Baked Mac And Cheese (With Ham!)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a large 9x13 casserole dish by spraying generously with cooking spray.
Shred the cheddar cheese and the Monterey Jack cheese. Chop the ham into bite sized pieces. Add the uncooked pasta to the prepared baking dish first, then add the ham and shredded cheese and mix together.
1 pound cavatappi pasta, 4 ounces cheddar cheese, 4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, 16 ounces ham
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the melted butter.
4 tablespoons butter, ¼ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
Place the flour into the butter and mix with a whisk. Continue whisking continuously for one minute over the heat using a timer.
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Slowly add the milk and water to the pan while stirring. Bring the mixture to a low boil, then turn down the heat to keep the mixture simmering. Keep stirring occasionally, simmering for about 5 minutes.
3 cups milk, 3 cups water
Pour the sauce over the uncooked pasta and ham in the casserole dish.
Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the pasta is cooked through when tested and the sauce is bubbly. Allow the pasta to sit out of the oven for at least 15 minutes or until the sauce finishes thickening, then serve and enjoy. The sauce may look a little liquidy when you first take it out of the oven, but the pasta will continue to finish soaking up the liquid while resting.

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