Ham Broccoli Mac N' Cheese Casserole- Say what??

Okay the title is a bit long and so is the name of the dish...BUT we needed a dinner and had these ingredients so I plugged them into the handy little Google app...and VIOLA!  dinner recipes were abundant!  You can find the recipe HERE on Food.com or below with my pictures!

** I did not have margarine- I used smart start butter.  I did not have flour-I used NOTHING. I did not use milk, I used lactaid free milk.  I can't eat onions..so I used onion powder! I did not have "diced cooked ham" I had deli ham that I cut up into smaller pieces:)..and; I did not have a thing to shred the cheese with so I cut up enough cheese into small/very small pieces**

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

Units: US | Metric

2 cups uncooked pasta, I used rotini

10 ounces of chopped broccoli, thawed

2 tablespoons stick margarine

1/4 cup chopped sweet onion

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2-2 cups milk

3/4 teaspoon dry mustard (to taste)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

12 ounces of diced cooked ham

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:

1: Cook pasta according to directions on pasta box.

2:Drain, but do not rinse.

3:In same pan that you cooked the pasta in, add margarine and onion.

4:  Cook until onion is slightly softened, add flour and stir until well combined.

5:Add milk a little at a time, until slightly thickened, you might not need all the milk.

6: Then add dry mustard,cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.

7: Remove from heat.

8: Add up to 1 1/2 cups of cheese, and stir until melted.

9: Add pasta back to cheese mixture, stir until well combined.

10: Then stir in broccoli and diced ham.

11: Place into a greased 2 quart baking dish.

12: Sprinkle top with remaining cheese, and bake in a pre heated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.

**I served the casserole with a side of whole kernel corn (from a can..but cooked down with butter for about 30 minutes on the stop..and slices of red apple!**

Easy level- GREAT..all ingredients I knew and had some variation of and the instructions were easy to follow!

Most certainly beginner cook friendly!