Happiness is a new Stove

After living 3 months without an oven- I actually missed cooking or should I say baking. .After all there is just so much you can cook on a stove top or grill.

For many month's there was simply no way we could afford to get it fixed. Now we had options-blessed options. I know most people to get a new job celebrate BIG. But for me to be able to cook again is a huge blessing. So,after figuring out that a service call to fix the range would be $75.00-and then the part would have to be ordered-we checked on the Internet and found out that the heating element (that was broken part) was on back order-it was time to get a new stove. I picked a nice shinny stainless steal one. (Which means of course I will need to get a matching frig later) So tonight I cooked lasagna -so should I say baked it. KayLee and I stopped at the grocery store and she looked up at me and said, "I never thought I would be this excited over an appliance!" Timmy ran and got cookie dough-I guess we are making cookies tonight as well.

I have never been "the cook".

There are a couple of good reasomns why: my family are picky eatter. It seems like whenever I would cook for hours I would get- "I don't like that!". In my old neighborhood where we all new each other the neighbors used to to joke the got the best meals because my kids only liked burgers, hot dogs and chicken. After a while it just plain gets discouraging-so you end up just producing the same old thing time and time again-because you know they will eat it. However catching the last part of a food network show and actually having a stove-

I share my Grandma's easy Glazed Ham!

Go and Get-

1.In one of those huge tall chicken pots place a ham. I like to get the ones from the butcher that are tied with string!

2. Pour 2-3 two liter bottles of Ginger Ale over the ham and simmer for almost 4 hours. ( remember it's pork)- I saw this on the food network. I think grandma use 7-up.But I do remember the sprinkling with ginger.

Glaze

I don't have exact measurement for the glaze as grandma never used measurements-

1. In a bowl combine a jar of orange marilaid

2. A small handfull of ginger,

3. A bunch of brown sugar. The darker the brown sugar-the less you need. I used about 1/2 of the bag.

Place the glaze over the ham and bake in the pre-heated oven for around 30 minutes on 400.

It is such a pretty ham-and since it has been boiled and baked-it tastes as good cold as it does hot.

(Of course I had to scrap all the glaze off Timmy's piece and even wash it off underr the sink so it was "regular". Everybody did actually eat it!

Since I am off to Kalamazoo for Thanksgiving with family- I may even get brave and creative with the potatoes, salad rolls, and pie's I am bringing.

No worries folks-there is no way I will become a real cook-not enough time! Between teaching, correcting papers, and all those Tech Support favors (becaue our tech guy is MIA most of the time,) adding in hours of homework help for my ADD son in private school and I am just lucky on the days I can crawl between the sheets before midnight.

But since I now have a really pretty new oven range- maybe I can be motivated-occassionaly!