Easy Crockpot Ham. Perfect for Easter Sunday.

With Easter coming up, a lot of people are in full swing planning the feast that will grace their tables for this holiday that makes all of our sweet teeth happy. While candy might be the thing that those of us who still get Easter basket are most excited for, the ham was always my favorite part.

Thankfully, ham is dairy-free so I can enjoy it without fear of tummy ache.

The only time I remember having ham growing up was Christmas and Easter. So, it was always tied to a special occasion for me. That may have had something to do with the fact that ham usually goes on sale around those two times of year. This week, I was able to get a 6.5 pound ham for about $8. That’s pretty cheap. Especially considering the number of meals that I can get from it. In addition to ham being on sale, pineapple was also on sale. So, it was like the grocery store was begging me to write this post, and to eat ham for the week.

For starters, trim your ham to make sure that it will fit in your crockpot. I was lucky enough to be able to trim enough off of my ham, that I had it for breakfast this morning with some sunny side up eggs. One of my absolute favorite breakfasts.

After you have trimmed the ham to fit into your crockpot, set it aside for a second. Next, cut up your pineapple. You can also use canned pineapple for this. Just get the biggest can you can find of chunked pineapple, and it will still taste really yummy.

Put about 10 pieces of pineapple on the bottom of your crockpot. Then, sprinkle about 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Then, stick your trimmed ham in the crockpot. Sprinkle an additional 1/4 cup of brown sugar over the top and cover with the rest of your pineapple.

Put the lid on your crockpot and cook on low for about 6 or 7 hours. When it is done, take the lid off and start to scoop out some of your pineapple. Then, carefully, life your ham out and place it on a cutting board and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Then, cut it into slices, and be sure to trim off the fat. There is nothing worse than a big bite of ham fat on your Easter Sunday plate.

Serve each person a little bit of the pineapple to be eaten with the ham. Other great sides are mashed potatoes (make with soy milk and soy butter), cooked carrots, and your favorite rolls. But those are just my favorites.

What are your favorite ham sides?

 

What To Expect From Me

Right now is crunch time for Champlain College students. This week is the last week of classes before finals. AKA we are all over caffeinated and probably haven’t slept for more than a couple hours each night.

I have to finish like 7 more blog posts, write/edit 3 children’s books, edit my cookbook, and put together 3 portfolios. Did I mention that all of this is due before Friday? And those are just the big assignments. That’s not counting all of the little ones, because you know, we have time for all of that. AH! *pause for crying*

I have started drinking coffee again, despite the pain that may come, just to get me through all of it. However, the end is coming, and while it’s scary, I have to finish strong.

All of that being said, here is was you can expect from me over the next couple of days:

A post about the delicious crockpot ham that I made today

Some easter treats

How it went when I consumed dairy

CHOCOLATE, because, why not.

and a few other posts.

Until then, here is a picture of me being Queen Frostine at the Life Size Candy Land Event that one of my coworkers put on this past weekend posing with our school mascot, Chauncey T. Beaver.

And… a photo of me and my sunburn, because I still have not learned that I need to put sunscreen on when I will be standing in the sun for hours.

OUCH!

 

Guys, it’s okay. I can have peanut butter!

One of the first foods I checked when I went dairy-free was peanut butter. And by “checked” I mean that I texted Jared’s sister who is both dairy and gluten-free because I was too afraid to look for myself.

AND I CAN HAVE IT!!

So, naturally, the amount of peanut butter that I’m eating has gone up.

My new favorite snack is rice cakes with peanut butter and banana.

I also gave up coffee. Honestly, I think that may have been causing all of my stomach issues. I’m going to stay dairy free for another week, and then slowly add it back in and see if that helps. All I want is a super cheesy grilled cheese sandwich with some ham or bacon thrown in. So, that will be the first dairy item I try in a week.

While giving up coffee would still be awful, at least it’s not dairy. Fingers crossed for that. Let’s hope I can have cheese in a week.

