Chicken Cordon Bleu Bread Bowl Casseroles

Oh. My. GOD. I made these for dinner tonight for the first time and they were FANTASTIC!!!!! I got the bread bowls from Panera's.  They get really crusty pre-toasting them, but they were YUMMY.  It created a delicious texture with the mustard sauce and the perfectly cooked chicken.  There is nothing at all I would change about this recipe.  But it would also be good over toasted baguettes as a dinner or an appetizer. I got this recipe in my email from Cuisine at Home eRecipes. Chicken Cordon Bleu Bread Bowl Casseroles For the chicken: 2  Tbsp. unsalted butter

¾ lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

¼ cup minced shallots

1 Tbsp. flour

½ cup apple juice or cider

½ cup low-sodium chicken broth

¼ cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan

1 Tbsp. stone-ground mustard

½ tsp. dried thyme

1 cup broccoli florets, blanched (or frozen thawed)

Salt and cayenne pepper to taste (I used regular pepper)

For the casserole:

2 round 6-inch sourdough loaves

4-6 thin slices smoked ham

2 slices Swiss cheese, divided (I used shredded)

2  tsp. grated Parmesan, divided

Preheat oven to 400°. Coat a small baking sheet with nonstick spray.

Melt butter over medium-high heat in a sauté pan. Add chicken and sauté until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.

Stir in shallots and sauté until softened, 2 minutes. Sprinkle mixture with flour, cook 1 minute.

Combine apple juice and broth; slowly add, stirring constantly to avoid clumping.

Stir in cream, Parmesan, mustard, and thyme; simmer after each addition until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Add broccoli; season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low.

Hollow out loaves by cutting off tops and tearing out insides. (Remove as much bread as possible.) Compress any remaining bread inside loaves to make room for filling. Toast loaves directly on oven rack, about 5 minutes; remove to prepared baking sheet. 

Arrange ham slices in bottom of each loaf. Using a slotted spoon, divide chicken mixture evenly between loaves, reserving sauce in pan. Top the chicken in each loaf with a slice of Swiss and sprinkle with 1 tsp. Parmesan.

Bake casseroles until cheese melts, 7–10 minutes. (For extra browning, broil casseroles on high, 3–5 minutes.)

Pour reserved cream sauce over each casserole.

This is what they look like when you get into them!