Baked Mac&Cheese with Ham & Brocolli

From Baked Mac&Cheese with Ham & Broccoli

The ham I used in this baked mac&cheese was leftover from New Year's Eve supper. In this part of the USA, we do not really celebrate NY. But the great contrast in comparison with Philippines where NY is celebrated with big bang (and also greeted with gunshots and sirens of fire trucks or ambulance), along with a bountiful table to invite prosperity to one's home, made me want to prepare a

From Christmas

small special supper, which consisted of roasted ham, black eyed peas sautee, and rice and potatoes. With this small "feast" we still ended up with lots of leftovers (what can you expect with 4 eaters?). Over the next days I ate the black eyed peas which I cooked like how I would mung beans (munggo guisado), and so was getting better and better the longer it sat in the fridge.

But the ham remained for some time in the fridge...waiting to be re-invigorated.

From Ham & Onion Omelet

One of the ways I cooked the ham was as omelet, with chopped onions as its companion.My sons loved this.

Another way I cooked ham leftover was to add

From fried rice with ham cubes

it to fried rice along with frozen veggies (carrots and peas). Actually, my older son was the one who cooked this.

I had lots of cheese leftover too, from having eaten chili, plus I always have Velveeta and parmesan cheese in the fridge. And so, I looked for recipes for homemade baked mac&cheese (since my husband is so fond of boxed mac&cheese, I figured he would love the homebaked more). I found one video showing how to cook it, and the cook also used leftover ham and some New England cheeses (Cabot brand).

I just added the broccoli leftover also (from that post on porterhouse steaks). As I expected, it was a hit with my hubby, as well as the kids (well, even stepd is a big fan of mac&cheese).

Ingredients:

6 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1&3/4 cup half and half cream
1&1/4 cup shredded cheese
1&1/4 cup Velveeta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
3 cups diced ham
5 cups cooked macaroni
1 cup bread crumbs divided in two

Instructions:


Cook macaroni per package directions and drain.
Cook the rest of the ingredients as instructed in the slide show. Stirring CONSTANTLY is the key to avoiding making lumps.
Transfer to baking dish and bake at 350 deg F for 20 minutes.

This post is an entry to LaPiS with the theme Leftover.