An excellence spiral ham is the decisively trouble-free yet all-around meat and here is proof. These are five diverse ways to serve it so you can have a different meal each day of the week with a small degree of preparation time. And since the ham is fully cooked, it is a spontaneous meat to create these comfort food masterpieces day after day. And you thought that half of a ham was going to be too large for your family unit of four!

Ham Quiche
Cook time: 45 minutes,
Prep Time: 10 Minutes,
Serves 4

Ingredients: 9 inch pie crust shell, 3 eggs, 1 ½ cups half and half, 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, 1 cup chopped cubed ham, salt and pepper to taste, optional: chopped spinach, onions or mushrooms

Sprinkle half the cheese on the pie crust, whisk remaining ingredients and pour into pie crust. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

TIP: If you don't have half and half handy, use the milk in your fridge and add 1/3 stick melted butter.

Great Ham Dinner
Cook time: 45 minutes,
Prep Time: 20 minutes,
Serves 4

This is my idea of the perfect meal - holiday or otherwise. See recipes - sides for the side dishes that best compliment the ham. My choice would be green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese and sweet potato casserole. Delicious and colorful!

Ham Chef Salad
Cook time: 0 minutes,
Prep Time: 10 minutes,
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped ham, 4 slices Swiss cheese sliced, 4 slices cheddar cheese sliced, 2 hard boiled eggs chopped, ½ cucumber sliced, one head of iceberg lettuce chopped. Combine all ingredients and serve with your favorite dressing. In my family, we each use a different dressing but here's a couple of fun and simple dressing suggestions. Combine 1/3 cup each ranch and Thousand Island dressing. Ranch island dressing! Combine 1/3 cup each Italian dressing and Caesar dressing (again, I prefer Newman’s.) It's a Newman medley!

Ham Jambalaya
Cook time: 30 minutes,
Prep Time: 15 minutes,
Serves: 4

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups ham diced, 1 large onion diced, 1 can okra drained, ½ green pepper chopped, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 cup uncooked rice, 1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes, ½ cup chicken broth, 2 T. olive oil, hot pepper sauce (Tabasco or other), salt and pepper to taste. In a large saucepan, use olive oil to brown onions, garlic, okra and green pepper. (about 5 minutes) Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until rice is cooked (about 25 minutes).

Wild Rice and Ham Chowder
Cook time: 45 minutes,
Prep Time: 10 minutes,
Serves 4

Now that you've twiddled down the ham, you can end the week with a great soup using your ham bone. See recipes - soup for this favorite or any of the other ham soup recipes. Serve with crusty bread and/or remaining salad from Wednesday!

An appealing place for glazed hams dinners, gifts and knowledgeable discussion.