Cookbook Challenge Goes Catholic: Leftovers During Lent

We had a considerable amount of leftover ingredients from our ravioli experiment on Sunday and were searching for a recipe to clean out the fridge. I found a recipe from a cookbook Keith has owned for quite awhile: the St. Martins Catholic Church cookbook from 1992. I'm not Catholic myself but I suppose its still kosher, er, ok to cook up a Catholic recipe.

The cookbook compiled recipes from members of the Jefferson City church and includes entries that date back to 1968. It's a kick to read many of the recipes that were clearly a sign of the times...casseroles play a starring role, butter is typically listed as "oleo", and cream of mushroom is a primary ingredient (which ain't just a Catholic thing, it was a big ingredient at my house when I was growing up as well). I found a recipe that best utilized a lot of our leftovers: Casserole of Ham, Macaroni and Broccoli by Ann LeCure.

One would think that all of this cooking and writing about food would cause me to mature in the kitchen a bit but last night proved that I'm still not immune to cooking meltdowns. Preparing this meal was certainly much easier than our ravioli from scratch on Sunday, but a long day at work precipitated some distracted agitation and that reminds me that I still need to practice some relaxation when cooking. The meal still turned out delicious. We used mostiaccoli we had on hand as opposed to macaroni and used a Mexican blend of cheese for the sauce. Otherwise, I'll include the recipe as printed.

No, I have not converted to Catholicism nor was I moved to go to confessional following the creation of this casserole. Confession would mean I would have to compile the list of sins, then add footnotes, a glossary of references and then tease the next installment and well, there's only so much time in the day. Keith's family IS Catholic, however, so it was cool to recreate a recipe from their family church cookbook without having to worry about giving up anything during Lent. This recipe is Cookbook Challenge #36.

Also, I'd be remiss not to mention the result of Keith's latest creative spark. He designed and made a beautiful stained glass piece for one of our kitchen cabinet doors. The K-Man outdid himself...it looks awesome!

Casserole of Ham, Macaroni and Broccoli

3 tbsp oleo
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tbsp grated onion
3 cups of milk(we used skim)
2/3 cup grated cheese
8 oz. elbow macaroni
6 oz cooked ham (we used our leftover meat filling from ravioli-salami, ham, ground beef)
1 pkg frozen broccoli, cooked
grated Parmesan cheese

Melt oleo in large saucepan; blend in flour, salt, pepper, dry mustard and onion. Gradually add milk and cook until thick. Remove from heat and add cheese. Cook macaroni; drain. Add ham, broccoli, macaroni to cheese sauce.
Place in 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese; bake at 375 for 20 minutes.