Tips for Making Christmas Dinner in Your Slow Cooker

Tips for Making Slow Cooker Christmas Ham

1. Cut a zigzag pattern around the shank to trim away excess fat. Leaving about a quarter inch layer of fat, you want to run a knife under the rind and lift it off in one piece. Use a sharp knife to cut diamond squares into the ham.

2.  Score the fat in a diamond pattern to make your ham look pretty. Using a skewer, punch a hole in the center of each diamond and insert a clove. The look of your main dish will set the tone for your meal. 

3. You are going to want to glaze the rind to help to enhance the flavor of your ham. There are many types of glazes from honey mustard to ginger to lime or rum. Pick the one that suits your likes and menu plan. 

4. Carving your ham is extremely important. You should trim off 2 or 3 slices that are parallel to its length. Trim them from the thin side of the ham. Starting at the shank end, you want to cut your slices across the ham and down to the bone. Then, you want to cut parallel along the bone to release the slices. 

5. Your ham can be cooked in just about any liquid: You may like finding recipes using cider or spiced wine and orange juice. Coca-Cola is another option they use in the south, where having their ham come out sweet and sticky is appealing.

6. Your ham should be able to stay good to eat for 12 to 16 days if stored correctly. 

7. Favorite Slow Cooker Ham Recipes
   - Brown Sugar Honey Bourbon Glazed Ham
   - Slow Cooker Christmas Ham
   - All Day Slow Cooker Ham 
   - Honey Mustard "Baked" Ham 
   - Maple Brown Sugar Glazed Ham

Make Ahead Slow Cooker Sides

1. Holiday potatoes can be made ahead of time and frozen. You can peel and prepare your potatoes ahead of time and simmer them to perfection. Instead of doing all of the work on Christmas Eve or Christmas day, you are able to pull out your pre-prepared dish and throw it in the slow cooker for warming. 

2. Various cranberry recipes can also be made ahead of time and frozen until the holiday arrives. It is nice to spend a separate night preparing your dish without the stress of people arriving and having a specific timetable. Right before you Christmas dinner you can pull out your cranberries and warm them up in the slow cooker. 

3. Many vegetable casseroles can be made ahead of time. These tend to freeze extremely easily. Check your ingredients in the recipe to make sure they freeze well after they are cooked. Many vegetable casseroles can also be made a few days ahead and refrigerated. You can transfer it from your slow cooker into a casserole dish for refrigeration or freezing and either warm it in that dish or put it back for warming. 

4. Make ahead breads are also a great addition to your Christmas menu. There are many types of breads you can make in your slow cooker and refrigerate or freeze.

5. Make-Ahead Slow Cooker Holiday Recipes
   
   - Zucchini and Squash Casserole
   - Slow Cooker Cheesy Ranch Cauliflower and Broccoli
   - Slow Cooker Irish Potatoes Recipe
   - Slow Cooker Apple Raspberry Cranberry Sauce
   - Couldn't Be Easier Slow Cooker Bread

Tips for Making Holiday Cakes in the Slow Cooker

1. When baking a cake in your slow cooker you can use a baking insert available from the manufacturer, or use a baking dish from your equipment that fits into your slow cooker, or you can just put the batter straight into your pre-greased and floured slow cooker. 
   
    

2. Once all of your ingredients are in the slow cooker ready to bake, you can prop open the lid with a wooden spoon handle or chopstick if you want to vent the cooker. By doing this simple task it eliminates condensation from collecting on the underside of the lid and possibly dripping onto whatever you’re baking.

3. When your recipe has finished baking, wear oven gloves to lift out the item you have baked. Save your knuckles!

4. Want to bake cookie bars? You just stack the ingredients into your slow cooker crock or insert. It is a fairly easy process.

5. Fit a pie crust straight into your slow cooker crock. Pat it into the bottom and up the sides an inch or so. If you’re using a big cooker, use two crusts. Just overlap them slightly where they meet, and pat the seam smooth.

6. Slow Cooker Christmas Dessert Recipes
   - Easiest Ever Red Velvet Cake
   - Decadent Triple Chocolate Cake
   - Gingersnap Crusted Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake
   - Triple Chocolate Pudding Cake with Raspberry Sauce
   - Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Cake

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