taken and slightly adapted from tsgcookin.com
FOR THE CASSEROLE:
5 c. rotisserie chicken diced
½ pounds Very Thinly Sliced Deli-style Honey Ham, Rough Chopped
¼ pounds Thin Sliced Baby Swiss Cheese
Sauce:
3 Tablespoons Butter
4 Tablespoons Flour
3-¼ cups Milk
2 T Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard (I used about 1 tsp mustard powder)
½ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoons Smoked Paprika
¼ teaspoons pepper
Topping:
2 Tablespoons Butter
1-½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs (I used 1/2 c. seasoned panko and 1 c. plain)
1-½ teaspoon Crushed Dried Parsley
seasoned salt (omit if using seasoned bread crumbs - careful with how much! might be salty)
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,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 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
