Ham, Cheese Grits and Collard Greens

This was going to be my New Year's Day dinner but I decided I wanted to go with Cabbage Rolls and a Cabbage Salad instead. I also needed to use the ham because I took it out of the freezer and didn't use it when we had company in town.

Ham

I didn't do anything special to the ham other than heating it because my main point in cooking it was to package it up in 2 cup portions for the freezer for using in future dishes.

The way I heat a ham is to place it in a roasting pan with about 2 cups of water, cover it tightly with foil and place in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes per pound or until the meat reaches a temperature of 160 degrees. This was a big ham so it took about 2 hours to get done.

Cheese Grits

I am not posting the recipe for these because they turned out very runny and I was very sad about it. My sister in law gave me a gift basket with REAL grits in it and I was so excited. Where I live you cannot walk into a grocery store and just buy old fashioned grits like you can in the south. I have looked for years....no luck, so I have lived a grit deprived life. If anyone does have a cheese grits recipe they could pass my way I would love to have it. I have a 5 pound sack of grits waiting for me. I am also not fully blaming my lack of grits knowledge because it may have been the jar of processed cheese food I was supposed to add. I have never bought any before and the grocery store where I shop had one jar left and I grabbed it. The recipe said a small jar but this jar looked a little bit on the large size.

Collard Greens

My experience with collard greens has been limited to making soup out of them and cooking them like I cook all greens.; sautee with a bit of oil and garlic until they are tender. Having only 2 ways to cook any greens has become beyond boring for me so I decided to branch out a bit and use an old recipe I found in a recipe tin I bought at an antique store. They were beyond excellent and I will be making these again in the future.

1 Tbsp. oil or more as needed
3 slices bacon
1 lg. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
3 C. chicken broth
1 lb. collard greens, cut into bite sized pieces

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon, chop and return to pan. Add onion, cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 3 more minutes. Add collard greens and saute until they start to wilt. Pour in chicken broth and season to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, cover, and allow to simmer for 45 minutes or until greens are tender.