Spaetzle with Ham

After being gone all day, I wanted to make something for dinner that would be fast, but satisfying. My parents live in Germany, and they send me bags of (dry) famous German spaetzle. Spaetzle is really yummy if you make it yourself, but I haven't dived into that culinary challenge yet. The commercially prepared stuff works fine for me! I made a recipe that combined spaetzle with my leftover Christmas sprial-cut ham. I adapted it from a German/Austrian cookbook. If you can't find spaetzle, use any size of egg noodle, or whatever pasta suits your fancy! I imagine this would be good with bowties, too. One could use less ham, if desired.

Spaetzle with Ham

1/3 cup butter

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cups cubed, cooked ham

8 ounces spaetzle or other noodles

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1-2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives

Boil spaetzle or pasta according to package directions. Drain. Meanwhile, heat butter in large skillet, and saute onion until soft and slightly golden. Add ham and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining ingredients (including spaetzle) and toss together. Cook for 2 minutes more or until heated through, stirring frequently.