Creamy Ham Fettuccini Casserole (small batch)

 

Ever have one of those days when everything you touch turns to dust.  Well, not everything, but at least some things.

I had great expectations for today. I was going to bake a lovely cake for the holidays and I was going to make a delicious casserole using up some of my leftover ham from the other day.  Easy peasy.  

 

The casserole I wanted to make was this one, which I found on a blog called The Country Cook.  There was nothing crazy required and it looked quick and easy.  You can never have too many recipes in which to use up leftover cooked ham in my opinion.

I also got this fabulous looking Mocha Bundt Cake in my emails that I wanted to bake. It looked gorgeous.  I adapted the recipe from New England Magazine.   What could go wrong! Their recipes are usually very reliable.

Well, plenty could go wrong, and plenty did go wrong. I don't know why it stuck so badly. It is virtually un-usable as a cake!!  It stuck, stuck, stuck.

And I have a really expensive non-stick Bundt pan. I have never had a cake stick to it like this one did.  There was one comment at the bottom of the post where a reader had made the cake twice and had it stick both times.

My cake pan is a good one, and I sprayed the crap out of it with a quality non-stick baking spray.  It does contain a large amount of sugar. I am not sure if that it the problem or  not.  Maybe it is too much sugar. 

The flavor it good, but I also couldn't taste the coffee in it.  It doesn't have a strong mocha cake  flavor. In the meantime I wasted a half a pound of butter and 2 cups of organic sugar.   Yes, I was a tad bit miffed.  I might be able to make another dessert with it. I have my thinking cap on.

 

What could possibly go wrong with the casserole. eh?  Well, I'll tell you.  I was making the sauce and decided to use some pre-shredded mozzarella cheese I had in the fridge.  Dumped it in and Woah!  

Right there in the middle was a nice big blue splodge of mold!  And then I noticed a few more.  Arrrg!!!  I had to throw the sauce away and start again.

 

I have never had that happen with cheese that is well within the date before. Lesson learnt. When using pre-shredded cheese, always check for mold before you dump it in.

I ended up using a fresh pack of a cheddar/mozzarella mix, which worked very well, so all was  not lost!  Good thing because at that point I was starting to think this day was going to end up being a litany of cooking errors!

Thankfully the hiccups stopped there and the casserole turned out wonderfully. I quite enjoyed it.  I did take the recipe and cut it in half to make a smaller amount for a smaller family.  But if you want to make a larger amount do check out the original page.

I did make a few changes however, that you might want to note.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE CREAMY HAM FETTUCCINI CASSEROLE (SMALL BATCH)

Aside from the leftover ham, and the cheese, some pretty simple basic ingredients.

• 1 cup (100g) dry fettuccini noodles
• 1 TBS butter
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 1 TBS flour
• 1 cup (240ml) milk
• 3/4 cup (170g) shredded mozzarella cheese (Or mozza cheddar mix)
• 1/4 cup (23g) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup (125g) diced cooked ham
• 1/2 cup (80g) frozen peas

Crumb topping:

• 1/2 TBS butter melted
• 3 TBS fine dry bread crumbs

 

The fettuccini I used was quite narrow and came in nests.  It worked fine however.  In fact I think I liked it better than thicker fettuccini.  It also cooked in only 5 minutes.

HANDY TIP - If your fettuccini is cooked before your sauce is done, drain and then pop into a saucepan of cold water to hold until you need it. This will help to keep the strands of pasta from sticking to each other.

I added minced onion to the sauce. I thought the flavor of the onion would add another level of flavor and I was right. I also chose to use some Parmesan Cheese. That is a cheese that packs in a lot of flavor and it worked really well.  I also chose to use coarse black pepper.

HOW TO MAKE CREAMY HAM FETTUCCINI CASSEROLE (SMALL BATCH)

Aside from the moldy cheese fiasco, this was a very simple and delicious casserole to make!

Preheat the oven to 350*G/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Set aside.

Cook the fettuccini according to package directions. Drain well.

While the fettuccini is cooking, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onions and sauté without coloring over medium heat until softened. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute.

Whisk in the garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Slowly whisk in the milk. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat until the mixture and bubbles. Remove from heat.

Stir in both cheeses until melted. Stir in the ham and peas. Finally fold in the cooked fettuccini. Spread the mixture in the prepared baking dish.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the bread crumbs. Cook and stir over medium heat until they start to brown. (Watch carefully.) Sprinkle evenly over top of the casserole. Cover tightly.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Uncover and bake for a further 5 minutes, until bubbling around the edges and crumbs are nice and crisp.

This actually ended up being really delicious!  It was a really tasty way to use up some of my ham and it was nice and creamy, not dry.  The crumb topping set it off nicely.

Beautiful flavors. Rich and creamy.  Not too salty either.  I enjoyed this with a salad on the side.  Some crusty bread would also be nice, but then again, I love pasta and crusty bread together.  I am a card carrying carboholic!

In the meantime does anyone have any tasty ideas about what I can do with all that broken cake?

Here are a few other tasty things to do with leftover baked ham.  All delicious of course!

DEVILED HAM SPREAD - This goes great with toasted bread or crackers. It is rich and filled with flavor. I got the recipe about 45 years ago from my friend Mabel.  I just love it! It makes a great appetizer/party nibble.

HAM & CHEESE BRAID - Quick, easy to make and using only 4 ingredients. This is a great way to use up leftover ham. Its delicious! I used a can of crescent roll dough, but you can also use pastry, puff pastry or even biscuit or scone dough. Its fabulous any which way!  A slice of this goes great with a hot cup of soup!

Yield: 3

Author: Marie Rayner

Creamy Ham Fettuccine Casserole

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Simple to make and rich and creamy. A delicious way to use up leftover baked ham.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (100g) dry fettuccini noodles
• 1 TBS butter
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 1 TBS flour
• 1 cup (240ml) milk
• 3/4 cup (170g) shredded mozzarella cheese (Or mozza cheddar mix)
• 1/4 cup (23g) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup (125g) diced cooked ham
• 1/2 cup (80g) frozen peas

Crumb topping:

• 1/2 TBS butter melted
• 3 TBS fine dry bread crumbs

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*G/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Set aside.
2. Cook the fettuccini according to package directions. Drain well.
3. While the fettuccini is cooking, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onions and sauté without coloring over medium heat until softened. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute.
4. Whisk in the garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Slowly whisk in the milk. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat until the mixture and bubbles. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in both cheeses until melted. Stir in the ham and peas. Finally fold in the cooked fettuccini. Spread the mixture in the prepared baking dish.
6. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the bread crumbs. Cook and stir over medium heat until they start to brown. (Watch carefully.) Sprinkle evenly over top of the casserole. Cover tightly.
7. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Uncover and bake for a further 5 minutes, until bubbling around the edges and crumbs are nice and crisp.

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