A Switch to Spiral

About a year ago, I realized that I could pay 5.00 dollars/pound or more for sliced deli meat that would provide a lunch or two or I could buy a large spiral ham that would easily feed us for five meals or more at a fraction of the cost. The ham in this picture weighed 8.02 pounds and cost $12.67. It was $1.58/pound. Yes, there is a bone in this ham that impacts on the total cost per pound but this bone is the base for a wonderful soup for which I will share my recipe.
                  The great thing about spiral ham is that it can be served cold right out of the package for the first meal as it is sold, fully cooked. That is what we usually do. For me, the secret is to take the time to trim the small amount of fat and edging off each piece which can be done for large sections if I angle it right. Then, I lay it on the plate for sandwiches like in the  picture above. Covered with saran wrap, the whole plate can be warmed in the microwave for sandwiches which makes them even better! For a big homeschooling family, this is a quick and fantastic lunch. I will then serve this ham for the next few days and that reduces my cooking time in the late afternoon.

             When the ham is toward the end of the bone and is no longer spiral cut, I simply slice it by hand for more sandwiches or maybe as a main dish with potatoes and a vegetable. I'll just lay the ham on a plate and heat it in the microwave.We also serve these cut pieces of ham in omelets or macaroni and cheese. (Those are red onions on the plate in the above picture).When the easily usable ham is all gone, I have a choice. I can wrap the bone in saran and then aluminum foil and freeze it until I am ready to make soup or go ahead and soak a bag of dried beans to make a pot of delicious soup the next day.

Dried beans are so much fun for me!!!! They are dirt cheap, there are at least 15 kinds and when they are cooking they make the whole house smell delicious. I feel like a frugal pioneer woman while cooking beans that I have soaked. I keep three or four bags of different kinds in my pantry. A pound of these can be used for ham and bean soup or (after soaking) can be thrown into a big pot of Vegetable beef soup. The recipe for Ham and Bean Soup is on the back of the bag of 15 Bean Soup. Any kind of bean will work. In this picture are navy beans. As I blog tonight, a pot of Black-Eyed Pea and Ham Soup is cooking.

1. Soak the beans after rinsing in a colander in a bowl of water on the counter over night.

2.Put the entire ham bone (defrosted) and the beans in a pot, cover with fresh water, boil once and then simmer for about an hour or a little more until the beans are soft but not mushy.

3.Pull out the ham bone and cut off all the good meat from it, discarding the fat, gristle and the bone itself.

4.Cut up celery and carrots (I use a lot ), an onion and 3 cloves of garlic and throw these with the ham bits back into the bean pot with the broth.

5.Add a can of Diced Tomatoes, a teaspoonful of lemon juice, a little red hot or chili powder, salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 30 minutes until the carrots are done. By the way, I process my vegetables so that they cook faster but that isn't necessary. If you think it is too sour, add a little sugar to the pot at the end.

6. Serve with crackers in a bowl. My husband likes to eat this over a couple of slices of white bread which was how his father ate it.My children will eat this and actually enjoy it because it is very tasty.

Bless Us O Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive through Christ,   Our Lord. Amen