Cheesy Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Joe is a big fan of chicken cordon bleu, so when I spotted this casserole on Picky Palate I immediately put it on the menu. Ham, chicken, cheese...yum! My brother-in-law and I sort of made this together. I got home first so I did the prep work - cutting the chicken, shredding the cheese, chopping the ham, etc. Then John came home and put it all together. We didn't have any pre-cooked chicken, so John just browned up some before moving on to cooking the onions. We also omitted the red pepper and used cooking spray in place of olive oil to save a few calories. We also used slightly less cheese than as called for, but still a good amount.

Our only issue was with the rice measurements. Can anyone tell me the ratio of uncooked brown rice to cooked brown rice? The recipe calls for 3 cups of cooked rice. The little measurement cheat sheet I have on my fridge told me that 1 cup of uncooked rice equals 3 1/2 cups cooked. That seemed crazy, and my box of brown rice said 1/2 cup uncooked equaled 2/3 cups cooked. So John went with that but still ended up with too little rice and had to make another batch. Regardless, it all came together in the end. Joe and John loved this, and I enjoyed it, but not quite as much as they did. They were both just happy with the large quantities of cheese on their plates ;) I know Joe will be requesting this again!

Cheesy Chicken Cordon Bleu Rice Casserole

Cooking spray
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
½ lb diced ham
2 Cups cooked shredded chicken breast
4 Tablespoons butter
¼ Cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
14 oz can chicken broth
3 Cups cooked rice of choice (I used brown rice)
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 Cup shredded mozzarella or swiss cheese (I used 4 cheese blend)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat cooking spray in a large 5 qt rimmed skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, ham and chicken. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Melt butter then stir in flour, salt and pepper until combined. Slowly stir in chicken broth until well combined. Stir in cooked rice then transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cover the dish with foil the last 10 minutes for oozing cheese.