I hate leftovers

I hate leftovers. 

They never taste as good the 2nd time around & to be perfectly honest, I get bored eating the same thing night after night.  Unfortunately, when cooking for 2 leftovers seems inevitable.  Are they always inevitable?  Is there no way to cook the perfect amount of food for the number of people you're feeding? 

I digress.

This weekend my boyfriend's mom invited over all the "children" to enjoy a spiral ham she received as a gift.  The stipulations: come, enjoy, spend time with the family, and TAKE HAM HOME.

So we brought ham home.

Normally, I would just use it in sandwiches; however, b/f doesn't take lunch to work & I don't particularly love ham so the thought of a week of ham sandwiches lunches was less than appetizing.  This was proving to be a bigger challenge than I expected.

I browsed a couple of recipe websites and found something I thought sounded delicious:  Cheesy Ham & Broccoli Casserole.

I made a few changes to the original recipe so here we go, my best shot at Leftovers made Delicious.

You Need:

• 1/2 Box macaroni noodles
• 8 oz broccoli florets (frozen or fresh - your choice)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup fresh mozzarella
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (whichever is your favorite)
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (optional)
• Salt & pepper to taste 
• Leftover ham, cubed
  
  

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Boil macaroni - cooking until very al dente (almost done).  Drain & set aside.
3. Blanch broccoli florets for about 2 minutes.  Rinse under cold running water and drain well.
4. In separate bowl mix egg, milk, salt and pepper.
5. Mix cooked macaroni, broccoli florets, and ham.
6. Layer macaroni mixture with cheese throughout medium casserole dish.
7. Pour egg mixture over top using a fork to create avenues for the egg mixture to drain throughout dish
8. Top with breadcrumbs (optional)
9. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until breadcrumbs begin to brown.
   

I made this dish last night before heading to take my yoga class.  It only took about 35 minutes or so, including boiling the water.  We haven't tried it yet because I was prepping it for tonight. 

I will try to take some extra pictures before we gobble it down this evening. I hope it tastes as good as it looked last night.

Seems a little ironic that I made leftovers, with leftovers.  Oh well.

P.S.  Yoga last night was WONDERFUL.  The perfect follow up to Sunday's Cardio Dance class.  I'm a little nervous for Body Sculpt this evening.  All of my muscles still hurt but I also feel extremely conscious of my core today.  Baby steps to flat abs & a six pack.