Apricot-Glazed Ham Loaf

I'm sick of Turkey.  I now realize why I usually only have a full turkey once a year.  First of all I can clearly not judge how big of a turkey to make for 4 adults.  An 18.5 pound turkey might have been a bit more than we needed.  On the bright side, I have frozen enough to last me all year so maybe that's why I made so much.

Either way, bring on ANY other kind of meat.  I just bought a new cooking "magazine" from the store.  It's from Better Homes and Gardens and it's all about Holiday cooking.  I was surprised to see this Ham Loaf recipe in there.  To be honest I don't even know what a ham loaf is, what I do know is that it's not turkey and so I'm on board with it.

This recipe seemed pretty straight forward.  I was a little leery of the apricots being used not only in the loaf but also in the glaze on top of it but now that I've had it I wouldn't want it any other way.  The apricots really bring out the flavors of the ham and add a nice little variation in texture that I loved.  My husband loved it, my daughter wouldn't touch it.  Don't go by her, she won't touch anything.

You start out with some pre-cooked ham, cut up into pieces.

Use a food processor to grind it up into small pieces.  While your food processor is out, just go ahead and chop the bread for the soft bread crumbs (I used two slices) the apricots (after I'd cut them into pieces), and the onion so my hands wouldn't smell.

In a large bowl add all of the ingredients and mix together with your hands until well combined.

Shape the mixture into a loaf about 9x5 inches.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45-60 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Brush several times with the apricot glaze during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Great flavors!  I'm so glad I tried it and I'll be making it again for a nice change up to regular meatloaf.

Recipe from "Better Homes and Gardens" Holiday Recipes 2011

Apricot-Glazed Ham Loaf:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
3 Tbsp unsweetened pineapple juice
2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 pound ground fully cooked ham
1 pound ground pork
2/3 cup snipped dried apricots
1 recipe Apricot Glaze

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups apricot preserves
3 Tbsp unsweetened pineapple juice
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and mix well with your hands.  Shape the mixture into a 9x5 loaf in a 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Make the glaze by combining all the ingredients into a small bowl and mix together well.  Cook on medium low heat until bubbly.  Divide the mixture in half and use one half to glaze with and the other half to serve with the loaf.  During the last 10 minutes of cooking, brush the reserved half of the glaze over the top several times.