Weekly Menu 1/18+

I hardly think what I'll describe here could realistically be called a 'weekly' menu, but I'll go with the consistent title.


Thursday night I grilled some chicken and also made a few hash browns.

Friday night I had chicken noodle soup and L & J had previously frozen chicken nuggets that Nana shared in August trying to clear out her freezer.  We made it 2/3 of the way through them.

Saturday evening we had L's boss over for a 'man-date' so I fed them before they went outside to sit around the fire and talk about guy stuff.  We had steaks, baked potatoes, salad and then inspired by my sister-in-law N, I baked frozen puff pastry shells  and then filled them with lemon curd.  They were divine and I was stuffed!

Monday was this yummy Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole from Tasty Kitchen.  It was so good that J went back for seconds.  That just NEVER happens.  He'll eat a million other things before he eats more of dinner.

• 1 whole Cooked Chicken, Bones Removed, Meat Diced Or Shredded (rotisserie Chicken Is Excellent, Should Be 5-6 Cups Of Chicken--really I only had a few left over pieces that had bbq sauce on them and I used that.; maybe 2 cups
• ½ pounds Very Thinly Sliced Deli-style Honey Ham, Rough Chopped  (I picked up a clearance spiral cut ham and chopped up some of that at $1.50/lb it was a deal)
• ¼ pounds Thin Sliced Baby Swiss Cheese

FOR THE SAUCE:

• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 4 Tablespoons Flour
• 3-¼ cups Milk (I Used Whole Milk)
• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• 1-½ teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Smoked Paprika
• ¼ teaspoons White Pepper

FOR THE TOPPING:

• 6 Tablespoons Butter
• 1-½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs
• ¾ teaspoons Seasoning Salt
• 1-½ teaspoon Crushed Dried Parsley

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9- x 13-inch baking dish (oops forgot to do that, but it was not a problem later and saved 100 calories). 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.

For 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.

For 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 (thank you St for showing me how good panko is) 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. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes prior to serving.

Tuesday was Sloppy Joe's from the freezer which were very tasty and only required being heated up.

Next week I'll be absent from the blog, but will be back the following week.  :) Enjoy!