Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole--Tasty Kitchen

• Click HERE for the original recipe, and see below for my adaptations.
• 
  
• FOR THE CASSEROLE:
• 1 whole cooked chicken, Bones Removed, Meat Diced Or Shredded (rotisserie Chicken Is Excellent, Should Be 5-6 Cups Of Chicken)
• ½ pounds Very Thinly Sliced Deli-style Honey Ham (or left over ham)
• ¼ pounds Thin Sliced Baby Swiss Cheese
• 
  
• FOR THE SAUCE:
• 6 Tablespoons Butter
• 6 Tablespoons Flour
• 5 cups Milk (I have used skim, evaporated, and coconut milk--all have worked great)
• 3 Tablespoons Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 2 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard (I actually used honey mustard, which was also great)
• 
  
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• 6 Tablespoons Butter
• 1-½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs
• ¾ teaspoons Seasoning Salt

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.

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 and Dijon/honey mustard. 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 panko bread crumbs, and seasoning salt. 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.

**Whole Wheat Flax Bread**

5 c. warm water

2 T. yeast

1 T. salt

3/4 c. olive oil

3/4 c. honey

1 c. flaxseed meal

10-12 c. whole wheat flour {I grind my own}

Mix all ingredients in Bosch mixer (I have used 11 cups of flour each time I've made it). Let rise for 45 minutes in greased bowl, covered. Punch down dough, form into 4 loaves, put in 4 loaf pans, cover, and let rise for about 20 minutes. Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

**Freezes well

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas-skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red enchilada sauce
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups peeled butternut squash, cut 1/2-inch-dice
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 10 oz can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 1/2 cups reduced sodium canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 medium low-carb whole wheat flour tortillas (I used La Tortilla Factory)
• 1 cup reduced-fat shredded Mexican cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped scallions, for garnish
• reduced-fat sour cream, for serving (optional)

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in large skillet. Add onions, garlic, and jalapeno and cook 2-3 minutes until onions become translucent and garlic is fragrant. Add cubed butternut, Rotel tomatoes, black beans, water,  cilantro, cumin and chili powder and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place 1/4 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish.

Place about a generous 1/3 cup filling in the center of each tortilla and roll, place on the baking dish seam side down. Repeat with the remaining filling. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese and bake, covered with foil until hot and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Top with scallions and eat with sour cream if desired.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Here is the original recipe I found online, and here are my adaptations:

2 cups creamy PB

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

-Preheat oven to 350

-Mix all ingredients until combined well

-Using a large cookie scoop, scoop dough onto cookie sheet lined with Silpat

-Use a fork to make criss-cross marks on each cookie. 

-Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cookies rest for about 2 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

Gingerbread Cookies

*From Our Best Bites first cookbook*

1/2 cup BUTTER (no substitutions)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 egg yolk

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1) Combine all ingredients well in a stand mixer. Chill for at least 1 hour (it's fairly sticky dough, so you may need to let it chill a little longer).

2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut with cookie cutters. Place cookies two inches apart on an un-greased OR parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes.

**NOTE**If you bake them on the short end the cookies will stay soft and chewy, and if you bake them on the longer end they will be crispy.

3) Allow to cool about 5 minutes on pan and then transfer to write rack and cook completely. Once they're cooled, decorate as desired (or don't decorate at all and eat them).

Raspberry and Almond Shortbread Thumbprints

Cookie:
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 tsp almond extract
1-2 tablespoon milk

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) Cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in almond extract and flour until dough comes together. Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls and placed on ungreased cookie sheet.
3) Use thumb to create a  shallow hole in each ball. Fill with jam.
4) Bake for 14-18 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cook on cookie sheet for 1 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
5) Mix together glaze ingredients and mix until smooth. Drizzle lightly over warm cookies.

Best Whole Wheat Bread

5 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
2 TBSP yeast
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups warm water

1) Knead all ingredients in stand mixer for about 7 minutes.
2) Put dough in a greased bowl, and cover with a towel. Let rise for 1 hour in a warm place (I set my oven to the lowest setting, let it preheat, then turn it off).
3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4) Punch dough down, and form into 2 loaves. Place each loaf in a non-stick bread pan (or you can braid the dough, or form it any way you'd like!).
5) Cover loaves with towel and let rise for 15 minutes.
6) Bake for 30 minutes. Remove bread and place on cooling racks.