I am not going to bake it and will sprinkle the sugar mix on each package before wrapping. Mostly, the ham will get cut up into bite sized pieces and fried as a topping for greens or eggs (for Dad). My new love is fried ham and greens, I could eat this everyday. The goodness of the kale, turnip or chard is balancing out the unhealthiness of the ham so I'm even, lol! Love 15 bean soup cooked with a ham bone, the bone is the prize of the ham!

Yes Vieja, that was what I was using. What I used to get was their "Gourmet" seasoning. Heavy glass jar with the sort of odd green colored cap on it. Sam's club carries Spice Island version in a grinder but they don't have it at the local ones. I've seen various things online but shipping is usually prohibitive to me. It's not worth that much to me! I would prefer just the smoked seasoning since I'm trying to cut the salt more now. I did pick up some of the Trader Joe's Smoked Seasoning. Haven't really had a chance to try it out yet but for a couple dollars for the big container with the grinder compared to the cost of shipping through the internet, it's worth a try. But the old McCormicks, come to think of it it may have even been called Shilling's back then, I don't recall for sure. And yes, I know they're the same company ("Shilling in the east, McCormick in the west"). It was a great seasoning for burgers and most any meat. FTHOI I sent them an inquiry to see if it's made, or to more likely, confirm it's long since discontinued. Oh and thanks for the email. I couldn't reply since your mail wouldn't allow it. Nice to hear from you. We don't have Albertson's around here. They were going to buy a local chain called Rainbow Foods but that deal fell through and Roundy's bought them out. Now making your own smoked salt is interesting. But I don't have a smoker so back to a cost issue. Sorry to steer it off topic! But back to it, it'd probably be a good spice for doctoring beans! Oh, another seasoning I've come to enjoy is smoked paprika. You can probably tell I like smoky things... :)

In my experience, eggs don't usually freeze very well, although I make and freeze breakfast "sandwiches" for Ashley made of a cooked (fried or scrambled) egg, bacon and cheese on an english muffin and she heats them in the microwave and says they're fine. I'd just make a batch and put one in the freezer. In a few days, take it out and microwave it. That way you'll know, and you won't "sacrifice" a whole batch if it doesn't work well. Annie

Kinda labor intensive but I've never had any complaints: Keri's Hog-Apple Baked Beans 3 or 4 slices bacon, diced 2 (16 oz) cans pork and beans, mostly drained (modified to 2 28-oz cans Bush's Baked Beans - see note below) 1/2 c. Blues Hog BBQ Sauce (or other sweet-spicy favorite) 1 lb. smoked leftover smoked pork or beef, more or less, or 1 lb crumbled cooked pork sausage 1 can apple pie filling (chop up the big chunks some) 1 medium onion, chopped 1/2 green pepper, chopped 1/2 c. brown sugar 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 2 Tbsp. Mustard (prepared) 1 tsp chipotle or cayenne powder (optional, to taste*) 1 tsp Blues Hog barbecue rub (or your favorite de jour) Brown bacon, and saute onion and green pepper in bacon grease. Mix in remaining ingredients. Bake at 325º for 1 hour, or simmer on stovetop in large pot for 30 minutes if you don't have time to do them in the oven. Serves 12. This recipe began life as APPLE PIE BAKED BEANS from somewhere on the web, but I think I've made enough changes to it now to claim it as my own. This is my standard for baked beans anymore. *This is a rather spicy recipe due to the chipotle/cayenne powder. Feel free to leave it out if you'll be feeding those who prefer a less spicy taste.