Baked Ham and Swiss Malibu Chicken -- Mama’s Honey-Glazed Ham, Made Your Own Way

Christmas week. The plant shuts down from December 23 to January 2 — the annual winter break, which every Chrysler worker counts down to like a second New Year. The last shift before the break has a specific energy: giddy, sloppy, generous. Guys bring in food. Someone plays music too loud. Patterson pretends to be annoyed and is secretly relieved. Jerome brought in Miss Doris's pound cake, which he cut into pieces and distributed like communion. It was dense, buttery, vanilla-soaked, and perfect. I ate three pieces and felt no guilt. Christmas Eve at the duplex. This is tradition. The Carters gather on Christmas Eve, eat Mama's food, exchange gifts, and stay too late. The menu was different from Thanksgiving but equal in scope: baked ham (honey-glazed, studded with cloves), green bean casserole (Mama's only use of cream of mushroom soup, a concession she makes annually and regrets annually), sweet potato casserole (with pecans on top instead of marshmallows — Christmas sweet potatoes get pecans; Thanksgiving sweet potatoes get marshmallows; these are rules), dinner rolls, and a fruit punch that Mama spikes with ginger ale for the adults. Marc arrived with gifts wrapped in newspaper, because Marc. He gave Aiden a toy drum, which Brianna and I received with the grace of parents who know they will be hearing that drum at six AM for the next year. He gave Dad a new coffee mug to replace the "World's Okayest Father" mug, which had broken. This one said "World's Okayest Grandpa." Dad laughed. Mama did not. Keisha gave Marc a look that said "you are a fool but you are my fool" and that pretty much sums up the family's relationship with its youngest member. Aiden was overwhelmed by the tree, the lights, the people, the noise. He sat in my lap most of the evening, wide-eyed and quiet, absorbing everything. At one point he reached for the tree and grabbed an ornament — a glass ball that Mama has had since the seventies — and I caught it before it hit the floor with reflexes I did not know I still had. Basketball muscle memory, apparently. Mama said, "Good save." Dad said nothing, but he nodded, which from Ronald Carter is a standing ovation. We drove home late, Aiden asleep in his car seat, Brianna next to me, the streets of Detroit quiet and cold and lit with Christmas lights — some houses going all out with inflatables and laser projections, others with a single strand of lights around the porch, all of them saying the same thing: we are here, we are alive, it is Christmas. I reached over and held Brianna's hand. She squeezed back. We drove through the dark city toward our small apartment, our sleeping son, our complicated marriage, our imperfect and precious life.

Driving home through those quiet Detroit streets, Brianna’s hand in mine and Aiden knocked out cold in the back seat, all I wanted was something warm and uncomplicated waiting on the other side of that door — something that felt like a reward without requiring much of me. Malibu Chicken is exactly that: familiar, a little indulgent, the kind of dinner that makes a small apartment feel like enough. Here’s how I made it.

Baked Ham and Swiss Malibu Chicken

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 4 slices deli ham (honey-glazed preferred)
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray or a thin layer of butter.
2. Season the chicken. Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Season both sides evenly with garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Arrange in the prepared baking dish in a single layer.
3. Make the honey glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, Dijon mustard, melted butter, and apple cider vinegar until smooth and combined.
4. Glaze and bake. Spoon half the honey glaze over the tops of the chicken breasts. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
5. Add ham and cheese. Remove the dish from the oven. Lay one slice of ham over each chicken breast, folding to fit, then top each with a slice of Swiss cheese. Spoon the remaining glaze over everything.
6. Finish baking. Return to the oven and bake an additional 12–15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the chicken registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
7. Rest and serve. Let the chicken rest 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired. Serve alongside green bean casserole, dinner rolls, or sweet potato casserole to complete the spread.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 390 | Protein: 48g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 620mg