Smoked Ham Casserole

Today I haven't gotten hungry, although I did have a cup of coffee this morning with heavy cream, and a tall glass of diet Vernors with a splash of heavy cream in it - I'm thinking the fats have kept me from wanting food. But now that supper is done, it's great!

Tonight's supper is a Smoked Ham Casserole. I started by coating a 9x13 glass casserole dish with bacon drippings (negligible cost). In the bottom I put 1# of frozen/semi-thawed brussels sprouts ($1.29), cut in half, and a half-cup (one serving) of Dreamfield's penne pasta (40c worth); to this I added about 2c of water, covered it with foil, and put it in a 350 oven. (NOTE: Do not overcook the pasta, as overcooking will cause the carbs to become digestible.)

While the pasta and sprouts were cooking, I cut up about 2# of smoked picnic ham that I'd gotten on sale for 99c/lb yesterday. After 40 minutes, I removed the foil, stirred in the ham, and put it back in the oven at 375 until the remaining water had evaporated. Tossed with 1c (66c) of shredded cheese and returned it to the oven until the cheese melted over all. (Another note: I didn't add salt because the ham and cheese are both rather salty; I never add pepper to anything because I don't like it.)

4 servings (of which my husband ate 2) for about $1.12 each. I could have added a salad or rolls (oopsies or flax or whatever) but it was plenty hearty for a complete meal on its own.