Rotini with Ham and Veggie Casserole

Have you ever made a ham and thought...wow...lots of leftovers? How many days am I going to have to eat ham? Well here is one recipe you can throw in some of your leftover ham and make up a tasty casserole. The Cheddar cheese sauce is mixed with cooked pasta (you can use penne, rotini, elbow whatever you have on hand), bake with a buttery crumb topping....MMMM scrumptious. You can pair with a nice fruit salad or tossed salad to round out a nice complete and tasty meal.

Rotini with Ham and Veggie Casserole

Ingredients:

• 3 cups (1 box of rotini pasta)
• 2 cups frozen mixed veggies, cooked
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced or you can finely dice a small sweet onion
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic (1 small clove)
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 2 1/2 cups diced ham
• 2 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese    (keeping 1/2 cup separate)   

For the Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

 Directions:

• Heat the oven to 350°.

• Lightly grease 3 Qt baking dish with butter.

• In a large saucepan, cook rotini pasta following package directions. Drain in a colander and rinse with hot water. Cook the frozen veggies. Note: To cook the veggies with the pasta, add the frozen veggies to the pasta during the last 4-5 minutes of cooking time and add 2 minutes to the cooking time. Drain the pasta and veggies together and rinse with hot water.

• In a saucepan or saute pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Add the green onions, parsley, and garlic; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the milk and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add the diced ham and 2 cups of the shredded cheese and cook, stirring, until cheese is melted and the sauce is hot and bubbly.

• Add the drained pasta and veggies to the sauce, mixing well and heating through.

• Spoon into the baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese.

• Combine the bread crumbs and melted butter and blend thoroughly. Sprinkle crumbs over the shredded cheese layer.

• Bake for about 30 minutes, until crumbs are browned and the casserole is hot and bubbly.

This casserole was surprisingly light and I must confess, I found myself eating more than I probably should have.