Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

Having a baby makes it hard to cook. We've been eating through our freezer but sometimes I want to try something new. And on the weekends (or holidays), I can usually find a little time to cook while Jason is on baby duty. (And sometimes he sleeps and Jason can help in the kitchen!) 

I have seen this recipe floating around Pinterest for a while and wanted to make it. So. I. Did. :) 

Most of the pins I found didn't have a recipe attached, it was a pin of a pin of a pin. That got annoying so I turned to The Google. 

The only deviation I made from the recipe was I added two extra tablespoons of Dijon Mustard. The mixture you pour ontop is very similar to my Chicken Divan mixture and as my husband stated, it tastes similar to chicken divan, except instead of brocolli there is cheese. I have to warn you too - somehow my dish came out a little extra salty. I only added the tsp of salt, and I'm not sure if it's just the salt in the ham and cheese and maybe I need to somehow choose less salty meat. 

Even though I used the recipe as is, I'm going to copy it below (with a few small edits) word for word because I really hate having to constantly scroll through pictures and instructions. 

Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

Ingredients

1 large rotisserie chicken, meat removed and pulled (about 5-6 C)

1/2 pound sliced deli-style black forest ham, chopped

1/2 pound sliced swiss cheese

Sauce:

4 Tb butter

4 Tb flour

3 C milk

1 Tb lemon juice

2 Tb dijion mustard (Substitute ground mustard if needed.)

1  tsp salt

1 Tsp of Garlic 

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp pepper

Crumb Topping:

4 Tb melted butter

1 1/4 C seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 C Parmesan cheese

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick spray.  Layer the chicken in the bottom of the dish followed by the ham and finally the Swiss/Havarti cheese.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
3. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly add the milk, whisking to keep clumps from forming.
4. Turn the heat to high and cook until the sauce thickens and boils completely, whisking often.
5. Remove from the heat and add the remaining sauce ingredients.
6. Pour the finished sauce over the base layer already in the dish.
7. In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until the butter is evenly distributed over the crumbs.
8. Sprinkle over the top of the dish and bake for 45 minutes.
9. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving so the sauce will thicken just a bit.

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

My inspiration for this comes from The Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond). She has one of my favorite food network shows and everything she makes looks really delicious. It's also hearty since she is serving her ranch hand family. 

Her recipe calls for a few more peppers, twice the potatoes, and doesn't incorporate sausage since it's a "side dish". I wanted to make this a breakfast casserole. 

I also like this because it's a two-dish casserole. One large skillet on the stove and one 9x13 glass casserole dish. (Unless you have to grate the cheese with your food processor... then there's an extra clean up item.)

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1 red pepper

2 poblano chilies (for more heat, add more chilies or pick a hotter one.)

1 white onion

2 pounds diced frozen hash brown potatoes (1 bag)

Salt & Pepper

1/2 pound grated sharp cheddar

1/2 pound grated Monterrey jack 

8 slices of bacon, fried & chopped

1 pound sausage

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. 
2. Cook the sausage & bacon (separately), and set aside. Drain sausage/pat dry bacon. Chop bacon.
3. Dice the onion, red pepper, and chilies.
4. Melt the butter in the large skillet and saute the onion, red pepper, and chilies until onion is clear and pepper & chilies are almost blackened. (I also added garlic, parsley, and cilantro frozen cubes at this point. - See below for more info.) 
5. Add the cooked sausage and the frozen hashbrowns, salt & pepper, and mix together. Let cook about 15 - 20 minutes. (Or however long it takes to shred your cheese.)
6. Pour half the potato mixture into a greased 9x13 glass dish. Cover with a thin layer of cheese, pour the remaining half of hte potato mixture over the cheese layer. Spread the rest of the cheese over the casserole, top with bacon.
7. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 30-40 minutes. 

Notes:

• You can change the peppers to make it hotter or milder. I think it had the perfect spice for breakfast
• You can make this the day before (I did) and I took it out about an hour before putting in the oven so it would come to room temperature. 
• If you haven't discovered the frozen cubes of spices at Trader Joes, or now at Wal-Mart, you must! I keep the garlic, cilantro, and parsley on hand to flavor my dishes. As much as I love having fresh cilantro as a garnish, it's a pain to keep on hand. 
• Since this has sausage in it, you don't really need another protein, but it would go good with a side of scrambled eggs. 
• If anyone ever finds shredded Monterrey jack please, please call me ASAP. I love the flavor of MJ cheese, but am tired of always shredding it. My food processor does wonders, but then I have to clean that! 

Get up and do something

On Thursday November 14 the world lost a hero. 

Grandpa Bill passed away peacefully surrounded by friends and family. I have a lot of mixed emotions and am not grieving the way a normal person grieves. It's hard to grieve when you have the most adorable 10 week old laughing at you while you cry. After so much loss throughout my life, I bury my emotions and it's easier to deal with them later. 

Grandpa has been sick for many years. And constant "This might be it" trips to visit him in the hospital. It happens a few times each year. It wasn't a surprise. He was airlifted on Sunday to Barnes. He had a great day, a surge, on Monday. But then Monday night took a turn and didn't recover. 

My father gave a great eulogy.  Grandpa was in WWII and when he landed on the beach  near Zamboanga in the Philippines, he had two choices. Lay there and get killed or get up and do something about it.

He received three Bronze stars, two for valor and bravery in combat. And one of those reads “for organizing and leading Philippine infantry in attacking and overcoming three Japanese machine gun positions.

So my father challenges all of us to Get Up and Do Something.

Grandpa's obituary:

William E. “Bill” Reed, 87, of Red Bud, Illinois, formerly of Belleville, IL,born Thursday, August 19, 1926, in Saint Louis, MO, died Thursday, November 14, 2013 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Bill was retired from CBS/Viacom, having worked at Channel 4 television station for 35 years. He was a member of Saint Matthew United Methodist Church in Belleville Illinois. He was a volunteer for the Violence Prevention Center, Meals on Wheels, former Boy Scout and Cub Scout leader, Khoury League coach, a member of IBEW Local 4. He was a decorated combat veteran of WWII, having served in the Philippines and Japan with the 41st Infantry Division.

He was preceded in death by:

• Father:  Henry Clay Reed 
• Mother and Step-father:  Frances nee Domagolla and Charles Dougharty
• Mother and Father-in-law:  Jesse and Pearl nee Rhine Fox
• Brother and Sister-in-Law:  Bob and Beryl Reed
• Nephew:  Larry Lee

Surviving:

• Wife:  Wilma “Jean” nee Fox Reed of Red Bud, IL 
• Son and Daughter-in-Law:  William Michael and Terri Reed of Red Bud, IL 
• Grandchildren:
  • Melissa Reed of Red Bud, IL 
  • Meghan (Jason) Guilford of Maryland Heights 
  • William J. (Kelci) Reed of Godfrey, IL 
• Great-Grandson:  William P. Guilford
• Niece:  Sandra (Dan) Malan of St. Louis, MO
• Cousin:  Reed (Carol) James of St. Joseph, MO
• Great Nieces and Nephews
• Special Cousins of the Rhine and Fox families

Memorials: Memorials may be made to the St. Matthew United Methodist Church, St. Peter United Church of Christ in Red Bud, Monroe County Humane Society or St. Louis Honor Flight