Creamy Ham and Macaroni Bake

Name: Creamy Ham and Macaroni Bake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 4-6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 cups cooked macaroni; 2 tablespoons margarine; 3 tablespoons flour; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes; 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 2 cups milk; 2 cups diced cooked ham; 14 1/2 ounces asparagus, cuts&tips well drained; 2 1/2 cups shredded American cheese; 3 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs

Submitted by lets.eat

"My husband tells me ASPARAGUS is disgusting, so why does he love this?. I do chop the asparagus in tiny pieces, but I'm not going to lie I can taste it--as you know asparagus has it's own taste, like trying to disguise brussel sprouts!"

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photo by vrvrvr

Ready In:: 1hr 5mins
Ingredients:: 12
Serves:: 4-6

ingredients

2 cups cooked macaroni
2 tablespoons margarine
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
³⁄₄ teaspoon dry mustard
¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups diced cooked ham
14 ¹⁄₂ ounces asparagus, cuts&tips well drained
2 ¹⁄₂ cups shredded American cheese
3 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs

directions

Heat oven to 350'. In a large saucepan, melt margarine, stir in flour, salt, parsley, mustard and pepper. Blend in milk. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Add cheese, stir until melted. Add cooked macaroni, ham and asparagus; mix well. Pour into buttered 2 quart casserole. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes or until nice and bubbly.

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Reviews

i thought this was ok- but then again my DH made it at my request. I had wanted him to steam the fresh asparagus I had on hand until tender crisp- didn't happen so they were still a little bit too firm for me. He also decided to use monzerella cheese- which made this VERY cheesey. I am not giving up on this though since his changes & mine just didn't wow us. so this is moving into the tried and true cookbook for another time. Thanks for sharing!

Shawn C
Yeee-ummmy! I took this great recipe "uptown" by using fresh asparagus (6 fat stalks roasted with drizzled olive oil, salt & pepper, for about 10 minutes in a 400 oven) -- and what a great instruction to chop the asparagus into tiny pieces! For the white sauce I used butter instead of margarine, and I thought this recipe would soar with Swiss cheese...so I used that (about 1.5 c. shredded). For the milk I used my customary mix of milk, heavy cream and chicken stock -- but that's just me -- with a healthy splash of white wine. I used farfalle pasta, and topped this with 1/2 c. buttered panko. The result? About the best thing I've ever done with leftover ham! Thanks for such a great and inspirational recipe... the combination of ham, pasta, creamy sauce and asparagus is truly unbeatable.

vrvrvr

Tweaks

Yeee-ummmy! I took this great recipe "uptown" by using fresh asparagus (6 fat stalks roasted with drizzled olive oil, salt & pepper, for about 10 minutes in a 400 oven) -- and what a great instruction to chop the asparagus into tiny pieces! For the white sauce I used butter instead of margarine, and I thought this recipe would soar with Swiss cheese...so I used that (about 1.5 c. shredded). For the milk I used my customary mix of milk, heavy cream and chicken stock -- but that's just me -- with a healthy splash of white wine. I used farfalle pasta, and topped this with 1/2 c. buttered panko. The result? About the best thing I've ever done with leftover ham! Thanks for such a great and inspirational recipe... the combination of ham, pasta, creamy sauce and asparagus is truly unbeatable.

vrvrvr