Baked "Fried Ham"

Fried ham is such a simple meal to make, but it is always met with comments like, "Oh good, we get fried ham tonight!" This is a great way to use your extra ham leftover from Easter or, if you are like me and bought extra while it was cheap, a great quick supper anytime.

We call it "fried ham" because it tastes like fried ham, but it is actually baked without even using oil. You will not miss the oil or the mess it leaves behind. Pork sometimes gets a bad rap for being fattening. Some pork is fattening, but boneless ham is actually very lean. Mine is only 90 calories per 3 ounces so it's okay to add a little cheese on top.

Fried ham is great served with garlic and spinach mashed potatoes, although this time I tried a new potato recipe that I hope to share with you soon. I know this is a big dish of potatoes for four people. I probably could have made half of this amount of potatoes, but I'm embarrassed to admit we ate two-thirds of the dish of potatoes and every bit of the rest. Good thing they were healthy potatoes. Nobody went away hungry from this meal!

Recipe
Thin sliced, boneless ham (or spiral ham, fat trimmed)
pepper
garlic
cheese of your choice

To not overcrowd my pan so it takes forever to cook, I used two jelly roll pans. You will want pans with sides because the ham does create a little bit of juice while cooking. Liberally grind pepper over the top of the ham and grate garlic over the top of the ham.* There is no need to grease your pan. Bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes, turn ham, top with more pepper, and cook another 10 minutes or until desired crispiness is achieved. Top ham with cheese and return to the oven for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese.

Additional Notes
*I have tried different forms of garlic and grating the garlic is the method that works the best. Chopped garlic burns. Even powdered garlic has a weird burt flavor when I've tried it. The grated garlic adds the right garlic flavor and I haven't had any problems with it burning. You just need a little per ham slice. I used a hand held microplane, but if you don't have one, you can use the finest side of your grater.