Several months ago I went looking for chicken casserole recipes on Pinterest. I found this great recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole. Since it uses pre-cooked chicken it is a great way to use leftover chicken. On Monday I had cooked a bunch of chicken in the slow cooker to use in three planned dinners this week and this is the last one. The most time consuming part of the preparation is the sauce and then after that you pop it in the oven and go on your merry way for 45 minutes. I used the time to exercise.
I did some math and made half of this recipe for about 4-6 servings. ( I do the most math when I cook it seems.) http://recipevan.com/recipe/chicken-cordon-bleu-casserole-2/
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
2 1/2-3 cups of cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
4 thin sliced deli-style honey ham, rough chopped
2 oz thin sliced baby Swiss cheese
For the sauce:
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 1/2 cups + 2 T milk
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 teaspoons pepper
For the topping:
3 T butter
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 tsp seasoning salt
3/4 teaspoon crushed dried parsley
1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter an 8″ x 8″ baking dish.
2) Layer cooked shredded or cubed chicken on the bottom of the baking dish. Chop the ham and put it on top of the chicken. Layer the Swiss cheese on top of the ham.
For the sauce:
3) Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. When butter is melted, quickly stir in the flour until smooth. Do not brown! Once smooth and bubbly, slowly pour in the cold milk while stirring briskly until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Stir in the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt, smoked paprika and white pepper. Bring sauce just back to a low boil and turn off heat. Pour sauce over the casserole and spread to edges.
For the topping:
4) Melt the butter. Stir in the panko bread crumbs, seasoning salt and crushed dried parsley. Sprinkle crumbs over the top of the casserole.
5) Bake casserole uncovered for 45 minutes until hot and bubbly throughout and topping has turned a light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes prior to serving.
It tastes great and is filling!
A handy site for converting all kinds of measurements- http://www.convertunits.com/
Tonight was game night at our house. We played Gears of War: the board game. It is a cooperative game (which we love) and can be played by 1-4 players. Our team emerged victorious (barely). It was the first time Amethesto and I had played this so Hagbard had to patiently explain everything to us. Neat game!
Food From Home 