Ham & Potato Casserole

Five cups of cooked sliced potatoes, two cups of diced ham, a simple milk-flour cream sauce made from scratch, and a cheddar cheese top. This is the kind of ham casserole that shows up at church suppers and family dinners because it reliably feeds a crowd and uses up leftover ham without apology.

The cream sauce comes together quickly: melt margarine, whisk in flour and pepper, add milk, and stir constantly until it thickens before adding the potatoes and ham. Doing it this way, rather than using canned soup, gives you a cleaner, less salty result you actually control.