End of the Line Ham Casserole

Are you looking at ways to use up leftover ham in your fridge from the holidays?  We've had plenty of ham sandwiches, split pea soup, and ham and cheese omelettes...yet there is still ham to use up.  So, tonight I made up a new creation that everyone really liked!  It seems as though it could be extremely versatile with regard to the kinds of cheeses that could be used, or veggies that could be added; you could easily make your own rendition of this using whatever your family likes best.

Ingredients:

1 lb. pasta--I used spaghetti, broken into pieces, but any shaped pasta would work or egg noodles could work nicely, too
2 c. cubed ham
2 c. shredded cheese--I used cheddar, but Swiss or a sharper cheese would boost the flavor
1 c. sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom (or whatever you have on hand) soup
1/4-1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste (remember that the ham is quite salty, so be conservative when adding the salt)
**Veggies are optional--add frozen peas, spinach, or broccoli; whatever you want!
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. bread crumbs

Oven Temperature: 350 degrees ***note that you will broil this dish for the last 5 minutes of the baking time.
Baking Time: 20 minutes, covered, at 350 degrees; 5 minutes, uncovered, at broil temp (between 500-550 degrees).

The first thing to do is to cook up the pasta per the box directions.  Since you'll be baking this dish, I tend to cook the pasta a little bit longer than an al dente texture--you don't want the noodles to get all crunchy and dried out in the oven.

Once the pasta has cooked and is soft, drain it, place it back in the pot, then go ahead and add all the ingredients except for the Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.  Stir well so that the ingredients are combined.  At this point, you will want to place the noodle mixture into a lightly greased 9x13" pan.  Once it's in the pan, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the top, followed by the bread crumbs in the same manner. Cover with tin foil and bake for about 20 minutes.  Remove the tin foil, set the oven to the "broil" setting, and allow it to bake uncovered for about 5 minutes, or until the bread crumbs are golden and the casserole is bubbling.  Serve immediately and enjoy both the taste and the fact that you now have less ham in your fridge!