Recipe Background
Sunday deserves a dinner as comforting and loving as the weekend itself! That's this Sunday Ham Casserole in a nutshell; comfort food that is hot and ready for weary taste buds! The succulent ham swims in a creamy filling with tender rice and bright peppers, all under a golden-brown crust of butter cracker crumbs. Mmmm, Sunday Ham Casserole just makes life feel better, even if tomorrow is Monday!
Sunday deserves a dinner as comforting and loving as the weekend itself! That's this Sunday Ham Casserole in a nutshell; comfort food that is hot and ready for weary taste buds! The succulent ham swims in a creamy filling with tender rice and bright peppers, all under a golden-brown crust of butter cracker crumbs. Mmmm, Sunday Ham Casserole just makes life feel better, even if tomorrow is Monday!
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups long-grain white rice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 cups pepper jack cheese shredded, divided
- 1 cup buttery crackers crushed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, plus 2 tablespoons, room temperature, divided
- 1 medium red bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 medium poblano pepper seeded and finely chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 cups ham cubed
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas thawed
- fresh parsley optional, to taste, chopped, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add the broth, the rice, the soy sauce, and the thyme and stir to combine.
- Bring the broth mixture to a boil.
- Cover the saucepan and reduce the heat to low.
- Simmer the broth mixture until the rice is tender and the broth is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
- Remove and discard the thyme sprigs, then set the rice mixture aside.
- In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of the pepper jack cheese, the crushed crackers, and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and stir to combine. Set the crumb topping aside.
- In a large stockpot over medium heat, melt the remaining butter.
- Add the bell peppers, the poblanos, the onions, and the black pepper to the melted butter and cook, while stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook, while stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds-1 minute.
- Add the flour to the vegetable mixture and cook, while whisking or stirring, until the raw flour smell disappears, about 2-3 minutes.
- Slowly add the milk to the vegetable mixture, while whisking constantly.
- Cook the vegetable mixture, while stirring frequently, until thickened and smooth, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the remaining pepper jack cheese, the sour cream, and the salt to the vegetable mixture and stir to combine.
- Add the rice mixture, the ham, and the peas to the vegetable mixture and stir to combine.
- Add the rice mixture to the prepared pan, spreading it out evenly.
- Sprinkle the rice mixture with the crumb topping.
- Bake until the casserole is bubbly and the topping is golden-brown, about 15-20 minutes.
- Let the casserole stand for 5 minutes.
- Serve garnished with the parsley.
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