A new twist on chicken cordon bleu

For people who stupidly buy chicken tenderloins when planning to make chicken cordon bleu.... Or  because you have left over rotisserie chicken... Or because you're too lazy to make chicken cordon bleu but are really in the mood for that flavor... Or even just because it's good :)

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

source: tastykitchen.com

Ingredients

casserole

• 1 whole Cooked Chicken, Bones Removed, Meat Diced Or Shredded (Rotisserie Chicken Is Excellent, Should Be 5-6 Cups Of Chicken)
• ½ lbs Very Thinly Sliced Deli-style Honey Ham, Rough Chopped
• ¼ lbs Thin Sliced Baby Swiss Cheese

sauce

• 4 T Butter
• 4 T Flour
• 3-¼ c Whole Milk
• 2 T Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 1 T Dijon Mustard
• 1-½ tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Smoked Paprika
• ¼ tsp White Pepper

topping

• 6 T Butter
• 1-½ c Panko Bread Crumbs
• ¾ tsp Seasoning Salt
• 1-½ tsp Crushed Dried Parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9- x 13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
   
2. Put cooked shredded or diced chicken on the bottom of the baking dish. Rough chop the ham and scatter it over the top of the chicken. Lay the Swiss cheese on top of the ham.
   

For the sauce:

3. Melt the butter in a large sauce pot over medium heat. When butter is melted, quickly stir in the flour to form a smooth roux. Do not brown!
   
4. Once the roux is smooth and bubbly, slowly pour in the cold milk while stirring briskly to make a smooth sauce. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens.
   
5. 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.
   
6. Pour sauce evenly over the casserole, being certain to get some of the sauce around the edges of the pan.
   

For the topping:

7. Melt the butter in the microwave in a medium sized microwaveable bowl. Heat it for 30 seconds at a time and stop once it’s melted.
   
8. Take the bowl out of the microwave and stir in the panko bread crumbs, seasoning salt and crushed dried parsley. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.
   
9. 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.
   

 

Oh GOSH this was yummy.

Country Chicken Hot-Pot
source: Cookshelf Chicken by Tom Bridge
Ingredients:

• 4 chicken quarters or tenderloins
• 6 medium potatoes, cut into 1/4 in slices
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 c bacon, diced
• 1 large onion, chopped finely
• 1 c sliced carrots
• 2/3 c ginger-ale
• 2 T melted butter
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Remove skin from chicken if preferred.
3. Arrange a layer of potato slices in the bottom of a wide casserole dish. Season with salt and pepper, add thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves.
4. Top with the chicken, sprinkle with diced bacon, onion, and carrots. Season well and arrange the remaining potato slices on top, overlapping slightly. 
5. Pour the ginger-ale over the top. Brush the potatoes with melted butter and cover with lid or tin foil.
6. Bake approximately 2 hours, uncovering for the last 30 mins to allow the potatoes to brown.

Thanksgiving Dinner

This year Russ and I were alone for Thanksgiving this year. So we went to Flagstaff and had some fun! But I was bummed I didn't get the Bird Thanksgiving dinner. It is seriously the BEST. So I thought it would be fun to do a big meal for Christmas this year. My family normally just does fondue on Christmas day, but we did Christmas with Russ' family and it was a very different day than I'm used to! But the delicious day was SO worth it! Here are some of the classic recipes we use that day! Try the rice dressing... ABSOLUTELY delicious!
Thanksgiving Turkey
Source: Lisa Hawks
Ingredients:

• 2 celery sticks
• 5-10 pound turkey
• 1/2 large onion, cut into chunks
• 1/2 lemon
• olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Defrost turkey according to directions on turkey. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place celery sticks in roasting pan.
2. Wash turkey and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Sprinkle salt, pepper and thyme inside the turkey. Place the onion inside the turkey. Squeeze lemon into the turkey and throw the lemon half inside.
4. Near the neck opening of the turkey and on the breast, wriggle the skin loose. Rub olive oil under the skin and add garlic.
5. Rub the whole outside of the turkey with olive oil and salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with string. Put turkey breast side down on the celery sticks. Cover with lid or tin foil.
6. Cook the turkey for about 2 hours. The packaging will state the exact amount of time.

Thanksgiving Rice Dressing

Source: David Bird
Ingredients:

• 2 c rice
• 4 c water
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 c pine nuts
• 4 T butter
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp sage
• salt and pepper to taste
• chicken broth

Directions:

1. Put rice and water in a pot, bring to a boil.
2. In a separate pot, saute the onion and celery in the butter. Cook until the onion is translucent.
3. Stir in the spiced and remove from heat.
4. Mix the veggies and rice together and add pine nuts.
5. When the turkey has 1 hour left to cook, spoon the rice dressing around the outside of it. Re-cover the turkey and put back in the oven. Stir the rice every twenty minutes for the rest of the cooking time. Add chicken broth to the rice if it seems dry. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Classic Green Bean Casserole

Source: Campbell's Recipe Site

Ingredients:

• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup 
• 1/2 c shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• Dash ground black pepper
• 4 cups cooked cut green beans
• 1 1/3 cups French's® French Fried Onions

Directions:

1. Stir the soup, cheese, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in a 1 1/2-quart casserole.
2. Bake at 350°F. for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling.  Stir the bean mixture.  Sprinkle with the remaining onions and more cheddar cheese.
3. Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.

Pretzel Salad
Source: Barbara Bird
Ingredients:

• 2 c crushed pretzels
• 1/4 c melted butter
• 1 T sugar
• 1 8oz package cream cheese
• 1 c sugar
• 8oz cool whip
• 1 6oz package raspberry jello
• 2 c boiling water
• 20oz frozen raspberries

Directions:

1. Mix together pretzels, butter, and sugar. Bake in a 9x13 pan at 400 degrees for 6 minutes. Cool completely.
2. Cream together cream cheese, sugar, and cool whip. Spread over cooled crust.
3. Mix together boiling water, jello pckg, and raspberries, set aside and allow to cool a few minutes. Pour over the cream cheese mixture. Put in the fridge for several hours to set.

If you haven't noticed, easy and delicious meals are my FAVORITE.

Easy Cheesy Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

• 3-4 chicken breasts, chopped and cooked or 1 (14 oz.) can chicken
• 16 oz. egg noodles, cooked
• 24 oz. sour cream
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
• 8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
• 1/4 c. margarine, melted
• 2 Tbsp. Poppy seeds (optional)

 Directions:

1. Combine chicken, sour cream, soup & cheeses in a large bowl. Stir to combine. 
2. Add the noodles and gently stir till coated. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Mix crackers and margarine; sprinkle over the top. Sprinkle with Poppy seeds. 
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or till crackers are crispy and golden brown and cheese is melted.

 We found this recipe on Mandy's Blog too! SO freaking good. And SO easy. YUM