Every year my dad cooks a ham for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Year after year, it’s always the same: baked ham.  When I was able to score a bone-in ham for less than $6, I was amped to try cooking the ham a different way.

I tried cooking the ham with it’s juices in a crock pot with pineapple juice, maple syrup and brown sugar.  I cooked it for about 5-6 on a slow heat.  It smelled delicious so I thought I was on a the road to something great. Duh-dun-dunnnnnn….

The ham turned out to be ropey and not tasty at all.  I was to salvage some of it, but I had to chuck the rest.  I don’t think I will be trying to slow boil a ham again!

Candied yams are not just for Thanksgiving!  I LOVE candied yams (if you haven’t noticed, I have a vicious sweet tooth), but sadly it’s not a side dish I remember to make during the year because I associate it only with Thanksgiving.   But with a recipe this simple, you can definately make it year round.

This recipe comes from my mom — which is really not too surprising considering that she typically cooks for special occasions and holidays.  While this recipe excludes marshmallows, you can add them at the end!

The Basics

• Yams – peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices
• Dark corn syrup – about 1 – 1 1/2 cups
• Cinnamon – about 2 tbsp
• Sugar – about 2 tbsp
• Butter – about 2 tbsp

The Rundown

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Pour a little corn syrup into an oven-safe baking dish.  Add a layer of yams and drizzle some corn syrup on top.  Mix together cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle on yams.  Continue layering yams, drizzling corn syrup and sprinkling the cinnamon-sugar.

When finished, scatter thin sliced butter tabs.  Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the yams are fork tender.  If you’re adding marshmallows, add them at the end and broil the  dish for about 1-2 minutes.  Enjoy!