Broccoli Ham Casserole

A few days ago frozen grape juice was on sale at the store. So, I bought 5 of them. The problem with this was that there wasn't really any room for them in the freezer because it was absolutely stuffed. Lets just say that I tried to make them fit anyway. Squeezing them into any little spot I could find. Then, when Tyrone and I came home later that evening, the freezer had opened while we were gone. Thanks to Tyrone, we took everything out and organized it. I have a lot of frozen meat that is oddly shaped and doesn't stack very well so it drives me crazy. But he did a great job and now I can see what I have. In the process of organizing though, we came across two big bags of frozen ham. Tyrone wanted to throw it out because he said we were never going to eat it. But it was good ham. I had cooked a honey baked ham and I cut up the leftovers, which was a lot, and froze it because I knew we couldn't eat it all before it went bad. So, to prove to him that we would eat it, I got the ham out and put it in this casserole. It was really yummy. I loved the rice in it. We had it again last night for dinner and he said, this tastes really good. You should make this again. I love when I get that response. That's when I know it is REALLY, REALLY, GOOD! Hope you enjoy it. It is great for that leftover Easter ham.

I got this recipe from Taste of home

Ingredients:
2 packages (10oz) frozen cut broccoli
2 cups cooked rice ( I used 3)
6 tablespoons butter
2 cups fresh bread crumbs (about 2.5 slices)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups milk
1.5 pounds fully cooked ham, cubed
shredded cheddar cheese (I used mild)

Directions:
Cook broccoli according to package, drain. Spoon rice into 9x13 baking dish. Place cooked broccoli on rice.

Melt butter in a large skillet. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of melted butter over the bread crumbs and set aside. In remaining butter, saute onion until soft. Add the flour, salt and pepper, stirring constantly until blended; stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add ham.

Pour over rice and broccoli. Sprinkle with crumbs. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with cheese; let stand 5 minutes before serving. Yield: 8 servings.