Eating from the pantry, a la LifeasMom, does not need to be a misadventure in taste.  As far as I know, I just created this recipe.  We had leftover ham and a lot of whole wheat lasagna noodles.  I decided to try a ham and cheese lasagna.  Here’s the recipe:

Ham and Cheese Lasagna

Cheese Sauce (see below)

1 to 2 cups of ham pieces

1 to 2 cups of peas

1 cup of shredded cheese, cheddar or Monterey Jack.

10-12 cooked lasagna noodles

breadcrumbs (optional)

To the sauce, add ham pieces and peas. Layer three or four lasagna noodles on the bottom of your 9×13 pan. Cover with a layer of the ham and cheese mixture. Repeat layers until the pan is full.  Cover the top with the cheese and then sprinkle breadcrumbs over that, if desired.  Bake at 350 degrees until everything is hot and the cheese is melted. 

Sauce:

1/2 cup of fat (I used 1/4 cup butter and a 1/4 cup lard)

1/2 cup of whole wheat flour

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 onion, chopped

4 cups of milk

1 cup of cheddar or Monterey Jack, shredded

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

In a large saucepan, melt the fat at medium heat.  Sauté the onions and garlic until soft.  Stir in the flour until a thick paste is created.  Add the milk, stirring constantly.  Add the cheese, salt and pepper.  Keep stirring until cheese is completely melted.

This recipe can be quite flexible and even made under financial or other emergency,  using powdered milk and canned versions of the veggies. I imagine that this recipe would be just as tasty if you used bacon instead of ham. Then, you could call it a Loaded, Baked Potato Lasagna.  It’s all about good publicity, you know.