Yesterday's Christmas feast included, among other things, a huge Clifty Farm country ham (prepared by my mom). After serving about 20 people for supper (2 people's snacking while it was sliced) and 3 more for breakfast there was still at least 3 pounds left. Before I made the drive home I made sure to snag a plateful to bring with me. I just used a small portion of it to make a very delicious ham and potato casserole.

Here's how I made it!

Ingredients (for 2-3 servings): ham, about 1 cup, but it's HAM, so feel free to add more! 2 potatoes, about 1 cup 1/4 - 1/2 cup white onion 1 1/2 cups milk 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/3 cup butter 2/3 cup cheese, I used a 4-cheese blend, but a mild Cheddar would be great salt and pepper to taste parsley (optional)

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and peel the potatoes then slice thinly. Finely dice the onion. tear the ham into small pieces. I tear rather than slice for texture. finely chop the parsley

Cook: In saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. After the butter has melted completely, add the flour and stir to combine the flour and butter until the mixture is smooth. While stirring, slowly pour in the milk. Allow this to heat up to not quite boiling over medium heat.

While the sauce is doing it's thing, go ahead and dump your potatoes, ham and diced onion into a 1 quart casserole dish. Go ahead and add some salt and pepper as well.

When the sauce has heated up, remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cheese a little at a time. When all the cheese has been added and has melted into a smooth, delicious cheese sauce pour it into the casserole dish. Carefully stir the casserole to spread the cheese sauce all around then place in the preheated oven.

Cook, uncovered for 35-40 minutes. If your potatoes are sliced on the thicker side, they may take longer to cook all the way through.

Personally, I like mine to have a nice browning on the top. If, when cooked through, the casserole lacks this, I just turn on the broiler. You just have to make sure to keep a VERY close eye as this will literally only take moments to give you the desired coloring.

Allow the casserole to cool for a couple of minutes. This also allows the sauce to thicken a little. Before serving, sprinkle parsley over the top. If I had some, I would have crumbled some crispy bacon over the top as well.

This recipe is rife for upgrades! I can easily imagine this with celery, peas, or carrots added. You could even swap the ham for turkey!

Sorry, no pictures. We were too hungry and it looked too good!

This entry was posted on December 26, 2011 at 8:58 PM and has received 491 views. There are currently 1 comments. Print this entry.