Ham and Cheese Ziti

(Photo by Taste of Home)

I was looking for a good and different recipe to use up some of the leftover Easter ham, and after searching through a few cookbooks I turned to my 2012 Quick Cooking Annual Recipes, one of several books I've receive for free since having recipes published.  Love deals like that!

I found this recipe for Ham & Cheese Ziti and decided to give it a try.  I love spinach with pasta, and I had everything on hand the recipe called for, except the white cheddar.  I had plenty of yellow shredded cheddar so that wasn't a problem.  Most importantly, I could see that the recipe could be easily adapted to use gluten-free ingredients I had on hand.  I used gluten-free all-purpose flour in the sauce, and used corn rigatoni instead of the ziti.  (I am still not really crazy about gluten-free pasta, but it is much, much better than not eating pasta at all.)

The casserole was easy to make and  turned out to be absolutely delicious.  This will be one of my go-to recipes for leftover ham from now on.  I served it with a medley of garden green and wax beans from the freezer.  I think this recipe might also be very good using tuna instead of ham.

Do you still have some leftover Easter ham? Your family might enjoy this dish, too!