Buffet Quality Mac'n'Cheese

This post is dedicated to my good friend's daughter, H, who loves herself some macaroni and cheese.  She is a lover of all things sweet and salty and is a unique and wonderful child who intrigues her mother daily and without her I would not hear so many funny stories and I would question the normalcy of the experiences I have with Charlie.  A few years ago, another friend and I were visiting H's mom and we brought them one of our first freezer recipes that has stood the test of time and children.  H gave us the best compliment any child of her age could think of, "Mom, I think Sarah and Katie should move here and open a buffet with this mac'n'cheese."

I used to be able to double this recipe and serve one for dinner that night and freeze the other, but now I feed large Schmidt giants so I double the recipe and we eat all of it with little to no leftovers.  My favorite thing about this recipe is that I can cook it from frozen.  No need to remember to defrost something.

Buffet Quality Mac'n'Cheese with Ham

2 T cornstarch 

1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 c milk
2 T butter or margarine 
1/2 t dry mustard

6 oz cheddar cheese, shredded 
8 oz elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cups cubed ham

In a medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, salt and pepper; using a wire whisk, stir in milk until smooth.  Add butter.  Stirring constantly with rubber spatula, bring to a boil over medium high heat and boil 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Stir dry mustard into white sauce; add 1 3/4 cup grated cheese and stir until melted (reserve 1/4 cup cheese for topping).

Cook elbow macaroni for six minutes; drain. Add cheese sauce to macaroni; stir. Turn into a greased, 2-quart casserole dish; stir in ham cubes. Top with reserved grated cheese.

To freeze: cover casserole with aluminum foil; seal dish in jumbo freezer bag. Freeze.

To prepare: place frozen casserole (covered with aluminum foil) in preheated 375-degree oven. Bake for 25 minutes; remove aluminum foil. Bake 25 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly.