Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
This recipe is a convenient way to use leftover chicken and ham. It's a simplified version of chicken cordon bleu, easier to prepare and can be made ahead of time.
This recipe is a convenient way to use leftover chicken and ham. It's a simplified version of chicken cordon bleu, easier to prepare and can be made ahead of time.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 cup uncooked rice
- 4 tablespoons butter divided
- pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 3/4 cup carrots chopped
- 1 1/3 cups water (or chicken broth)
- 2 cups frozen green beans
- 2 cups cooked chicken shredded or finely chopped
- 1 cup cooked ham finely chopped
- 2 eggs , lightly beaten
- Carbohydrate 25.3243861110953 g
- Cholesterol 478.248368052844 mg
- Fat 43.168884651753 g
- Fiber 2.1309332789977 g
- Protein 42.5999614583115 g
- Saturated Fat 19.9021368049078 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (391g)
- Sodium 1160.52503579815 mg
- Sugar 23.1934528320976 g
- Trans Fat 5.00945861103766 g
- Calories 664 calories
Step-by-step
- Bring 1 1/3 cups of water to a boil. Add carrots, celery, salt, 1 teaspoon butter, and rice. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed.
- Cook green beans according to package directions. Drain well; toss with 2 tablespoons butter.
- Mix chicken, ham, and green beans. Place in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with pepper, to taste.
- Melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. In a large bowl, mix the cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, eggs, milk, cheddar cheese, melted butter, and parsley. Spread mixture on top of the meat and green beans in the baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
- Bake at 350? for 45 minutes or until top is set.
Eggs do the heaviest lifting in this casserole by functioning as thermal binders. When subjected to the 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven temperature, the proteins in the lightly beaten eggs coagulate, trapping the moisture from the sour cream, milk, and cream of mushroom soup into a cohesive, sliceable matrix rather than allowing the sauce to break into an oily separation. Rice demands precise water absorption before assembly. Simmering the half-cup of uncooked rice in precisely one and one-third cups of liquid for twenty minutes ensures starch molecules gelatinize fully without leaving surplus water at the bottom of the pan, which would otherwise dilute the savory richness of the surrounding ingredients. Substitutions alter this delicate structural balance significantly. Replacing the sour cream with plain yogurt introduces higher acidity and less milk fat, increasing the likelihood of curdling under prolonged dry heat. Swapping the shredded cheddar for a lower-fat cheese alters the melting point and fat-to-protein ratio, yielding a grainy texture instead of a smooth, emulsified topping. Combining cured ham and neutral cooked chicken creates a deliberate tension between high sodium and mild poultry protein, balancing the salt content without requiring additional seasoning beyond cracked pepper. Drain the frozen green beans thoroughly after cooking, because excess surface water will leak into the meat and vegetable layer during the forty-five-minute bake time. Parmesan cheese scattered across the surface undergoes the Maillard reaction alongside dairy fats, forming a distinct savory crust that protects the softer custard layer underneath from scorching.