 

But, I don’t want to give up dairy…

For about the last month, I have been getting really bad acid reflux, stomach aches, and other not fun side effects at night and after some meals. To try to figure out what’s wrong with me, I’ve decided to cut out dairy and see if that helps. Why dairy and not something like, say gluten, you ask? I noticed that the stomach aches have been the worst after I eat cheese or a bowl of cereal. So, here we are. 

You never really realize how much you love milk until you can’t have it. I guess that’s the case with everything though. I was the kid who was told by her doctor that she needed to drink less milk. I was the kid who was told by her mother that she wasn’t allowed to have more than two glasses of milk a day, because I would drink the whole thing. I was the kid who used to buy milk boxes off of my friends at lunch because I couldn’t get enough of the stuff. 

Now I’m here. Why is dairy in so many things? I have to get rid of pretty much everything in my fridge and pantry. Maybe not everything, but that’s what it feels like. Today is the big day. I get to go through all of it and figure out what I cannot have and see if Jared wants it. 

DID I MENTION I CAN’T HAVE CHOCOLATE!? Well, most chocolate. I mean, I’ve done an entire post on my love of chocolate. Some is dairy free, and I’m going to track it down and buy all of it. I mean, it’s chocolate… It’s a major part of my life. Until this whole thing happened I had about 15 chocolate bars in my closet that I won in a contest and 30 or so Hershey Kisses with Almonds on my dresser. I gave the chocolate bars to Jared but the Hershey with almonds are still sitting on my dresser mocking me. 

If you follow me on Instagram then you know how many dairy-filled foods and drinks I enjoy. For instance, this Thin Mint Iced Latte from The Lodge, a coffee shop on campus will be missed:

 

Let’s try to be positive here:

-There are a lot more dairy-free options now than there was years ago
-Dairy-free is probably easier than gluten-free
-I might not actually be dairy-free
-There are dairy-free chocolate options
-Almond milk isn’t that bad
-I can still eat meat, which helps big time
-Things could always be worse

Since I made the decision to go dairy free and see if that helps I have been focusing so much on the negatives. I will be talking to someone about food, and they will say something that I realize that I can’t have and I just yell, “I can’t have that.” I have probably seemed like a child who was mid-temper tantrum. I know people who have it way worse off than me, so I have no right to complain. 

Things are going to be changing around here on the site a lot, and I’m going to be posting dairy-free recipes, so please be patient with me as I really dive into this change. I’m new at this and still learning one ingredients list at a time. But here is what you can expect to majorly change:

-The eggless cookie thing probably won’t happen. While I still love the concept, it would cost too much for me to keep buying that amount of dairy-free butter and chocolate chips to use on cookies that might not even come out right. 

-Cheese will be play as big of a role in my recipes. In fact, it won’t be present at all. But, I will still say if cheese would be good on it. 

I think those two things will be the biggest changes. In case you were wondering, my final project will now be focused on this change. The change of dairy-lover to dairy-free. The struggles, the successes, and everything in between. 

If you have any tips, please share!

Super Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork

Pulled pork is kind of a staple in a lot of homes. It’s what you eat when there’s a big football game or other sporting event. That being said though, pulled pork can be extremely tedious. I posted before about my friend Leif’s pulled pork and personally, I don’t have the time to pulled into a meal like he does. Classes and multiple jobs make it so that I want dinners that are a bit more on the simple side most of the time.

So, here is my pulled pork recipe. It’s super simple and it’s really delicious.

You will need:

2 pounds pork tenderloin
1 2 liter of A&W Root Beer. I have tried other brands and they just don’t work as well in this.
2 bottles of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 pack of buns, whatever kind are your favorite

Put everything but the BBQ sauce in a crockpot and cook on low for 8-9 hours, if you are trying to cook it a bit faster, it takes about 5-6 on high.

When the meat is cooked, take it out and put it in a mixing bowl.

Using your tongs, start to break apart the meat. As you go, add in a little of the BBQ sauce at a time. I used about 1.5 bottles in the actual meat.

When your meat is sufficiently “pulled” set it aside for a minute and cut your buns. Put about a tablespoon of BBQ sauce on the bun and then top it with about 1/4 cup of meat.

Servings: about 8

Enjoy!