Do you like Chicken Cordon Bleu? You know, a ham and cheese stuffed chicken breast, which is breaded and baked or fried? Yum…
Have you ever wondered why it’s called Cordon Bleu? Cordon Bleu is French for blue ribbon, as in a recipe worthy of a blue ribbon…
This recipe has the same main ingredients as traditional chicken cordon bleu, plus a creamy sauce, and pasta instead of breading.
To keep it in the French category, let’s call this a gratin~ A gratin is a dish covered with a light brown crust of melted cheese, the term originates from the French gratter, which means to grate~
Poach the chicken in water to cover on medium low heat for 60-90 minutes
The water will turn into a flavorful broth for cooking your pasta
Set chicken aside and shred
Saute bacon pieces, stirring occasionally until crisp and drain on paper towels
Reserve 1 T of bacon drippings and use it to saute onion and peppers in the same skillet [ignore the sour cream in the photo, I ended up not using it]
Add diced ham and cook and stir for a minute or two, then top with fresh spinach
Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes
Add cream, soup and Velveeta cheese. Cook and stir to melt cheese
Add chicken and bacon to sauce mix in skillet
Add pasta a little at a time. You want the casserole to be full of pasta, yet still very creamy and moist with lots of sauce so it won’t be dry after baking
Turn into a prepared deep 8×8 inch baking dish. I used a foil pan because this gratin was traveling~
Top casserole with grated cheddar and Parmesan. You can also use bread or cracker crumbs if you want a crunchy topping
Cover and refrigerate for up to 36 hours. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes until heated through and bubbling.
Oh la la!
Blue Ribbon Chicken Gratin
Ingredients
- 5 oz thin spaghetti or any pasta
- 2 large boneless chicken breasts, cooked see cooking instructions below
- 4 strips bacon, cut in pieces
- 4 slices thick deli ham
- 1/2 large sweet or yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 sweet yellow or red pepper, diced
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- 8 oz. Velveeta cheese,
- 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
- 1 cup half and half cream
- 1 oz grated Cheddar
- 1 oz shaved Parmesan
Instructions
Poached Chicken
- Place raw chicken in a 3 Qt saucepan with water to cover
- Cover pan and poach chicken on medium low heat for 60-90 minutes
- Remove chicken and drain, reserving broth for cooking pasta, and chop or shred chicken
Blue Ribbon Chicken Gratin
- Bring a large pot of water, seasoned with 1 tsp of salt to a boil or use reserved chicken broth
- Add spaghetti and cooked al dente {until just barely done} and drain
- Cook bacon in skillet until crisp, remove to paper towels to drain
- Saute onion and peppers in bacon fat until softened, about 5 minutes
- Add ham to skillet and stir fry 2-3 minutes.
- Add spinach to skillet and cover pan
- After several minutes, remove cover and stir spinach down into vegetable mixture as it wilts
- Add Velveeta, soup and cream, cooking and stirring for several minutes to incorporate and melt cheese
- Season with salt and pepper and add chicken to sauce mixture in skillet and add 1/2 of the pasta
- Stir well to combine, then add remaining pasta in increments, making sure the ratio of pasta to sauce remains very creamy. The casserole should be dense and very "wet."
- Turn mixture into a greased 8" x 8" deep baking dish and top with Cheddar and Parmesan
- Can be covered and refrigerated at this point for up to 36 hours before baking
- Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes until hot and bubbling
Notes
This is very similar to Loaded Tetrazzini, which has a sauce made with Alfredo sauce and onion dip and Parmesan cheese
You might also want to check out another version of Chicken Cordon Bleu, Twisted Chicken Marco Polo. This version is wonderful served atop a salad!
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