Husband Favorite: Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

My husband always likes what I cook, but tonight he is still raving about dinner an hour later.  He loved it.  Since this casserole was such a hit, I decided to post the recipe.  As I was not originally intending to blog tonight, I didn't take any pictures of the prep, but it's so easy, it's almost ridiculous.  I should give a shout out to the freezer meals magazine that inspired such husband happiness.  I made a few subtle modifications to the recipe, but without this publication, I would not have had the recipe to modify in the first place.  So in the interest of covering my rear & not being sued for plagarism, here's to Taste of Home Magazine.  This recipe could use a few modifications in the sodium department, but it's a goldmine of protein (pregnant mamas, take note!).

Without further adieu, I give you Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake...

What you'll need:
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1  6-oz package of reduced-sodium stuffing mix (I used chicken flavor)
4 tbsp butter
1 can (10-3/4 oz) Cream of Chicken soup, undiluted  (I might suggest a reduced-sodium version)
1 cup milk
1/4-1/2 tsp pepper (to taste)
1/2 lb sliced deli ham, cut into 1-inch strips.
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese  (seriously, swiss cheese makes this thing)
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I didn't have any. I used a blend of what I did have, which happened to be a combination of shredded colby/monterrey jack cheese and mozzarella cheese.  Still yummy).
Optional: french fried onions.

What to do:

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Cut up your chicken into 1-inch cubes, dump it in a skillet & cook it.  On the next burner, cook your stuffing according to packaged directions (you'll need about 1.5 cups of water & 4 tbsp butter for this part). 

2. In a medium bowl, combine soup & milk.  Whisk til well-blended.  Set aside.

3. Grease a 9x13in. baking dish.  Put your (cooked) chicken in first, sprinkle with pepper to taste, and then layer with ham, swiss cheese, 1 cup cheddar cheese, soup mixture, and stuffing.  Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese.  I also sprinkled french-fried onions on the top of mine because I had them in the pantry & they sounded good.

4. Cover with foil.  Bake for 30 mins.  Uncover; bake for another 10 mins or until cheese is melted.  Serve hot and bubbling with a tall glass of milk.  Yummy.


Fact:  French-fried onions are addictive.  When cooking with them, one should be quick about putting the rest of the package back in the pantry ASAP!

My ever appreciative hubby washed his supper down with the rest of the caramel brownies I made on Friday night, and the rest of the milk.  What can I say?  The way to a man's heart is through his stomach!