Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Tonight's dinner almost didn't get made. I was feeling extremely stressed out from work and all I wanted to do was nap until the morning. But thankfully, I was drug out of the bed and this last minute dinner was thrown together.

I present Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole from CopyKat Recipes. CopyKat is the brain child of Stephanie Manley and her collection includes several recipes of restaurant favorites that you can create at home. I've been dying to try her recipe for Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits!

Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

• 6 skinless/boneless chicken breasts or thighs
• 2 cans cream or mushroom soup
• 1 piece of ham for each piece of chicken (I usually used leftover, but you can use deli ham just as well.
• 6 pieces of cheese. Farmers cheese works best, but I have used Monterey Jack.
• A soup can of milk
• Season to taste

Combine soup and milk in 9×13 casserole dish and place chicken. Put a slice of ham on each piece and top with a slice of cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Akari's Musings

I didn't do too much to alter this recipe. Instead of cooking up 6 whole chicken breasts, I took three and cut them in half. Okay, no. I took two and cut them in half. The third one was more of a tenderloin than a breast, so it got left intact. I could have gotten a block of Jack cheese from Aldi, but I went with Havarti cheese because it's delicious and on sale. LOL. I also added a healthy dose of Dijon mustard. For some reason I couldn't wrap my brain around cordon bleu with Dijon.

Two cans of soup, one can of milk and about 2-3 Tbsp of Dijon mustard makes a LOT of sauce. At first I was a little worried that there was too much, but honestly, that amount of liquid kept the chicken moist.

A little lesson on Casseroles. This dish is a total misnomer. For there to be a casserole certain criteria must be met. Usually there is some kind of meat or fish, various chopped veggies, some kind of starch binder like pasta or potatoes, and occasionally a crunchy topping. This recipe lacks a good portion of the criteria for a casserole, but we'll go with it.

Right before going into the oven. I cut the ham slices in half since my breast pieces were smaller. I kept the cheese whole because I loves me some Havarti. I got introduced to this buttery cheese while working in the deli department at my local grocery store. One year for Christmas I got volunteered to make a cheese tray for the family get together. I asked my boss for a recommendation of cheeses and she let me sample some of the "fancier" cheeses we had behind the counter. I fell in love with Havarti with one bite. I won't bore you with a lesson in cheese, but this is actually pretty a interesting read. Traditionally, Chicken Cordon Bleu is made with Swiss or Guyre, but Havarti is just so dang tasty.

I hate to say it, but I was pretty pressed for time with this one. I didn't get started until around 9pm. So to make sure I wasn't up until the crack of dawn making dinner I cranked my stove up to 425 and reduced the cooking time down to 30 minutes. I stuck my trusty thermometer into the thickest breast and walked away to play World of Warcraft until one of the alarms went off.

As it happened, they went off at pretty much the same time. The timer went off about 30 seconds before the thermometer did. The smell of baking ham filled the apartment and my mouth began to water!

The Havarti got nice and brown and the ham crisped up on the edges. Yummy! When it came out of the oven both my husband and my little beagle had to come investigate the delicious smells coming from the kitchen!

The little chicken piece is shown here on top of some plain buttered egg noodles seasoned with a little salt and pepper.

I have to say I am incredibly impressed with this dish. I love Chicken Cordon Bleu, but I am terrified of roulades, flattening meat and deep frying. This is a faster, easier not terrifying way to get the flavor of Chicken Cordon Bleu. If I could figure out how to get that crispiness of fried Cordon Bleu in this baked version, this would be perfect! I'm afraid that if I bread it before baking, the breadcrumbs would absorb the gravy and make them soggy. I must experiment!

For a lesson in traditional Chicken Cordon Bleu, as well as a history lesson, check out what Wise Geek has to say.

Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu receives the Akari Hoshi Stamp Approval and I will so be making this again!

Happy Eating!