Aparagus, Ham and Rice Bake

This is a great dish for fresh asparagus.  I used thick slices of deli ham, steamed rice and asparagus.  You can top yours with bread crumb, cheese, crushed croutons or fried onions.  I chose fried onions to give this dinner a nice crunch.  My husband loved this.  We both went back for seconds.

Ingredients:

1 lb of fresh asparagus                               2.48
2 thick slices of deli ham                           4.31
3 C rice                                                       1.00
2 cans reduced fat cream of chicken soup  2.50
1 tsp dry mustard
salt, pepper and all purpose seasoning
12 oz french fried onions                            4.16

Directions:

Cook the rice according to package directions.  Cut off the fibrous white ends of the asparagus spears and discard.  Slice the remaining asparagus into 1" pieces and steam for 10 minutes.  I have a rice steamer with an attachment on top to steam vegetables.  This made easy work of steaming both the rice and the asparagus!

While these are cooking you can cube the ham into 3/4" pieces.  I like to cut off the edges first so the ham is more uniform and tender.  Set aside.

Pour the two cans of chicken soup into a bowl.  Stir in 3/4 cup water and 1 tsp dry mustard.  Add salt, pepper, and all purpose seasoning to taste. 

Once the rice and asparagus are cooked you are ready to assemble.  Place three 8x8" pans side by side.  Spread approximately 1/2 cup of soup mixture in the bottom of each pan. 

Now evenly divide the rice between the three pans. 

Now sprinkle each pan with 1/3 of the cubed ham.

Top evenly with the steamed asparagus.

Using a spoon spread the rest of the soup mixture evenly over the three pans. 

Now top with friend onions.

Cover each pan with foil.  If you are baking one right away then you only need to bake covered at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, and uncovered for 5 minutes.  Freeze the other dishes.  When ready to eat please thaw in the fridge for two days.  Then bake covered at 375 degrees for 30 minutes and uncovered for 5 minutes. 

This is how ours looked when the onions got nice and crispy.

I made three meals for $4.82 each.  It was rich and fresh and crunchy all at the same time.  A great meal on a rainy spring evening. 

Enjoy!

Christie aka Keeza