Ham and Green Bean Casserole

I have officially made it through my first week at Wells Fargo. I spent that first week in training, so my brain was on overload by the end of the week. It's a lot of new information to learn in a short amount of time. I am enjoying being in Des Moines though. Luke is still in Waterloo. He plans on working at GMAC through the end of May. I am still trying to find a place for us to live, so hopefully I'll find something soon. Luke is also still looking for a job around Des Moines too. He keeps applying so we hopeful he'll find something soon.

When Luke and I got back from Chicago at the beginning of the month, I decided we still needed to have an Easter dinner. The Monday following Easter, I made a ham steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole and focaccia bread. I knew I definitely needed to do something with the leftover ham and I of course wanted to try something new. I found this recipe online and decided to give it a go. It was delicious and I definitely look forward to making it again. I didn't have any cream of celery in the pantry so I used cream of mushroom instead. This is a great way to use leftover ham. ENJOY!


Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
3 cups cubed bread
1 onion, minced
3 cups cooked ham, cut into one inch cubes
1 (10 ounce) can cream of celery soup, undiluted
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups instant rice
1 1/2 cups water
1 (15 ounce) can green beans, drained
6 slices American cheese


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Oil a 13"x 9" baking dish with spray cooking oil.
Place the bread cubes in a small bowl. Melt the butter in a large skillet, and pour half over the bread cubes. Toss cubes and set the bowl aside.
Add the onion to the remaining butter in the skillet and cook over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the chopped ham. Stir in the cream of celery soup and the milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring. Remove from heat.
Put the rice and water into the baking dish. Top with the drained green beans. Then spoon the ham mixture on top of the green beans. Cover with the slices of American cheese, then sprinkle over all with the bread cubes.
Bake uncovered until cheese melts and edges bubble, about 45 minutes.