Ham and Potatoes Au Gratin

UGA Fan's Note:

This is taken from Better Homes and Gardens' 9x13: The Pan That Can, a cookbook I highly recommend. I plan to switch up the veggies in this recipe, maybe broccoli, zucchini, or bell peppers.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 8

Yield: 1.0 casserole

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 small onions, thinly sliced
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 12 ounces cooked ham, cut into thin bite-size pieces
• 1 (20 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Remove from heat.
3. Stir 1 cup of the hot mixture into eggs; return egg mixture to saucepan.
4. Stir in cheddar cheese, mustard, and pepper until cheese melts. Set aside.
5. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions; cook until tender. Stir in spinach; set aside.
6. Spread half of the ham in an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle half of the hash browns over ham. Spoon half of the cheese mixture over hash browns. Spoon the spinach mixture over cheese mixture in dish. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
7. Bake, uncovered, about 30 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Reviews

[Jennygal]

Made as directed using only half the amount of spinach and red onion. Also, broiled for a few minutes at the end to crisp up the top. Overall it was easy to assemble and pretty good. Served it as a main dish for a quick weeknight meal, but seems more like a side. Will make again as is a good use for leftover ham. Thanks!