Great to see you again! If you haven't already, please subscribe to my RSS feed, to keep updated on life in the middle of the road or follow me via Networked Blogs by clicking the button in my sidebar! If you are interested in mini-guest posting on A Moderate Life I would love to have you! Please check out my Baby Steps to a Rockin' Life Guidelines. Thanks for visiting!

Creamy, delicious and frugal too!

Please visit latest giveaway to win a jar of Tropical Traditions Raw Organic Honey!

ooooooooooooooo

I am sure you must have already noticed that I love creating baked pasta recipes. It isn’t that I don’t love pasta right out of the cooking pan, but for me, it seems to take on a life all it’s own when you bake it up with various ingredients, the most important of which being cheese! I also do quite a bit of gluten free brown rice pasta and that seems to have a much less pasty texture when you under cook it, rinse it with cold water, toss it in olive oil and proceed to bake it into a casserole!

I also adore being able to stretch one meal into two meals and if you can make it into three, then you are definitely on the right track these days! I had made a simple baked ham and had some chunks left over in the fridge. I debated making a quiche or Western omlettes but then I saw the left over pasta and I was determined to make something super yummy! I also had some left over broccoli and that made me think of cheese and led me to this pasta pie idea.

I also love it when I can sneak in some raw cheese and butter along with some pastured eggs to help boost nutrition without adding too much in the way of costs because you are creating most of the meal from left overs, adding in some butter, eggs and cheese really round it out.

Ham and Cheese Pasta Pie

Serves 4 to 6

1/2 Box whole wheat or gluten free brown rice spaghetti or any left over pasta of your choice cooked al dente

1/2 Pound ham cubed

2 Cups cooked or frozen broccoli chopped

2 Large eggs

1/4 Cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Tbs. butter melted

1 Cup shredded raw cheddar cheese or cheese of your choice

1/2 Tbs. galric powder

1 Tsp. dried oregano

1 Tsp. dried basil

Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a pie pan or 8 x 8 casserole dish with butter and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions until slightly underdone. Drain and rinse with cold water and then toss with olive oil and set aside. This step really helps with gluten free pasta to keep it from getting pasty or gummy and sticking together. You can use left over pasta for this recipe as long as it is not over cooked.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter then allow to cool slightly. In a small bowl beat the eggs well and then add in the Parmesan cheese and finally mix in the cooled melted butter. Stir in the spices and salt and pepper to taste. In a larger bowl or the pasta cooking pan if you are making the pasta at the same time, combine the spaghetti, ham, broccoli and 1/2 of the cheese and toss to combine well. Press the pasta into the greased casserole dish and then pour over with the egg mixture making sure to distribute it evenly in the pan and coat all of the pasta with the mixture. Sprinkle over with the remaining cheese and cover with tin foil. Place in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 20 minutes covered. Turn the pie and remove the tin foil. Bake for another 15 minutes uncovered until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Allow to sit for five minutes before slicing into serving pieces. This pie is good both hot and at room temperature.

What can I say? It was absolutely delicious and my kids really liked it! They also loved it the next day at room temperature in their lunch boxes! Because of the egg and cheese mixture it holds the pasta together like a pie crust of sorts and it makes a great bento box choice. I will definitely be making this again as it was a successful left over make over recipe!

This article is a part of the Hearth and Soul Hop-Volume 42, Frugal Food Thursday, Recipe Swap Thursday, Tasty Traditons, Ultimate Recipe Swap and Friday Potluck.   This recipe was also posted on the wonderful food community Eat Cook Share, so please stop by and join this lovely foodie group!