Ham and Peas Casserole

Yes at long last I am back. I really have no excuse for neglecting my blog so long except that I now babysit my grandson 3 days a week so I have less time to play on the computer but I am going to try my hardest to keep my blog up to date. I really need to get serious about eating healthier so I have been searching the internet for ideas on creating healthier recipes. I will also try and add the nutritional values for some of the recipes I am going to post here.

This first recipe I found in a magazine and it tasted pretty good so I will probably make it again. As always I tweaked it a bit here and there to make it healthier.

The recipe calls for adding crushed Saltine Crackers to the top when you bake it which I did but probably won't the next time. It tasted alright when it was first baked but when you reheat the leftovers the Saltines just seemed kind of gummy and pasty. You could lightly sprinkle some bread crumbs or add shredded cheese to the top to replace the Saltines if you wanted.



HAM AND PEAS CASSEROLE
12 oz. Whole wheat bowtie pasta
4 Tbl. Smart Balance Light Butter spread
1/4 C Flour
1 tsp. Dry mustard
2 C Skim milk
1 C Fat Free Half and Half
3 C Low Fat Mild Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
1 1/2 C Frozen Peas
3/4 C Diced Ham

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook until just tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Melt 3 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour and mustard until smooth. Slowly whisk in milk and half-and-half and bring just to a simmer. Stir in cheese, a little at a time, until melted. Remove pan from heat and stir in peas, ham and pasta. Stir to coat with sauce.

Pour into a 2.5 quart baking dish. Sprinkle cracker crumbs over top of pasta and dot with remaining 1 Tbsp. butter. Bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes.

Ham and Hash Brown Casserole

This another one of those recipes that has evolved over the years. I think the original recipe was more of a side dish and did not have the ham in it but had the Mushroom soup and some sour cream and a lot more cheese. At some point I changed it to accomodate a bunch of left over ham I had after Easter one year and it has just stayed this way. The original recipe I remember being very rich so by eliminating the sour cream and half the cheese and adding some ham to make it a main dish I was able to serve it more often. I always seem to have so much left over ham after big holiday meals that I had to come up with several recipes to use it all. This is just one of them.

I will add that normally when I make this dish I use the O'Brien style of hash browns but the store was out so I used the plain instead. It still tasted good but I prefer the O'Brien potatoes, it adds more flavor I think.

HAM AND HASH BROWN CASSEROLE
1 32 oz. bag of frozen Hash Brown potatoes (I usually use the O'Brien style)
1 6 oz. Farmer John Boneless Ham Steak (or other equivalent)
2 cans of Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can of No Salt Added Peas, drained
1 1/4 C cheddar cheese, shredded - divided

Preheat oven to 400

Cube ham steak into 1/2 in. size pieces.

In a large mixing bowl combine all the ingredients except 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese. Mix well and pour into a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake for 1 hour and remove from the oven. Sprinkle the last of the cheese on top and let melt.

** It does not matter if the hash browns have been thawed or are still frozen when putting this together.