Country Ham & Macaroni Casserole

We tried the Country Ham and Macaroni Casserole. We have lots of ham to use up and I had an old can of Cream of Chicken Soup in the pantry that I wanted rid of so this recipe sounded great. The flavor was really good, we all liked the taste, but the top layer of the casserole came out very hard and crunchy! It hurt my teeth to eat those portions of it! So if I can figure out how to fix that and make a substitute for the cream of chicken soup, we will have this again! It was a hit with my son, but I just don't want us breaking a tooth on it! :) I'm sure I did something wrong, but I followed the recipe exactly!

Country Ham and Macaroni Casserole
Sandy~Bettyinthekitchen

1 lb country ham slices or regular smoked ham in one piece
1 large onion, diced
1 lb elbow macaroni
2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz)
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine, melted
1 cup dry plain bread crumbs

1. Heat oven to 400º.

2. Bring 4 quarts water and ham to boiling in large pot. Once water begins to boil, remove ham to a plate. Add onion and macaroni to pot. Return water to boiling; cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Coarsely chop ham, discarding any fat and bones.

4. Drain macaroni and onion and return to pot. Add ham, cheese, sour cream and soup. Scrape into a 13x9x2 baking dish. Pour melted margarine over top. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

5. Bake in heated 400º oven 30 minutes or until heated through and top is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.Note: Prepare in two 8x8 casserole dishes, bake one and freeze one (unbaked) for another day.