30 Minute Cheesy Ham Casserole

My dear friend over at Pickle Boat Recipes served us this for dinner once upon a time. Oh boy oh boy was it good. There is something so comforting about ham and potatoes. Even when it is a thousand degrees outside!

30 Minute Cheesy Ham Casserole

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste

2 cups (about 8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese - separated 

4 cups milk

4-5 medium peeled, cooked potatoes (steamed, boiled al dente, baked, microwaved...)
2 cups ham, cut into bite size pieces

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat.

Pour milk into pot, mixing quickly with a whisk. Return pot to stove and heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat. Quickly add 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, stirring until melted. 

Grease 9x13" baking pan. Place ham, potatoes, and cheese sauce in baking pan. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. At this point you can cover and freeze, cover and refrigerate to eat later, or bake in 375 degree oven about 15 minutes - until casserole is bubbly and cheese is very lightly browned. 

*some tips - if you bake your potatoes in the oven earlier in the day, they'll be cool to the touch and easy to hand-peel the skins off by the time you're ready to cook dinner. Also, ham lunch meat makes an easy substitution if you don't have a leftover holiday ham
* Alterations- I skipped the oven step this time. I just tossed in all of the cheese at once, then stirred in the ham and potatoes and served. Both ways are yummy!