Did the days stuck at home recently find you combing your pantry for foods that work together? Us, too!

I had a nice boneless ham and wanted an interesting glaze for it, one that would work in a slow cooker or Crock-Pot. After all, we were going to be outside; we had a long driveway to shovel and plenty of bushes to rescue from their heavy snow —  and snow angels to make! I didn’t want to miss the fun being stuck in the kitchen making a glaze and basting the ham.

Fortunately, if you have condiments, you have ham glaze. How crazy you want to get with your ingredients is half the fun.

Pull out all those duck sauce and hot mustard packets from your fridge and combine. Careful with the hot mustard, though; the longer those packets have been hiding, the hotter that mustard gets.

Here’s another creative glaze, inspired by a can of jellied cranberry sauce and a lonely jar of jalapeno jelly. Jalapeno jelly has limited uses. It’s great as a dipping sauce or spread over a block of cream cheese and served with crackers. But it’s tricky to incorporate into every day cooking. Inevitably, there’s a half-used jar in my fridge, awaiting some imagination.  

Here’s what I came up with:

2 crisp, tart apples, cored (12 to 16 ounces)
½ cup raisins, optional
1 can jellied cranberry sauce
4 tablespoons jalapeno pepper jelly
1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 ½ to 3 pounds boneless precooked smoked ham

I don’t peel anything if I can help it, but if you don’t peel the apples, be prepared for little curls of apple peel in your glaze. Halve the apples lengthwise and slice each half into ¼ inch pieces. Toss them into the slow cooker and add the raisins if desired.  

Mix the cranberry sauce, jalapeno pepper jelly, and vinegar together. Don’t worry that it’s not smooth. Spoon over the ham.  

Cover and cook on low 6 to 7 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours. Your ham is already cooked, so you can be casual about your timing.   

Any ham glaze is great for smoked sausage or mini Smoky Links as well. For the recipe above, substitute 2 pounds of mini Smoky Links for the ham and omit the fruit.  

If you happen to be hosting a Super Bowl party, try some of these glazes for Crock-Pot Smoky Links or hot dogs.  

½ cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
½ can (3 ounces) frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
½ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon chili powder, optional
1 pound mini Smoky Links or hot dogs

Mix together and taste. Add chili powder if desired. Cook in slow cooker with meat on low 3 to 4 hours.

The ingredients in this one will keep ‘em guessing while they scarf it down.

1 cup grape jelly
1 ½ cups chili sauce  
1 pound mini Smoky Links or hot dogs

Mix together jelly and chili sauce, pour over Smoky Links in a slow cooker. Cook on low 3 to 4 hours.

Hope you enjoy these as much as we do!