Blue Ribbon Elbows ~ Cordon Bleu Pipe Rigate

Who has time to whip out a blue ribbon recipe on a weeknight? You do! With this recipe you can have a Cordon Bleu TV dinner on the couch with a remote in one hand and a glass of chardonnay in the other.

Cordon Bleu sounds like a classic French dish, but it’s really an American creation with chicken, ham and Swiss cheese. Translated to English, Cordon Bleu means Blue Ribbon. The fancy version is made with chicken-pounding, ham-wrapping, breast-breading love…something that I know I rarely have time to do on a Tuesday.

But I do have time to savor the flavors thanks to the Zestuous Weeknight Mornay (Cheese) Sauce. Just use Swiss cheese and toss it in noodles, chicken and ham. I prefer using thinly sliced deli ham for a textural variety, but you can use whatever type of ham you like.

I also like using the Pipe Rigate noodles ~ AKA elbows ~ because the ham slices somehow find a way to sneak inside, adding more goodness to the hollow shells.

I pan this up in small foil pans, so I can heat and eat smaller portions when I get home. Weber makes great small pans that can be found in the BBQ aisle at Lowes or Home Depot.

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Blue Ribbon Elbows ~ Cordon Bleu Pipe Rigate

Ingredients 

• ▢ 1 13.5- oz. box pipe regatta, elbow pasta
• ▢ 1 ½ cups cooked, diced chicken
• ▢ 1 cup ham
• ▢ 3 tablespoons butter
• ▢ ¼ cup flour
• ▢ 2 cups milk
• ▢ 8 ozs., 2 cups Swiss cheese
• ▢ 1 tsp. salt
• ▢ 1 tsp. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• ▢ Panko breadcrumbs

Instructions 

• 
• Cook pipe rigate pasta, until al dente.
• Dice chicken and boil, until cooked through. Drain and set aside.
• Roll the deli-sliced ham and chiffonade it (slice it into strips).
• Prepare the Mornay Sauce using the butter, flour, milk, 2 cups Swiss cheese, salt and Tony’s.
• 
• Combine the pasta, chicken, ham and mornay sauce.
• 
• Spoon into baking dishes and sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs. You can also add more cheese and/or butter on top for more deliciousness.
• 
• Cover each pan with foil, so you can reheat it on a weeknight.
• 
• Bake uncovered at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until heated through.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

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