Ham & Veggie "Pot Pie"

This is a recipe that I was not very confident about during assembly! I thought that sweet potatoes would clash with ham, and that it would just be one of those inevitable "blah" thrown together dishes. But at first bite, oh it was heaven. A comforting pot pie flavor, minus the high-calorie pie! The ham and Mexican-style cheese give the dish it's flavor--all it needs is fresh ground pepper. You can more or less use any vegetables on hand in the fridge--I used leftover asparagus from our Valentine's Day dinner, but since it's a quick cooking vegetable there's no need to boil it with the others. Using dehydrated onion eliminates the need to saute it first.

Ham & Veggie "Pot Pie"

Ingredients:
2 C cubed sweet potatoes (peeled)
2-3 celery stalks, sliced
2-3 carrots, peeled & sliced
2 C fully cooked ham, cut into bite sized cubes
5 stalks asparagus, sliced
1/2 T dehydrated onion flakes
1/4 C unsalted butter
3 T flour
1 C milk (2% worked well for me)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 C shredded Mexican style cheese blend
1/2 sleeve of smashed Saltine crackers

Directions:
Place sweet potatoes, celery, carrots & dehydrated onion into large cooking pot and cover with cold water. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or so until tender. Meanwhile cube the ham, slice the asparagus, prepare your baking dish, then start the sauce. Drain the cooked vegetables, but reserve 2/3 Cup of the broth. Whisk the flour, pepper and milk in a medium sauce pan, add the butter and heat over medium, stirring often. When it just about begins to boil stir in the shredded cheese and reserved vegetable broth. Whisk until smooth and remove from heat. Preheat oven to 350F. Combine the vegetables, ham, asparagus and sauce in the large pot or a large mixing bowl, and toss gently until everything is well coated. Spread mixture into a 13x9" glass baking pan and top with Saltine crumbs. Bake until the center is bubbly, about 45 minutes.

Enjoy!