Recipe Box, Ham & Asparagus Casserole

Here’s a great dish to use up some of your holiday leftovers. Ham, asparagus, egg noodles and a simple bechamel sauce and a little cheese makes for a delicious and satisfying meal. It’s fast and easy too, 20 minutes and it’s ready for the oven.
I had some ham in the freezer from Thanksgiving. I bought it at Target, their Archer Farms brand,
and it was so flavorful! Any ham will work, but make sure it has lots of flavor!
I used egg noodles, and fresh asparagus,
and some Parmesan cheese blend from Whole Foods
I steamed the asparagus until crisp tender and quickly rinsed it under cold water to prevent further cooking, and cut it into one inch pieces.
I added about a cup of cottage cheese to the cooked and drained hot noodles, for extra creaminess
This is optional, I just happened to have some I wanted to use up.
I made an easy bechamel sauce, my method takes only about 6 minutes before you have a thick and creamy white sauce
and then I added about 1/2 cup of the Parmesan blend
and stirred it in with the cut up ham and asparagus
Once everything was combined I transferred the mixture to a prepared baking dish and topped with more cheese. At this point you can either refrigerate it up to 24 hours or bake in a 350 oven for about 45 minutes, until golden and bubbly.
Let the casserole sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
We also had a simple green salad with fresh orange segments dressed with a blueberry vinaigrette {Cindy’s Kitchen Wild Maine Blueberry Vinaigrette from Whole Foods} and we were in heaven!
This recipe is on the December Paint Bucket, my bucket list of recipes. This would be a perfect dish for Take out Tuesday also!

HAM & ASPARAGUS CASSEROLE
Ingredients
- 4 big thick slices of ham, cut into bite sized pieces
- 20 asparagus spears cooked until crisp tender, and cut into bite sized pieces
- 4 oz medium egg noodles
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese or preferred cheese, divided
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 4 Tablespoons real butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Cook noodles, drain and stir in cottage cheese.
- Make a bechamel sauce by melting butter in a saucepan. Add flour and stir into melted butter, and cook for 1 minute. Pour in milk and stir. Let sauce simmer on medium heat, stirring occasionally until thickened, about 6 minutes.
- Season and add 1/4 cup Parmesan or cheese of choice and stir to melt.
- Pour over noodles and stir to combine. Add ham and asparagus to noodles and sauce and gently toss to evenly combine.
- Transfer mixture to a greased casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. I used a 9″x 9″ dish for the above amounts. Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
- When ready to bake, put casserole into a 350 oven and bake for about 45 minutes {if cold, a little less if at room temperature} until dish is golden and bubbly. Serves 4.
I’m joining
the Tablescaper for SEASONAL SUNDAY
Between Naps on the Porch for METAMORPHIS MONDAY & TABLESCAPE THURSDAY
Stone Gable for ON THE MENU MONDAY and TUTORIALS, TIPS & TIDBITS THURSDAY
The Gunny Sack for WHAT’S IN THE GUNNY SACK?
Savvy Southern Style for WOW US WEDNESDAY
Rattlebridge Farms for FOODIE FRIDAY
The Everyday Home for “Better Late than Never” Christmas inspirations
Alderberry Hill for Make the Scene Monday
The Dedicated House for Make it Pretty Monday
check out these amazing blogs!