Secret Recipe Club, Chicken Cordon Bleu Stuffed Shells
It’s Secret Recipe Club reveal day! My secret blog assignment this month is Rainstorms and Love Notes. Ashley is a young bride enjoying life North Carolina, having lots of fun in the kitchen, keeping up with her 3 cats and rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Besides easy and delicious looking recipes, her blog is full of funny stories, some DIY, and of course some love notes~
These are the recipes that caught my eye:
Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Bake
I chose Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Bake because I love Chicken Cordon Bleu and I love one dish meals so this recipe was a win-win for me
Ashley’s recipe simplifies the preparation of this classic dish, making it very fast and easy to prepare. See Ashley’s Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Bake here
Cordon Bleu is french for “blue ribbon,” symbolizing an award winning dish. Traditional Cordon Bleu is basically a meat [originally veal] wrapped around ham and cheese, then breaded and fried
There are many versions and variations of this now popular dish. The name might be confusing because it has nothing to do with bleu [blue] cheese
I changed a couple of things, adding sherry to the sauce and prosciutto and mushrooms to the mix
And I stuffed the mixture into jumbo pasta shells instead of using spiral pasta
You can use rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken, or poach raw chicken while you’re preparing the other ingredients**
Saute the chopped ham and prosciutto to render fat and get a little color and caramelization on them
Give the mushrooms a quick rough chop so they won’t be too big for the stuffing
Brown mushrooms quickly over medium high heat~the photo is steamy
Make sauce by combining sherry, soup and milk. You can substitute chicken broth or white wine for the sherry if desired. Stir well
Combine chicken, mushrooms, ham, prosciutto and 1/3 of the sauce in a bowl or saucepan {I used the saucepan I poached the chicken in} and season with salt and pepper
Stir in Gruyere cheese and stuff mixture into shells
Spread 1/3 of sauce over the bottom of a sprayed baking dish. Place shells tightly together on top of sauce. Pour remaining 1/3 of sauce over all
Now cover with stuffing mix* and Parmesan cheese
*If you want a softer topping, combine stuffing mix with a little melted butter and water before putting on casserole
Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. If prepared ahead and refrigerated, increase baking time
Dig in!
Chicken Cordon Bleu Stuffed Pasta Shells
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless chicken breasts**
- 2-3 slices deli ham chopped
- 3 oz prosciutto diced
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms [Baby Bella]
- 6 oz Gruyere cheese grated
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 regular size can Cream of Chicken Soup
- 1/4 cup cooking sherry wine wine or chicken broth
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup Pepperidge Farm dry herb stuffing mix
- 2 oz grated fresh Parmesan
- 24-30 jumbo pasta shells partially cooked***
- melted butter for stuffing optional
Instructions
- Place boneless chicken pieces in a medium sauce pan with chicken broth to cover. Bring to a boil and cover. Cook 5 minutes, cover and turn burner off, leaving pan on the hot eye. Proceed to prepare other ingredients, leaving chicken in covered pan for 20-30 minutes. Remove drain and shred or chop.
- Saute mushrooms in a little olive oil.
- Combine soup, sherry and milk and stir well.
- Combine chicken, ham, prosciutto, mushrooms, Gruyere cheese and 1/3 of cream sauce, stirring gently to mix.
- Spread 1/3 of sauce into a sprayed 8″ x 8″ baking dish
- Spoon chicken mixture into pasta shells and place pasta shells in baking dish on top of sauce.
- Pour remaining 1/3 of sauce over pasta shells. Sprinkle with dry stuffing mix and grated Parmesan. Dish can be refrigerated at this point until baking. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until heated through and bubbling.
- Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings
Notes
Have one or four!
*I have made similar version of a Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta bake called Blue Ribbon Chicken Gratin which includes spinach, bacon and a mushroom based sauce
Twisted Marco Polo is another version of traditional Chicken Cordon Bleu. Chicken Marco Polo is basically Chicken Cordon Bleu with the addition of a Bechamel sauce topping
I think you will enjoy any or all of these chicken dishes~ Thanks Ashley from Rainstorms and Love Notes for the great recipe and inspiration!
Thanks for joining the Secret Recipe Club fun today!
Be sure to click on the blue frog below to see all the other recipes revealed today!
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Jenna, Your Cordon Bleu stuffed shells definitely sound like a blue ribbon dinner with all those yummy ingredients! I love one dish/pot meals and especially those you can prep or make ahead and pop in the oven later. 🙂
Yum!
I love that you stuffed it in jumbo shells – great idea! Glad you liked the recipe 🙂
My family and I all love Chicken Cordon Bleu and pasta, will definitely have to try this combined dish of the two! Looks so yummy!
It looks super yummy! I would eat the whole pan!
Jenna, you continue to amaze me! Not only are you a fabulous cook, sweet friend and blogger extraordinaire, but you keep your figure while cooking all of these great dishes! How do you do it?!?
Another yummilicious dish!
What a combo, so indulgent!
YUM! I’m always looking for new variations of stuffed shells and this one looks delicious. Great SRC recipe!
Thanks Heather! >
I had so much making a recipe from your blog this week for SRC. You have a fabulous blog! Loved the cupcakes!!!
I’m so glad Julie! Thank you!
I adore cordon bleu and pasta, what a great combo. So great I have to ask myself, why didn’t I think of that?
Thanks Rhonda! >
What a perfect weekday dinner! Delish! Great choice for SRC group C!