Recipe of the Week

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Once again, this recipe comes from the MBASA cookbook. I just have to say that I love collaborative cookbooks because everyone puts their best recipes in...you really can't go wrong!

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

8 oz. ham, cubed

8 slices Swiss cheese

1/2 c. cheddar cheese

2-3 sliced green onions

1/2 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)...but not really :)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 c. milk

lemon juice

1 c. bread crumbs

garlic salt

Make it:

Sprinkle the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with half of the bread crumbs (it should cover the bottom). Place half of the chicken and ham over the bread crumbs and sprinkle lightly with garlic salt. Place half of the Swiss and cheddar cheese on top. Sprinkle with green onions and mushrooms. In a separate bowl, combine the cream of chicken soup with milk and 2-3 T of lemon juice to create sauce. Add more milk if necessary to create the desired thickness. Add 1/2 - 3/4 of sauce to the casserole. Repeat the layers and top with remaining bread crumbs. Dot with butter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until heated through.

Tips:

• I used lunch meat ham, left it in the stack, and cubed it that way.
• I used 12 slices of Swiss cheese (a whole package), because it covered the casserole more completely
• I used garlic powder instead of garlic salt (because that's what I had)
• I used the reduced sodium cream of chicken soup and added a dash of lemon pepper for added flavor
• I think I added about an extra 1/2 c. of milk to the sauce...but just add a little at a time until the soup is thin enough to spread (maybe slightly thinner than pudding)
• After baking it for 30 minutes, the bread crumbs weren't completely browned, so I placed it under the broiler for a couple of minutes and kept an eye on it so it wouldn't burn.

We ate ours with oven-toasted french bread and a simple green salad of red leaf lettuce, spinach and tomatoes. It was really good. Enjoy!