Cottage ham two ways

Stormy · **Cottage ham two ways**

Ok, I'll start!

Cottage ham is the ham you get in the grocery store near the sliced hams. The smaller pieces are usually wrapped in red plastic and vacuum packed. They are usually pretty small but you can get two if you have a large family.

Day 1: Put cottage ham, about two cups fresh green beans, cleaned, pared and cut into 1-2" pieces, and one large onion, cut in curved thin strips, in a pan with water. Make sure the water covers the ham. Simmer on the stovetop 1.5 hours. Take out cottage ham, slice, and serve with the green beans. Reserve onions, about a cup of the green beans AND cooking water! Do not throw away!! Also, put away a little of the cottage ham, maybe two slices or so for the soup the next day.

Day 2: Chunk the remaining two slices of cottage ham. Heat this with the reserved ham water, the green beans and the onions. If you need more liquid add more water, ditto if the broth is too salty, add more water. Cook until hot, then remove from heat. Add about 1/4 C. sour cream to the soup liquid, strirring well. Then sprinkle some paprika on top for color. Salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with bread. This is REALLY good! I got the 'recipe' from an old boyfriend, the only useful thing I ever got from him. He was really a 'doozy' but he was Hungarian and had some really great recipes!!!

PS - if you are short on time you can use frozen green beans or even canned.