Creamy Ham Casserole

We had a TON of ham leftover from Easter and about half of it is in my freezer.  So today, I googled "leftover ham recipes." Very clever I know.  This is the adaptation of the recipe I found.  The recipe called for a few things I didn't have, but with a little ingenuity, I came up with something rather tasty.  Phil even requested that I add it to our regular rotation of meals.

4 1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles

3 cups frozen broccoli florets defrosted

1 cup fat free milk

1 10 1/2 oz can cream of mushroom soup

2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

6 oz cream cheese

2 tablespoons dried onion

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 cups chopped lean ham

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Cook noodles in water for 4 minutes. Drain immediately. You do not want to over cook your noodles, otherwise you will end up with a soggy casserole.

Combine milk, soup, cheddar cheese, onion, salt, pepper and cream cheese in a large bowl; mix well with a whisk. 

Add noodles, broccoli and ham and stir well.

Spread noodle mixture evenly between a 9x13 baking dish that has been coated with olive oil (or Pam).

Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over casserole.

Cover casserole with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.