Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Description
Need an easy to make casserole for your busy nights? This one is simple to make and filling. It's warm and gooey, made with layers of chicken, ham and cheese in a wonderful sauce and then is finished with a crunchy breadcrumb topping.
Ingredients
1 whole cooked chicken, bones removed, meat diced or shredded (rotisserie chicken is excellent, 5-6 cups)
1/2 lb. very thinly sliced deli-style honey ham, rough chopped
1/4 lb. thinly sliced baby Swiss cheese
Sauce:
4 T. butter
4T. flour
3 1/4 c. milk
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 T. dijon mustard
1/2 t. smoked paprika
1/4 t. pepper
salt, to taste
Topping:
6 T. unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
1 1/2 t. crushed dried parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter/grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish; set aside.
Put cooked shredded or diced chicken on the bottom of the baking dish. Rough chop the ham; scatter over the top of the chicken; place Swiss cheese on top of the ham.
Sauce: Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When melted, quickly stir in flour to form a smooth roux; do not brown. Once roux is smooth and bubbly, slowly pour in the cold milk, stirring briskly to make a smooth sauce. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Stir in the lemon juice, mustard, salt, paprika and white pepper. Bring sauce just back to a low boil; turn off heat. Pour sauce evenly over the casserole, making sure some sauce is around the edges of the pan.
Topping: Melt butter in the microwave in a medium sized microwaveable bowl; heat for 30 seconds at a time, stopping when melted. Remove bowl from microwave; stir in bread crumbs, seasoning salt and dried parsley; sprinkle on top of the casserole.
Bake casserole uncovered 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly throughout and topping has turned a light golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 5-10 minutes prior to serving.
Things that can be done ahead:
1. Shred chicken a day ahead.
2. Make the casserole up to the step where sauce is poured, cover and refrigerate till the next day. The next day, take it out of the fridge to allow it to take some of the chill off, make the breadcrumb topping and bake as instructed.
3. Make the casserole completely the morning of the day you want to serve it. Let it cool completely, cover and refrigerate. That night, take it out of the fridge about 1 hour before baking to allow the chill to come off a little. Bake again, covered loosely with foil to prevent further browning, at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes to reheat.
If the rotisserie chicken is on the small side, get 2 to be certain to have 5-6 cups.