We enjoyed ham for our Christmas dinner — a lot of ham! Our grandson Kenny received a smoked ham as a Christmas gift from work. It was a big ham, maybe 30 pounds, which wouldn’t fit into Kenny’s oven. So he brought it to our house, and we cooked it up. We probably overcooked the ham because it was falling apart, but talk about a delicious meal!

So now there’s a lot of leftover ham at both houses, which has left me searching my files for recipes using ham. Included in this week’s column are two of the recipes that you might want to try if you have leftovers.

Ham and Bacon Chowder
2 cups potatoes, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced
¾ cup onion, diced
6 slices bacon
2 cups cubed ham
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
3 to 4 cups milk
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
¼ teaspoon pepper
In a large kettle or Dutch oven, cook the potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion until done. Brown the bacon, drain off the fat, and crumble. Add to the vegetables. Then add ham, soup, milk, salt and pepper. Heat thoroughly. Use milk to the desired consistency.

Ham ‘n Noodles
6 cups uncooked noodles
¼ cup butter
1 cup whipping cream
1 ½ cups cooked ham, chopped
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup sliced green onions
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Cook the noodles according to the package directions. In a skillet, melt the butter and stir in the cream. Bring to a boil and cook and stir for two minutes. Add the ham, cheese, onion, salt and pepper. Drain the noodles and add to the ham mixture and heat through.
Cold weather is here for a while. Do you have favorite recipes for winter days and nights? If you would like to share the recipes with readers, please call me at 970-824-8809 or write to me at PO Box 415, Craig 81626. Happy New Year!