This is beyond any doubt the BEST ham I have ever tasted – and the secret is all in the 3 ingredient ham glaze. (The ham recipe I’m sharing today is so completely worthy of hyperbole; I’ve given up attempting to write this post without it.)

You know how sometimes you make something that’s so good that even after you’re done with dinner you find yourself snacking on little bites as you put it away later? That was this ham for me the first time I made it.

It is tender and juicy, covered in a slightly crisp, sweet, tangy glaze that makes every mouthful tastier than the last. 

The balsamic dijon glaze is a fantastic compliment to the ham. Just a few ingredients and almost no real effort gets you an extraordinarily impressive meal that’s as suited for special occasions as it is for an everyday dinner.

3 Ingredient Ham Glaze

Because the glaze requires only three ingredients, for years, I’ve recommended using the best quality ingredients you can manage. I’ve gone so far as to use a high-quality aged balsamic whenever I have it on hand.

Guess what I’ve learned? It absolutely does not matter which balsamic vinegar you use to make this ham glaze. As long as the balsamic tastes good on its own, it will work fine.

Last Thanksgiving when I was roasting a ham, I was out of my fancy balsamic, so I grabbed the store-brand that I use for salad dressings. I’m happy to tell you that the ham turned out every bit as good as any of the glazes I’ve made using pricier vinegar.

For the dijon, just choose one with plenty of tang and flavor. It doesn’t need to be the most expensive dijon on the shelf but it should be tasty all on its own. You definitely do not want to substitute basic yellow deli mustard here.

You can use either light or dark brown sugar in the glaze. A darker brown sugar will yield a bit more of a molas

Crisp baby spinach, spring mix lettuces, tart apples, sweet raisins, crunchy almonds, and the ultimate honey cider salad dressing are combined to create a fantastic Spinach Apple Salad.

I made this salad three times within a month the first time I made it. And in the years since then, this salad has made frequent appearances in my home.

Spinach Apple Salad

The Honey Cider Dressing is wonderfully tangy and sweet and the combination of those flavors with the rest of the Spinach Apple Salad immediately made this one of my all-time favorite salads.

And that says something because this parsley salad with oranges and the apple walnut salad with blueberries are big favorites too. There’s just something unforgettable about a fresh salad filled with fruits and tossed in a tangy sweet dressing.

I was determined to serve this with my Thanksgiving dinner a few years ago. So, I played with several different ways to make the salad in advance and still keep the apples fresh.

(Like most people I know, making as many of the Thanksgiving dishes as possible in advance keeps me the happiest!)

Everything I tried initially, changed the flavor of the salad too much. Fortunately, apple cider vinegar did the trick and after 36 hours in the fridge, the salad still had apples that were crisp, white, and tasting like fresh apples.

Honey Apple Cider Vine

Mom’s Lemon Meringue Pie

My mom was famous for her Lemon Meringue Pie growing up. In fact, she still is!  It was often requested for parties or sick visits. (Really, I remember people asking my mom to bring this pie instead of chicken noodle soup when they were sick!)  I often forget how good it is until I make it-then I just can’t stop eating it!

This recipe starts with a flakey homemade pie crust that is filled with smooth and creamy lemon filling and topped with toasted meringue. It is totally irresistible!

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Classic Cranberry Sauce Recipe

We got so many requests for a cranberry sauce recipe last year that I finally wrote mine down and photographed it! It is simple and completely homemade.

Growing up was all about avoiding the cranberry sauce around the holidays. My mom wasn’t a huge fan and my dad liked it straight up from a can, so she opened one up every year to please him but none of us partook of that congealed mass of canned fruit. In other words, I never even considered that cranberry sauce could be delicious until a random sandwich shop in town served up a leftover Thanksgiving sandwich that sent me on the most wonderful journey ever. I’ve been sold ever since.

It doesn’t matter if you’re going with a smoked turkey or a roasted turkey, cranberry sauce goes with all of them and it’s a Thanksgiving must-have for our family! Forget the canned stuff and make it from scratch! We use fresh whole cranberries, orange juice and a little sugar to make the most delicious homemade cranberry sauce.

It can be made weeks ahead of time so that it’s ready for the big day.

Ingredients for Homemade Cranberry Sauce

You only need 6 ingredients for this homemade cranberry sauce and I’ll bet you have 4 of them already in the house…maybe 5! Here is what you will need:

• Cranberries – fresh is best, but you can use frozen
• White Sugar – adds sweetness and cuts the tartness of the cranberries
• Brown Sugar – I love the richness of flavor a little brown sugar adds
• Fresh Orange Juice – this is the key to the whole recipe imho, it wakes the whole dish up!
• Cinnamon – adds warmth and flavor
• Cloves – just a hint of cloves adds so much flavor

The measurements for each are listed in the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to Make a Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Recipes just don’t get easier than this! Combine all the ingredien

Creamy vanilla cheesecake is poured over a simple graham cracker crust and then topped with a creamy layer of pumpkin Cheesecake Pumpkin Pie.

As much as this dessert looks fancy, this is a very simple pie recipe that results in an unforgettable finish for any meal.

Cheesecake Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin is fair game for me year around. My family LOVES pumpkin. We eat Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal all year long, and yes, I do mean in the spring and summer too.

Pumpkin Oatmeal is one of my youngest son’s favorite breakfasts, so pretty much any time I open a can of pumpkin, he’s likely to ask if there will be any pumpkin leftover to make oatmeal.

I’ve made a double layer pumpkin pie each Thanksgiving for years. That pie is frequently requested and it is always a hit. However, this recipe just knocked that pie off the table.

This recipe takes two of life’s best things, cheesecake and pumpkin pie, and combines them to create a pumpkin lover’s dessert experience that’s unlike any I’ve had before.

I’ve always loved pumpkin-flavored cheesecake too and realized recently there was a way to enjoy pumpkin cheesecake I’d never thought of before: simple vanilla cheesecake layered with spiced pumpkin pie filling all baked in a delicious crust.

One of my favorite things about cheesecake is the graham cracker crust. Making your own graham cracker crust for a cheesecake or pie is so much easier than many people think and the taste is phenomenal.

All it takes to make a homemade graham cracker crust is a good amount of crushed graham cracker crumbs mixed with melted butter and light brown sugar then pressed into a pie plate and baked.

The sweet buttery crust is the perfect vehicle for the layers of rich pumpkin pie filling and creamy cheesecake layer.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

I can’t believe I never tried layering pumpkin pie and cheesecake filling before. Cream cheese and pumpkin are a terrific match! The two textures and flavors complement each other so well.

The cream cheese layer is nothing more than cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla all mixed together in sweet perfection. As a bonus, this cream cheese base is a fantastic starting point for any cheesecake variations you want to try. You could even