Recipe: Low-Carb Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Hello all,

     I am going to start posting more of the recipes that I have tried on here since I do cook quite a bit a whole lot. Many of the recipes are going to come from pinterest pins on my boards, cookbooks, and some from cooking blogs.

This first one is Low-Carb Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole. This recipe is from a site called Food is My Friend. I did change sub some of the items out due to the lifestyle change that I made in April (that is what I am calling it now). I used gluten-free flour instead of regular. I also did spicy brown mustard and Dijon mustard together. I am using the pictures from the website because they look a whole lot better than mine.

Ingredients:

For the casserole:

• 1 whole cooked chicken, bones removed, meat diced or shredded (rotisserie chicken is excellent, should have 5-6 cups)
• 1/2 pound very thinly sliced deli-style honey ham, rough chopped
• 1/4 pound thin sliced baby Swiss cheese

 For the sauce:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 3 1/4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

 For the topping:

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed dried parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9- x 13-inch baking dish. Set aside.

 

Put cooked shredded or diced chicken on the bottom of the baking dish. Rough chop the ham and scatter it over the top of the chicken. Lay the Swiss cheese on top of the ham.

 

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a large sauce pot over medium heat. When butter is melted, quickly stir in the flour to form a smooth roux. Do not brown! Once the roux is smooth and bubbly, slowly pour in the cold milk while stirring briskly to make a smooth sauce. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Stir in the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt, smoked paprika and white pepper. Bring sauce just back to a low boil and turn off heat. Pour sauce evenly over the casserole, being certain to get some of the sauce around the edges of the pan.

 

To make the topping: Melt the butter in the microwave in a medium sized microwaveable bowl. Heat it for 30 seconds at a time and stop once it’s melted. Take the bowl out of the microwave and stir in the panko bread crumbs, seasoning salt and crushed dried parsley. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

Bake casserole uncovered for 45 minutes until hot and bubbly throughout and topping has turned a light golden brown (I let mine cook under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes). Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes prior to serving.

 

That is it for now. Have to go study for my Anatomy Lab Exam (can't you tell I am excited about that). Until next time, Laters.......

A new start

Hi,

My name is Navia and I use to be a pseudo-blogger a few months ago. A whole lot has happened since March. I was kept extremely busy between school and work this spring semester. Also, I was trying to figure out if I wanted to still blog or not since let's be honest: only two people (if I am counting myself it is three) read this blog. I have decided that since I am going to be 32 as of today that I should start fresh and new with trying to invest more into this blog. I do love writing (I have my first Bachelors in print journalism after all) and there are some great blogs out that there people write for the love of it.

So with this turn the content on here is going to change a great deal. Mostly, it will be about who I am not at this point. With that being said this first post is going to be about gym attire. At the beginning of April (the 2nd to be exact) I started a weight loss program through my job which I will go more into later. I also started working out more which has resulted in me losing 26 lbs as of today. I have become obsessed with workout clothing. Last week I received an email from Victoria Secret about being able to get sports bars for $25 which, I totally took advantage of.

Here are the four bars that I bought and my opinions on them. They have them broken into minimum and maximum support.

 
Knockout by Victoria's Secret Front-Close Sport Bra
In store they only had pink in my size but online they have 16 colors. I like some of elements of this bra such as it has the bra shell underneath for the support. The only thing that would make this one better is if they had where the bra is detachable (it is not) from the sports bra covering. This bra has get support when you are jumping up and down doing jumping jacks or running

 
Angel by Victoria's Secret Sport Bra
This bra I bought in Turkish Blue Mesh and Black. It has lime under and the blue on top which makes it fun to look at. The thing I do not like about this bra is having to put it on since the straps do the cross in the back (it's a hassle I will tell you that even with it unhooked)


Victoria's Secret Angel Sport Bra
This bar I bought in the Pop Lime Mesh color. With this bra like many of the others except one or two, they all hook in the back like a regular bra.

They are having a sale at the moment where you can do a mix and match of sports bras and tops for 2/$49.50. Overall, I like all the bras that I bought and I think I am probably going to go buy some more at some point. And if anyone gets a chance go check www.fabletics.com. You take a test and they determine what kind of workout clothes fit you personality. The best part is that you get the whole outfit when you order instead of ordering piece by piece. That is it for now. Until next time, Laters.........