Ham and Pea Baked Rigatoni

Sweet peas...sweet ham.  These two things often seem to come together so I figured I would throw them into a pasta dish for a quick supper.  But sweet on sweet in something that's not a dessert just ain't my style so I wanted to create a simple recipe to make those sweet freaks happy without excluding myself as a savory gal.

I thawed frozen peas in a pan with butter while my pasta boiled away and I prepped the other two - count 'em - two ingredients.  Prepping is a stretch.  Getting these ingredients ready takes no time.  I simple cut up some deli ham (maple variety) and grated cheese.  I used the Yancey's Fancy champagne cheddar that I had on hand from a previous recipe and it was perfect.  If you can't find champagne cheddar, any bold, dry (in flavor, not texture) cheese will work.  I would go with sharp cheddar, gruyere, or swiss.  Basically, you just need something that will take down the sweetness quotient of the peas and ham.  I like to add a little egg/milk mixture to help the whole thing bind, but it's not necessary.  Bread crumbs would also be nice but also not necessary.  Combine it all in a dish and bake til it's nice and casserole-like.  Serve it with a nice salad and you've got yourself a meal, cowboy.