Hot Brownish

Last night I had planned nothing for dinner and all of a sudden it was 6:30. I knew I had about 2 pounds of sliced turkey in the fridge from a turkey breast I roasted last Thursday. I stuck some in a couple of freezer bags but still had enough left for dinner last night. I had originally thought of making a Hot Brown sandwich for TheHub, but he is not overly fond of a sandwich meal during the week, so I did the next best (and actually easier) thing. I made a Hot Brown sandwich (kind of) in casserole form. Since I made this for 1 I am not giving you the actual measurementsI used, (ha! as if I actually measured!) instead I am scaling this to feed 4 (ish).

                                                      Hot Brown Casserole

Bechamel sauce with cheese

5 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

3 3/4 cups milk (heated, but not boiling)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup parmesan cheese (shredded)

1/2 cup sharp cheddar (shredded)

Melt the butter in a small saucepan.  Stir in the flour and cook while stirring constantly until the flour is the color of very light sand. Slowly add the hot milk, whisking until all the milk is incorporated and the mixture is smooth.  Add the salt and continue whisking until the sauce is smooth and thick. Remove from heat.  Add the cheese shreds and stir until smooth and melted.

Grease lightly a 9x9 inch baking pan.  Pour 1/2 of the sauce in the bottom of the pan

And the rest of the Casserole

4-6 slices of toast (depends on how "bready" you want yours) torn in pieces

Turkey slices to cover the entire pan (about 3/4 pound of hand sliced turkey)

4-6 slices cooked bacon

Put the toast on top of the sauce in the baking dish, then top the toast with the turkey slices. Pour the remaining sauce over the turkey and pop on a 350 degree oven until bubbling and hot.  Put the cooked bacon on top of the sauce and run the pan under a broiler for about 1 minute.

Serve piping hot.  I served a mixed green salad with this and TheHub loved it.  This is another simple meal to add to our rotation and since I still have a good bit of turkey frozen along with another breast to cook today, I think this will come in handy.