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.