I had leftover ham and broccoli to use up. I thought of the casserole early in the day and was encouraged by a co-worker to just come up with one myself! I looked on the computer and didn't really find anything anyway, although I did see one that used pineapple, so I added that to the list! LOL!

Ham, cheese, broccoli and pineapple casserole

1 T. butter
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced green pepper
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 t. oregano
1 t. basil
2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
2 cups ham, diced
1 20-oz can pineapple tidbits, drained
12 oz spinach tagliatelle pasta, cooked
Cheese sauce
- 2 T. butter or margarine
- 2 T. flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
12 crushed wheat crackers
1/2 T. butter

Melt butter, saute carrots, celery, green pepper, and onion, until tender. Stir in oregano and basil. Put in large bowl. Heat water in saucepan to boiling. Cook broccoli for 3 minutes, drain and flush with cold water. Add to veggie mixture. Cook pasta until tender. Add to veggie mixture, along with ham and pineapple tidbits.

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour and cook until bubbly and light golden brown. Take pan off heat and stir milk in gradually, until all is added. Turn heat back on, and cook sauce until bubbly, stirring constantly. Take off heat again and stir in cheese until melted. Add cheese sauce to veggie/meat mixture. Mix all together and place in 3-qt casserole dish.

Crush crackers, by putting into ziploc bag and using rolling pin to crush. Melt butter in bowl, for 30 seconds in microwave. Stir in cracker crumbs. Sprinkle over casserole.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until cracker crumbs are browned. Garnish serving with just a sprinkle of shredded cheese.

This is what I did. I think I should have baked the casserole for about 15 minutes and then put the crumbs on and baked it for half an hour. It was warm, but not HOT. Also, we used about half the pasta and that didn't look like very much, so we added the rest of the bag! LOL! Maybe we could have used less. We found the pasta at a natural food store, a long time ago, and finally decided to use it. It will feed the girls and me, for several more nights. We barely made a dent in it! Emily thought the pineapple was the best part!