Monday, October 1, 2012

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole - Freezer Meal Style

This is part of my freezer meals series... or how we survive the first few weeks after we have a baby!

I know I've shared this recipe before, but I made a couple of minor changes for the freezer version... The linked recipe on the bottom however is not updated.

When I made this to freeze, I actually did 3 times the recipe and made 3 to freeze and 1 to eat the night I made it - after all who wants to make 4 dinners and then make another one ;). This pretty much turns out exactly the same whether it is fresh or frozen - gotta love that! As far as veggies served with this - I stocked up on frozen veggies when they were on sale and used them, or I bought a packaged salad to eat with it. It is really nice to not have to really prepare dinner when you're exhausted from taking care of a newborn ;).

Cordon Bleu Casserole 

First you'll need 2 cups ham chunks,
 and 2 cups cups of cubed cooked chicken
You'll also need some evaporated milk - about 1-1/4 cups (add more if you like a lot of sauce.)
 You'll also need 3 oz of cream cheese, softened and whisked.
  Add the milk to the cream cheese a bit at a time.
Mixing to combine.
 Repeat until all evaporated milk has been added.
   Next, add 1-1/2 tsp chicken bouillon or soup base. (Alternatively you can add just 1 can cream of chicken soup to 1-1/2 oz cream cheese and omit the evaporated milk and soup base.)
 Mix well,
 add to chicken and ham.

 Next, add 1 cup mozzarella cheese
 and 1 cup Swiss cheese. I personally like to use all mozzarella cheese as Swiss is one type of cheese that neither Hubby or I really enjoy eating. If you really like Swiss you can add 2 cups of Swiss cheese.
 Mix the cheese into the meat mixture.
 Pour into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Of you can divide it between 2 - 8x8 baking pans. I used a foil pan (that whole surviving after a baby includes reducing the amount of dishes I have to do! Fewer dishes = more time with baby/more time sleeping...)
 Top with 1 more cup of cheese (either Mozzarella or Swiss.)
Cover with heavy duty foil and write on the foil:
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Bake at 350.
Place in the freezer. Remove when you want to cook. You can either thaw in  your fridge and bake at 350 Degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Or you can remove from freezer and place in oven. Cook at 350 for 45-60 minutes.
 Let cool for at least 5 minutes.
 Serve over rice. (I typically start cooking the rice in my rice cooker when I put the casserole in the oven.)
 You could use pasta as well, but we really enjoy it over rice.
Enjoy!
Print Recipe 

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for the recipe. Definitely going to try this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just made it tonight. We ate some for dinner, and then I froze some as well for when the baby comes. Thanks for the tip!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Do you bake covered or uncovered?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If frozen I cook covered until the last 15 minutes. If thawed I don't cover.

      Delete

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