A Lovely Winter's Day

It's winter in the beautiful Sequatchie Valley. No snow today and the temperature was supposed to be in the mid 40s. It is currently 35 degrees and cloudy. We are enjoying a huge oak log in our wood burning fire place. (The other 6 are gas, but we're considering changing over.)

I don't know how wood will do in the kitchen as I always raise my bread on the hearth. Will the heat be sufficient? We shall see.

We're expecting 7 guests for dinner this evening. We'll be dining in the kitchen because the dining room is slightly narrow and whomever sits in front of the fire gets roasted alive.
Ray is cooking, of course. A ham has been baking for hours, blending it's aroma with the fire. Pure Heaven! We're having our special creamed potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese. Fried corn that was scraped from the cob only a few months ago. And green beans with bacon, mushrooms, pimentos, and almonds. A greater feast, you couldn't ask for!

The guests are bringing dessert and wine. A fine evening!

Ruth Ann
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com
http://www.raggbaggs.blogspot.com

Hot Ham and Cheese Spread

I'm giving a little dinner party this weekend and drug this out of my recipe box. I haven't made it in ages, but it's a keeper!


1 pound thinly sliced deli ham, sliced into thin strips
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into cubes
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
2 (1 pound) loaves cocktail rye bread

In a slow cooker, combine the ham, cream cheese, cream of mushroom soup and cream of celery soup. Stir in the Swiss cheese. Cover, and cook on Low until cheese is melted, about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve on cocktail rye slices.