler of the recipes, which were contributed from persons in and outside the USA.”
Here’s a reminder that your comments and suggests about recipes printed here are also welcome here. Always. And so are you, period.