Sunday, January 13, 2013

Ham & Vegetable Casserole


I've been asked to post some of the recipes that I used to cook.  However, I'm not sure which ones my family liked.  This was a request from your dad, so when I cooked it, I took a picture and decided that I would post it.  This recipe came from one of the ward cookbooks and was submitted by Mary Heaton.

4 cups diced carrots
4 cups diced potatoes
1 onion, diced
4 cups boiling water
1 tsp salt

Cover and cook the above until almost tender (15-20 minutes).  Drain the vegetables and reserve the water to use as follows: 

Add evaported milk (1/2 c to 3/4 c - I just use a small 5 oz can of evaporated milk) to the water you saved from cooking the vegetables.  Make a white sauce using 4 tblsp butter and 4 tblsp of flour and the water/milk mixture.  (To make a white sauce, melt the butter over a medium heat, add the flour and mix, then slowly add your liquid and stir continually until it thickens.)  Add 1/4 lb of shredded cheese to the white sauce and stir.

Put your vegetables in a large bowl and add 2 to 4 cups of diced ham (depending on how much ham you have and how "meaty" you want your casserole).  Pour your cheesy white sauce over the top of the ham and vegetables and gently stir it up. 

Then pour into a rectangular baking dish (don't cover it) and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown.   I used a 10.5 X 14.75 X 2.25 inch, which is a bigger baking dish, but my ingredients completely filled it and left just enough room that it didn't boil over.  This makes a big casserole, so if you have a small family and don't want leftovers, I would split the recipe in half.  We will be eating this for a few days.

3 comments:

  1. Hallelujah! I've wanted this recipe. It's one of my favorites. Thanks mom!

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  2. I'm so glad you put this on! I have been meaning to for a long time. I make it all the time! It is one of my favorites, too!

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  3. Okay here's the cheater/no fresh ingredients version of this casserole that I tried tonight using canned potatoes and canned carrots. Basically the only main ingredient I had on-hand was some diced ham in the freezer.

    Boil about 1 3/4 cup flour, about 2 Tbsp onion powder, and about 1 tsp salt. Then take it off the heat add the 5 oz can of evaporated milk.

    In another saucepan, melt the 4 Tbls butter and 4 Tbsp flour, and then add the previous concoction to it as the original recipe states. At this point, I felt my sauce never quite thickened enough for my liking, so I got 1 Tbsp of cornstarch, mixed it with some cool water, then added it to the sauce. That seemed to do the trick.

    Finally I added the grated cheese to the sauce.

    I used 2 cans of potatoes (then cut them in fourths) and 1 can of carrots, and probably 1 1/2 cups of diced ham, and put it in my smaller rectangular baking dish.

    Delicious!

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