leftover inspiration

The lovable Kary, over at My Farmhouse Kitchen, has been talking about her never ending Easter ham and the creative ways she's been using the leftovers. We had leg of lamb for Easter, but I picked up a ham last weekend, marked down in the post Easter clearance. After a few meals, I was ready for something different, so I made a variation of Kary's pasta. I'm not sure how she does it, but she always pictures her pasta dishes with the pasta curled up in a beautiful twist. My lame attempt is pictured above. Anyway, this was absolutely delicious and really simple to make. The browning of the ham with the mushrooms and onions gives the sauce a wonderful earthy, smoky flavor. Thanks, Kary, for the inspiration. Here's my take on her ham pasta theme:

1 pound pasta
1 bunch asparagus, cut in 2 inch pieces
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup sliced ham, cut in strips
3/4 cup cream (I used Land O Lakes fat free)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
4 Tbsp butter
freshly ground pepper to taste

While pasta is cooking in salted water, cook asparagus in salted water, in separate pan until just tender-crisp. Saute mushrooms, onion and ham in butter in a large skillet, until tender and browned. Add cream to mushroom mixture and incorporate all those lovely brown crispies in the bottom of the pan into the cream. Add pepper to taste. Remember, the ham is salty, so I didn't add any extra salt. Add hot drained pasta, cheese, and if needed, a bit of the pasta water. Toss and serve. Yum-o-yum. A wonderful spring dinner.

Serves 4