Ham Stuffed Manicotti

I've been waiting until we have a ham to make this recipe, so I made it up this week to use up some of our Easter ham.

• 14 manicotti pasta shells
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup butter or olive oil
• 3 cups cooked cubed ham
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 6 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
• 6 Tbsp. flour
• 3 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook manicotti as directed on package. Drain, rinse in cool water and set aside. Meanwhile, cook onion, garlic, and green bell pepper in 4 Tbsp. butter or olive oil until tender. Add ham and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese.

In another heavy saucepan, combine Alfredo sauce and milk over medium heat until it starts to steam. Stir in cheese until melted and remove from heat.

Mix 1/2 cup of cheese sauce with ham mixture.

Fill manicotti shells with ham mixture (your fingers work best for this; it's messy, but most efficient). Spread about 1/2 cup cheese sauce in greased 13x9" glass baking dish and arrange filled shells over sauce. If there is any leftover stuffing, just sprinkle it over the filled shells. Pour remaining cheese sauce over filled manicotti.

At this point the casserole can be cooled in the refrigerator, then wrapped and frozen up to 3 months. To thaw and reheat, thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator, then uncover, sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes. If not freezing casserole, sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until bubbly.

I was skeptical about the recipe when I originally saw it. It took a long time to make thanks to having to fill all the manicotti shells. The current recipe on line says to just use store bought alfredo sauce instead of making one, but I wasn't about to buy another ingredient. I had to keep pushing the dinner back because I kept realizing I didn't have one ingredient. But, we were very surprised! It was delicious! I froze half of the recipe, so we'll see how that turns out. The little Chubblets made sure to not eat any of the green peppers, but ate most everything else (including the disguised onions). We would definitely make this again, but it is not healthy at all. So, if you are feeling generous in your calorie intake, have extra ham and Swiss cheese, make this recipe. You won't regret it.