Holiday Treats

Here are some delicious holiday recipes your whole family will enjoy

Ham with Blueberry Sauce

• 2 pounds fully cooked, center ham, cut 1 inch thick
  
• 1/3 cup water
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder
  
• 1/3 cup low-sugar apricot jam
  
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons dry red wine
  
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 1 cup juicy, plump blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Trim the fat from the edge of the ham slice, if necessary.
   
3. Place the ham slice on a rack in a shallow baking pan and bake for 30 minutes.
   
4. In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch or arrowroot powder and water.
   
5. Stir in the apricot jam, brown sugar, wine, and lemon juice. Cook over medium-low heat for 5 to 6 minutes until the sauce is thickened and bubbly.
   
6. Stir in the blueberries and cook 2 to 3 minutes.
   
7. Spoon the sauce over the ham and serve.

Caribbean Chicken Stir-fry with Fresh Mint

• Four, five-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, fat trimmed off
  
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  
• 1 teaspoon paprika
  
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• Dash of grated lime peel
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
  
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
  
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  
• 4 scallions, trimmed and sliced
  
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
  
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

• ½ teaspoon grated orange zest
  
• ¼ cup fresh orange juice
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  
• 2 tablespoons Caribbean style chile sauce
  
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
  
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
• 1.67 ounce package of fresh mint leaves

1. Cut chicken breasts crosswise into ½ inch wide strips.
   
2. Combine coriander, ginger, paprika, pepper, cayenne, and grated lime peel in a large bowl. Add chicken strips and set aside for about 15 minutes to marinate.
   
3. Heat ½ tablespoon of olive oil in a wok or nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add onion, garlic, scallions, bell pepper and minced ginger.
   
4. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Put into small bowl.
   
5. Add ½ tablespoon of olive oil to the wok and increase heat to medium/high. Add seasoned chicken strips and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes.
   
6. While chicken is frying, whisk together the wok sauce ingredients.
   
7. Add the vegetables back into the wok and stir in sauce.
   
8. Continue stir-frying for another minute or two, until all ingredients are hot and the sauce has thickened sufficiently.
   
9. Shred the mint leaves and stir into wok. Toss once.
   
10. Serve immediately.

Spicy Oat Bars

• ½ cup flour
  
• ½ cup rolled oats
  
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
  
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
  
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  
• ¼ cup margarine
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1 tablespoon low-fat milk
  
• 1/3 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Whisk the flour, oats, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and salt together in a bowl.
   
3. Combine sugar and margarine in a medium sized bowl.
   
4. Blend the egg and milk until smooth.
   
5. Slowly add the flour and oats mixture and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes.
   
6. Stir in the raisins.
   
7. Spread the mixture into an 8 x 8 pan
   
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the mixture pull away from the sides of the pan.
   
9. Let the cookie bars cool completely.
   
10. Cut into 9 bars.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

• 4 sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds)
  
• 3 tablespoon chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
  
• 2 tablespoons margarine
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
  
• ½ teaspoon salt
  
• 6 ounces orange juice concentrate

1. Cut sweet potatoes in half, lengthwise.
   
2. Cook the sweet potato halves in boiling water for 5 minutes.
   
3. Combine the adobo sauce, margarine, cilantro, salt and orange juice concentrate in a small bowl.
   
4. Drain sweet potatoes and rinse with cold water.
   
5. Place sweet potatoes on grill rack.
   
6. Apply a generous amount of sauce to the sweet potatoes and grill for four minutes.
   
7. Flip potatoes, apply more sauce, and grill for another four minutes.
   
8. While cooking, be sure to baste the potatoes frequently.

Homemade Egg Nog

• 1 cup soy milk
  
• 1 cup orange juice
  
• 1 banana
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 8 ice cubes
  
• Dash of allspice

1. Combine the soy milk, juice, banana, vanilla and ice cubes in a blender.
   
2. Blend until smooth.
   
3. Pour into glass, and sprinkle with allspice.

This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM

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