This is one of my kids favorite meals, and its easy enough that the kids can do most of it. (trust me, I know this because I’m still laid up with the bum Achilles – ha!) This recipes makes 2 casseroles, sometimes 3.
Creamy Ham Pasta
- 10 c. uncooked tri color spiral pasta
- 4 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 med. green pepper, chopped
- 1/2 c. chopped onion
- 1/4 c. butter, cubed
- 3 cans of cream of cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
- 3 cups milk
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 4 c. cooked ham, cubed
- 2 cans mushroom stems and pieces, drained
- 1 c. crushed butter-flavored crackers
Cook the pasta according to pkg. directions. In a pan, saute the celery, green pepper and onion in butter until tender. Stir in the soup mixture, ham and mushrooms. Drain pasta; add to soup mixture and toss to coat.
Divide the mixture between two greased 13×9 baking dishes. Top with cracker crumbs. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve, thaw in your refrigerator overnight. Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until heated through.
COOKING IMMEDIATELY: If you decide you want to make one of the two casseroles as soon as you make them, you will need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake, uncovered for 20-25 minutes, or until the topping is a golden brown.
RECIPE CHANGES:
- We have left out the green pepper, celery, onion and mushrooms and instead added a bag of frozen mixed veggies – cans would work.
- We have used different noodles – spaghetti, bow tie, penne
- We have substituted beef & chicken for the ham. Tastes amazing.
- We leave off the crackers most of the time because we don’t actually like them.
There are so many ways you can change this casserole up and make it work for your family (and make casseroles you are freezing taste different!)
Nicole Cook
Food Blogger, Freelance Writer at Daily Dish Recipes
Nicole is a mom of 5, cooking and baking her way through life. She specializes in family friendly meals your whole family will crave. Most of her recipes are inexpensive, and she spends time showing you how to save money on food, preparation and cooking.
She lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her husband, those 5 kids she mentioned and a menagerie of pets, including the newest addition, a hedgehog.
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Sounds like that would please my crowd, too. You cannot go wrong with cheese, ham and pasta! I love the tri color pasta, too. It adds such a nice punch to the picture.
OMG !! I repeat !! OMG !! This is something more than delicious !! Cheers !! Again – OMG !!