adapted from: Mel's Kitchen Cafe
For the chicken and sauce:
4 Tbl. butter
1 Lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
(about 2-3 chicken breasts)
1/2 c. minced yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 Tbl. flour
1/2 c. apple juice
1 1/4 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbl. prepared yellow mustard
1 tsp. dried thyme
2-3 c. broccoli florets, steamed
salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
*Note: You can omit the apple juice and increase the chicken broth to 1 3/4 cups*
To assemble:
4 medium bread bowls
8-10 slices smoked deli ham, cubed
1 c. grated Swiss cheese
1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chicken and saute until the chicken begins to brown, but isn't cooked all the way through, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the chicken/onion mixture and stir to incorporate. Cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
Gradually add the chicken broth and apple juice, stirring constantly to avoid any clumps from forming. Stir in the cream, Parmesan cheese, mustard and thyme. Simmer for about 5-6 minutes or until the mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in the ham and broccoli; season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
Hollow out the inside of the bread bowls by cutting off the tops and tearing out the insides. I like to leave about 1/4-inch edge along all sides of the bread bowl. Compress the remaining bread together to firm up the sides and make room for the filling. Place the bread bowls on a baking sheet and toast them for about 5 minutes in the preheated oven.
Remove the toasted loaves from the oven and using a slotted spoon, divide chicken mixture evenly between loaves, reserving about 1-2 cups sauce in the pan for serving. Top the chicken mixture in each loaf with shredded Swiss and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
Bake the bread bowls until the cheese melts, about 10 minutes. Serve each bread bowl with reserved cream sauce.
Jenn's Notes: I made a half a batch. I didn't add the apple juice, I used milk instead of heavy cream and I used the whole can of chicken broth. So, I ended up with more of a thin and brothy sauce, than a thick and creamy sauce. Next time, I will omit the yellow mustard.