Casserole dishes are great when you want to feed a family or a larger crowd… without too much work in the kitchen. When I was a child my mom often made something like this Cheesy Pasta & Ham Bake and I still love eating it. Something kids and adults like – simply delicious and very easy to prepare. What else could you want? ;P
Back in the days, we made dishes like this one here quite often. Throw several ingredients into the casserole dish, pour sauce over it, and sprinkle it with loads of cheese – half an hour later you got something delicious coming out of the oven. Works like a charm ;P
Especially this Cheese Pasta & Ham bake is something many people prepare with premade seasoning mixes from the store. Well… I assume many people do that – dunno for sure. If you look at the supermarket shelves with those premade mixes and how many exist for meals like that you can only assume people like it ;P Anyway. No seasoning mix has been used here and actually, no seasoning mix is necessary to get something delicious on your plate. The herbs and spices used in this dish are not that uncommon and should be easy to find in many kitchen cabinets. Probably also in yours ;)
The list of ingredients here is not particularly long. Most of them are quite common in most kitchens. If you don’t have a herb listed you can easily replace it with something else – oregano instead of the marjoram or regular paprika powder instead of the smoked paprika powder, for example. The yeast flakes can be left out completely (those are not that common I have to admit). I just added them for people that are converting from cooking with premade seasoning mixes to cooking with regular spices ;) Yeast flakes are similar to artificial flavor enhancers – something many of those seasoning mixes have added. It might help to get off the premade mixes ;P
Just kidding. The yeast flakes are really not necessary. If you season well with all the other spices you will get a really nice tasting dish.
If you like easy and delicious dishes, you might also want to try this Farmer’s Stew with Minced Meat and Potatoes or my Cabbage Stew with Meat & Potatoes. Both are quite popular dishes here in Germany ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
14 oz. (400g) pasta (e.g. rigatoni)
some oil or butter for frying
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
7 oz. (200g) cooked ham, in small cubes
6.8 fl. oz. (200ml) milk
7 oz. (200g) heavy cream
2 large eggs
1 tbsp. yeast flakes (optional)
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika powder
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt, pepper
5.6 oz. (160g) grated cheese
400g Nudeln (z.B. Rigatoni)
etwas Öl oder Butter
1 mittelgroße Zwiebel, gewürfelt
2 Knoblauchzehen, gewürfelt
200g Kochschinken, in kleinen Würfeln
200ml Milch
200g Sahne
2 Eier (L)
1 EL Hefeflocken (optional)
1/2 TL geräuchertes Paprikapulver
1/2 TL Majoran
1/4 TL Cayenne Pfeffer
Salz, Pfeffer
160g Käse, gerieben
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. While the pasta is cooking, peel and finely dice the onion and garlic. Dice the cooked ham as well. Heat up some oil or butter in a frying pan and sauté the onions and garlic for about 2-3 minutes. Add the ham cubes and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Mix the milk, cream, and eggs in a large bowl. Add the slightly cooled onion and ham mixture and mix well. Season with yeast flakes (optional), paprika powder, marjoram, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper. Add the drained pasta to the bowl and mix to combine.
4. Grease a large casserole dish with oil or butter. Transfer the pasta mixture to the casserole dish, sprinkle with the grated cheese, and bake for about 25-28 minutes until the cheese is golden brown. Serve hot.
2. Während die Nudeln kochen, die Zwiebel und den Knoblauch schälen und fein würfeln. Den Kochschinken ebenfalls würfeln. Etwas Öl oder Butter in einer Pfanne erhitzen und die Zwiebeln und den Knoblauch darin für etwa 2-3 Minuten anschwitzen. Die Schinkenwürfel dazugeben und für etwa 2 Minuten mit anbraten. Vom Herd ziehen und zur Seite stellen.
3. Milch, Sahne und Eier in einer großen Schüssel verrühren. Die leicht abgekühlte Zwiebel-Schinkenmischung dazugeben und alles gut vermengen. Mit Hefeflocken (optional), Paprikapulver, Majoran, Cayenne Pfeffer, sowie Salz und Pfeffer würzen. Die abgetropften Nudeln mit in die Schüssel geben und alles gut vermengen.
4. Eine große Auflaufform mit Öl oder etwas Butter einfetten. Die Nudelmischung hineingeben, mit dem geriebenen Käse bestreuen und dann für etwa 25-28 Minuten im Ofen goldbraun überbacken. Heiß servieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Cheesy Pasta & Ham Bake
- Prep Time: 00:15
- Cook Time: 00:28
- Total Time: 00:45
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Germany
Description
A simple and easy casserole dish many love: Cheesy Pasta & Ham Bake. Easy to prepare and soo delicious you want to make it every day ;P
Ingredients
14 oz. (400g) pasta (e.g. rigatoni)
some oil or butter for frying
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
7 oz. (200g) cooked ham, in small cubes
6.8 fl. oz. (200ml) milk
7 oz. (200g) heavy cream
2 large eggs
1 tbsp. yeast flakes (optional)
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika powder
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt, pepper
5.6 oz. (160g) grated cheese
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Boil the pasta in salted water for about 3 minutes less than the time indicated on the package for “al dente”. Drain and set aside.
2. While the pasta is cooking, peel and finely dice the onion and garlic. Dice the cooked ham as well. Heat up some oil or butter in a frying pan and sauté the onions and garlic for about 2-3 minutes. Add the ham cubes and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Mix the milk, cream, and eggs in a large bowl. Add the slightly cooled onion and ham mixture and mix well. Season with yeast flakes (optional), paprika powder, marjoram, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper. Add the drained pasta to the bowl and mix to combine.
4. Grease a large casserole dish with oil or butter. Transfer the pasta mixture to the casserole dish, sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake for about 25-28 minutes until the cheese is golden brown. Serve hot.
Notes
Enjoy cooking!
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
