Chicken Cordon Bleu Bites

This recipe comes from my friend who served this at our bookclub a while back. I love it because it is super simple to prepare, and my kids love it because it falls into their favorite food group--cream of chicken soup foods. This quantity serves about 4.

*8ish chicken tenders, or a couple breasts cut into strips

*4 slices swiss cheese

*4ish slices ham (I prefer black forest from the deli)

*1 can cream of chicken soup

*1 c. sour cream

*1/2 c. bread crumbs

*fresh parsley, optional

*brown rice

Lightly grease a baking sheet (9x9 or 7x11). Combine soup and sour cream, spread a couple of spoonfuls into the bottom of the dish. Cut the slices of ham and cheese in half. Take a chicken tender and lay a strip of cheese on top, then wrap ham around both.

(yeah, pulled these straight from the freezer since I had to make them early in the day)

Use a toothpick to hold ham in place if needed. Place each wrapped chicken into the pan; repeat until done. Top chicken with remaining sauce and a layer of bread crumbs. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, remove foil and bake another 10 minutes. We serve this on top of brown rice, with a side of steamed broccoli.

Baked Ham and Swiss Sandwiches

This recipe comes from Becky Higgins, I don't know who she is, but Lindsay shared this recipe with me and it's a keeper. It was perfect for the birthday party because I could prepare them in advance and put them in the oven when the guests arrived so they would be hot and fresh for our lunch.
I modified her portions just a bit, so here's what I used:
*12 dinner rolls (I used Texas French rolls)
*8 slices of black forest ham (not too thick)
*8 slices of Swiss cheese
*Miracle Whip
*1/4 c. butter, melted
*3/4 TBSP. mustard
*1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
*1 TBSP. poppy seeds

Prepare sandwiches by cutting rolls in half. Spread each half with a very thin (for me this is not really even visible) layer of Miracle Whip. Place ham, folded, onto bottom half, top with cheese and top half of roll. Place, side-by-side on a baking sheet. In a bowl, combine butter, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and poppy seeds. Using a pastry brush, spread onto tops of rolls. Cover with foil. You can place these in the fridge at this point if you need to or pop them in the oven to bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until heated through.

(picture was taken after we'd all eaten, so imagine the cheese looking fresh-melted)

My sister was concerned the sauce would make the tops soggy, but they actually crisp up and are very tasty. We were cooking for a crowd, so I figured 1 for each child and 1.5 for each adult and we ended up with only 2 left.

Ham, Cheese, Pasta Skillet

I grabbed some old Spring issues of Kraft Food and Family to look for inspiration for tonight's dinner. The cover of the 2005 issue features a photo of a dish that looked tasty and spring-y, not to mention I had all the ingredients on hand. Kraft suggested a basic recipe and you could choose a meat (chicken, bacon, beef or ham) and the veggies. Unfortunately, after reading the recipe I realized all I actually had were the ham and peas, but I had close substitutes for the rest, so here is my version of One-Pan Spring Pasta
*1/2 lb. farfalle pasta
*1 tsp. canola oil
*1/2 lb. cubed ham
*1/4 c. Kraft Caesar vinaigrette with Parmesan salad dressing
*1 1/2 c. frozen peas, thawed
*1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese, divided

Cook pasta as directed. Reserve 1/2 c. cooking water before draining. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ham and cook until starting to brown. Reduce heat, add peas and cook for 1 minute over medium heat. Stir in salad dressing and stir to coat. Toss in cooked pasta, 3/4 c. Parmesan cheese and about 1/4 c. cooking water. Stir until incorporated. Add more water and cheese if desired. Serve with more Parmesan as garnish.
Admittedly, when I started putting this together I was thinking we'd likely be making PB&Js when this was not edible. I was wrong and we all really enjoyed it. I was thinking some roasted red peppers and bacon or chicken would be delicious as well.