Slap Your Mama Mac and Cheese

Not kidding.

After I paid tuition today I was looking for a recipe that I could make out of what I had on hand. I quickly noticed that I had all of the makings for Macaroni and Cheese. We took a ham to a memorial service this weekend and have a ton of ham leftover so I could use that too. What's a girl to do? I went to Pinterest! (I don't have an account but you don't really have to to just search. You only need it to pin stuff to your own board.) Pinterest is my new Google for recipes. Honest to Pete, I was searching and came up with 3 different recipes! I used them all, kinda, to make the following:

AMAZING Mac and Cheese, With Ham and Broccoli

{This is where a really mediocre photo was supposed to go but somehow it disappeared off of my camera. Whoops!}

3 cups elbow macaroni

2 T. butter
1 T. vegetable oil
1/2 C. diced white onion
1 large shallot, diced
1/2 tsp. minced garlic (1 clove)
3 T. flour
1/2 C. skim milk
1/2 C. half and half
1 1/4 C chicken broth
4-6 oz. Each, shredded: medium cheddar, Jarlsberg, Velveeta, Romano*
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. Coleman's Mustard, prepared

1 C (heaping) diced ham
3 C cooked broccoli, chopped into small bites

Cook macaroni according to package directions, less one minute. Return to pot and add ham and broccoli

While macaroni is cooking, heat butter and oil in a medium to large saucepan. Saute onions, shallots and garlic until they just start to get clear. Add flour and stir until thick. Add milk, half and half, and chicken broth. Stir constantly until roux blends with liquid. Add cheeses by the handful, stirring constantly, until all cheese is melted and smooth. Add paprika and mustard, mix well.

Add cheese mix to macaroni, ham, and broccoli, mix well and let sit for a few minutes to let sauce set. Pour into 9x13 (or larger) pyrex, top with a few more shreds of cheese and 3/4 C Italian Panko bread crumbs. Bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes, until heated through.

I would suggest getting all of the ingredients together beforehand, since this comes together really fast at the end!


*These are the cheeses that I happened to have on hand. They worked really, really well together, if you can believe it. I will use a little more cheddar next time but I may never leave out the Jarlsberg ever again, it was so tasty. It gave it a tangy kick that was really great with the ham! Similar to one of the inspiration recipes, I used the Velveeta for the creaminess and it was perfect for that, (no Velveeta taste for my husband who doesn't really like it.)

Thank you to Mindinka Moments, Homemade by Holman, and SkinnyTaste for the inspiration for this yummy recipe!

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