Recipe: Ham and Cheese Casserole (using thinly sliced potatoes)

HAM AND CHEESE CASSEROLE

1/2 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
3 cups milk
4 cups chopped ham
5 cups thinly sliced potatoes
3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped

Mix flour, salt and pepper (omit salt if you think ham and cheese are salty enough, I do).

Melt butter in saucepan.* Add flour mixture. Cook over for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Return to heat and cook until thick.

In a very large bowl, mix remaining ingredients with sauce. Place in covered casserole dish(es).

Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 90 minutes. Remove cover after first 30 minutes.

Let cool 15 minutes before serving. It's even better as leftovers.

*To reduce clean-up, I suppose the sauce could be started in a stockpot, and then everything combined in that before putting it in casserole dishes.

Source: Jennifer Mery
From: vicki,la