I really can spell…well usually.

“What’s fah suppah?” is my tribute to being a resident of Maine.  I actually know people who talk just like that.  They don’t “park the car,” they “pahk the cah,” eat “lobstah,” and will tell you, “ya cn’t git thayah from heaah.”

Anyway, enough about Maine vernacular…

I was making dinner the other night and realized that eating and cooking are things that all of us have to do at some point during the day…just another part of every day life…and that got me thinking it might be fun to do a food related post from time to time.

But before I do that, I have to share another embarrassing truth about myself….I don’t like to cook.

Fortunately for my family, I like to take care of them, and since they have to eat, I DO cook.  I’m not fantastic at it, but I guess I’m alright.  They don’t complain…much.

Yesterday we were supposed to have boiled ham with beans and mashed potatoes.  I don’t mind making that meal.  First off, Mr. EiRL loves ham, and secondly…it’s easy!  We usually buy a small smoked shoulder, and, at about noontime, I put it in a big pot filled with water, bring it to a nice simmer, and then leave it bubbling gently on low all afternoon.  Come dinnertime that ham is falling off the bone…so yummy!  And just about anybody can open up a couple of cans of beans and cook a few potatoes….although the first time I ever tried to make mashed potatoes I burned ’em.  Let the water just boil away…not good.

That was what we were supposed to have…except that my stove is over 20 years old and is begging me to let it die.  Mr. EiRL insists that it’s got a few more years left in it.  He keeps tweaking this, re-wiring that…

To make a long story short…I got the ham bubbling nicely, turned it to medium low, and walked away for a couple of hours only to find that the ham was not simmering at all.  The ring had shut off completely…and with dinnertime only an hour away…no ham for us. 😦

Thankfully I had a batch of spaghetti sauce in the freezer left over from last week.  We had pasta for dinner while I finished cooking the ham…which was finally ready come bedtime.

So, I’ve got a box full of ham to use for dinner tonight.  I could just reheat it and still make beans and potatoes, but I started wondering…

What do you do with left-over ham?  Any suggestions?  I’d love for you to share…

P.S.  I already know about making those little ham sandwiches that are served in finger rolls at EVERY social gathering in North America…