Yes, I am aware of the fact that I do not celebrate Easter. My family is Jewish and we celebrate Passover. Still, I grew up with friends that invited me over to celebrate Easter with them over the years. I have to admit, I was not a fan of ham. There was just something about it that I did not like. When I married TechyDad, he asked that we keep a kosher kitchen. That means no pork products and other non-kosher items in our house. Unlike my husband, I do eat non-kosher items from time to time when we are out and about.

Case in point was when I went to the Cook’s Ham blogger event at Price Chopper a little over a week ago. I did not think I was going to try the ham, but the smell and look intrigued me. Family, please forgive me. It was not the first time and will not be the last that it will pass by my lips! I was pleasantly surprised with the Cook’s Ham. It was nothing like the overly salty, hard to chew hams that I had tried in my life.

I have to admit something else, I am jealous. Ham looks like such a great and versatile protein to use with a family. The recipe possibilities and types of products are huge. Just from Cook’s you can buy: spiral ham, whole ham, half/portion ham, ham streak, and thick cut ham steak. There are a lot of great resources for recipes to use with the ham, as sides and beyond. A ham that was served as a main dinner can later be reinvented and used countless other meals that are fresh and do not seem like leftovers.

The truth is, there is no kosher meat like ham and I wish there was. Here is a ham conversation that I had with my six year old son the other day:

NHL: "Mom, can we have green eggs and ham today?"   (It was St Patrick’s Day)

Me: "I can make you green eggs, but no ham."

NHL: "Why not Mommy?"

Me: "Ham is not kosher, so we can not have it."

Without missing a beat. . . .

NHL: "Do they make kosher ham? If they do I really want it!"

*sigh*  Sad to say that will never happen, but a girl can certainly dream.

With the Easter season quickly coming, Cook’s Ham has a website with recipes and ideas to go along with your ham preparations. You can search for recipes via an ingredient search, or look under Easter ideas, Great tasting Glaze, or Ham Leftovers. The fun part, there are even recipes on their website that I can use because not everything includes ham (delicious sounding desserts and sides included).

Giveaway:

Thanks to Cook’s Ham, TWO lucky readesr will each win a coupon for a Free Cook’s Ham up to $30.00. It may be used on Cook’s Bone-In Hams & Ham Steaks, Cook’s Spiral Slices Hams and Cook’s Corned Beef Brisket. Cook’s Ham can be purchased at Price Chopper Stores or you can check here for a store near you.

Rules for Giveaway:

• MAIN RULE – Answer the following question: Who will you be celebrating Easter with this year?
  
• 1 Bonus Entry –  What recipe on Cook’s Ham website looks interesting to you and why?
  
• 1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and Cook’s Ham Easter Giveaway in the Tweet.  Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Chance to win one of 2 Cook’s Ham $30 coupons just in time for Easter from @TheAngelForever  Enter here http://bit.ly/an3xAd
• 1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
• 1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of January/February/March. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
• 1 Bonus Entry – Enter any of my other current giveaways. You may leave one comment for each of the giveaways that you enter on this post.
• 3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
• 5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today March 24th and ends at  10:59 EST on March 28, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.  

Disclosure: Cook’s Ham and Price Chopper invited me to be a part of this blogging event last week. I did not pay for this, nor was I paid to go. I was not asked to blog about this, but wanted to share my experience with my readers. The opinions expressed in this are my own. I was not compensated, but did receive sample items, some groceries and flowers from Cook’s Ham and Price Chopper. Cook’s Ham is providing the two coupons for this giveaway.