Turn a baked ham into a festive meal with this colorful and easy to make cherry sauce.

Ham with Cherry Sauce

Ham:
3 pound fully cooked boneless ham
Whole cloves
Fresh parsley sprigs

 

Cherry Sauce:
2 (14.5-ounce each) cans red tart pitted cherries in juice, undrained
2/3 to 3/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup Equal® Spoonful*
Red food coloring (optional)

1. For Ham: Place meat in roasting pan; stud with cloves. Roast ham in preheated 325°F (160°C) oven about 1 1/2 hours or until thermometer inserted in center of ham registers 160°F.
2. For Cherry Sauce: Drain cherries, reserving juice in 2 cup glass measure. Add enough pineapple juice to make 2 cups. Combine juice mixture and lemon juice in medium saucepan. Whisk in cornstarch until smooth.
3. Heat to boiling, whisking constantly. Stir in cherries. Cook over medium heat 3 to 4 minutes or until heated through. Stir in Equal® and food coloring. (Makes about 4 1/2 cups.)
4. Slice ham and arrange on platter. Place bowl of Cherry Sauce in the center. Garnish with parsley.

Makes 6 servings.

* May substitute 24 packets sweetener.

Note: 2 (16-ounce each) packages frozen unsweetened pitted cherries, thawed, can be substituted for canned cherries. Drain cherries thoroughly. Add enough pineapple juice to make 2 cups. Proceed as recipe directs.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:
calories 156, protein 18 g, carbohydrate 9 g, fat 5 g, cholesterol 45 mg, sodium 1027 mg.

Food Exchanges: 2 1/2 lean meat, 1/2 fruit.

Recipe provided courtesy of Merisant Corporation ® and the NutraSweet Company, makers of Equal®.

Click for more information on the artificial sweetner Aspartame.