Ham and Corn Au Gratin

Regardless of hot it gets here in AZ I still crave comfort food that requires an oven. This is where my toaster oven saves the day. This recipe is from Taste of Home magazine's Cooking for One or Two.

Ingredients:

* 2 teaspoons butter
* 5 teaspoons all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* 1 cup milk
* 1 cup diced fully cooked ham
* 1-1/4 cups frozen corn, thawed
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped green pepper
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
* TOPPING:
* 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
* 1/4 cup crushed butter-flavored crackers (about 7 crackers)
* 2 teaspoons butter, melted
* Paprika

Directions:
In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, mustard and pepper until smooth; gradually add the milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
In a greased 1-qt. baking dish, layer the ham, corn, green pepper and onion. Pour sauce over top. In a bowl, combine the cheese, crumbs and butter; sprinkle over top . Sprinkle with paprika.
Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 10-15 minutes or until heated through and top is golden brown. Yield: 2 servings.




Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and lets gather the ingredients. You need, cooked ham, butter, shredded cheese, corn, flour, milk, onion, green pepper, paprika, ground mustard, salt, pepper and Ritz crackers. That seems like a lot of stuff, but it is pretty simple to make.




Chop up your veggies.




Smash the crackers in a ziplock bag. I tend to just beat the crap out of them with a rolling pin. Combine the crackers with the grated cheese and melted butter. Set this aside for now.




Melt the rest of the butter in a saucepan.




Stir in the flour, mustard and pepper and keep on stirring until its smooth.




Slowly add the milk and continue to stir until it is thickened.




While the sauce cooks grease a casserole dish, mine is a cute Pyrex of course, layer in the ham, corn, green pepper and onion.




Pour the sauce over the top of the ham and veggies.




Top with the cracker crumb mixture and then sprinkle with paprika.




Bake it for about 10-15 minutes and then you are ready to eat!




This is simple and was easily made in my toaster oven in no time at all. When you just have to have some good comfort food on a hot day, this is the way to go.