and a ham to can and freeze

i know a while ago i posted about how i do big batch cooking and freeze it
i've been doing stuff like this since we were married.
because i was either in school and working or working and working (a couple jobs usually at a time)
we used to go food shopping once a month, so the FIRST thing we saved up for in our decent (as opposed to crappy icky cheapo) apartment was an upright freezer 16 cubic feet......
manual defrost and i still have it and love it and use it
then a few years ago we got a 16 or 20 (i forget now which one) chest freezer also with manual defrost
and that's helped a lot

ok back to the batch cooking thing
i always get what ever is on a good sale....
it has to be a good sale, and i don't like to pay more then 1.99 a pound for meats
so yesterday we were after .99 a pound ham
and chicken thighs
while we were there we also found chopmeat for 1.99 (and 15 pounds followed me home.....i should have gotten 40)
now today i am going to start on one of the hams
i was supposed to do a lot more but bernie got what started as a road call so we just froze everything really fast....
except sauce, one ham and some chicken
today i will pack the sauce for the freezer,
and package the ham

this is how i am going to do the ham

slices...... for ham dinners
small cubes for ham and noodles
ham and potatoes and ham and bean soups
the bone is going to be simmered for stock which will either be frozen or canned....most likely canned

ham in small quantities is pretty useful to have around- don't be afraid to use it as a seasoning..
a cup or so of diced ham is great to add to so many things.... over salads
into casseroles, soups, stews,
in pilafs
rice/grain dishes
add to cream cheese for a dip or spread
chopped up with cheese and stuffed into chicken or layered between boneless chicken breasts
added to a chicken based cheese sauce and put over chicken..
add to eggs for breakfast
and so on......
so getting a few hams and cutting them up would be a good thing to do if you get them at a good price
it doesn't take too long to break down the ham into lots of smaller sizes if you have a decent knife
make sure you do... a nice sharp one
i use a long bladed boning knife for around the bone

i also am thinking of boning out some of my chicken thighs and stuffing them with ham and cheese then freezing them....
i figured that would be an interesting variation
i do'nt have broccoli in the garden thanks to the groundhog or i would stuff with broccoli and cheese
(maybe i should try chard and ricotta?)
i will most likely dip it in my coating mix before i freeze it

now today i am very tired....i had a rough time taking the ducks out- it was super humid, they were uncooperative and i sweated so bad i need to change clothes
then i had french toast which is a carb load and a half.............

also i am pretty sure i didn't drink enough fluids yesterday
i had two cups of coffee and a glass of water
ALL DAY
so i probably need to do something about that as well

anyway i am going to start in the kitchen now

at least with the sauce and then work my way through the rest

if i'm not back by tuesday.......send in the hounds