Gruyere Chicken en Croute

Sounds fancy huh? Yeah...well it was time consuming too. And after those pesky Cinnamon Rolls :::looks down::: this probably wasn't the best dinner to tackle. But I did it. I conquered. And it was goooood. This was a Pampered Chef recipe, so it was fun to get to use lots of my fun tools!

Ingredients

1 package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach leaves
1 medium onion
1 teaspoon butter
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, pressed or chopped
1 jar (12 ounces) roasted red peppers, drained
and patted dry (I just used about 3 decent sized pieces)
1½ cups (6 ounces) grated Gruyère cheese,
divided (yeah...I'm pretty sure I used a significant amount more, but I love cheese)
2½ cups diced roasted chicken (Just needed one massive Sam's Club breast)
24 sheets (9 x 14 inches)thawed, frozen phyllo dough
Nonstick cooking spray

Dijon Cream Sauce (optional)
1 Tbsp butter
1 garlic clove pressed or chopped
1 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard


Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400ºF. Chop spinach , Cut onion lengthwise into quarters without cutting through root end. Slice onion, should make small diced pieces. Melt butter on med-high heat. Add onion, salt, black pepper, and garlic pressed or chopped. Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender. Add spinach and cook 2-3 minutes or
until wilted. Drain spinach mixture using a small colander; squeeze dry using paper
towels and set aside.
2) Dice roasted peppers. Coarsely grate 1 cup of the cheese.. Combine roasted peppers, cheese and chicken in Mixing Bowl; stir together and set aside.
3) Unfold one sheet of phyllo onto a large cutting board. Lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Finely grate about 1 tablespoon of the remaining cheese over phyllo. Repeat two more times to create a stack of three sheets phyllo, ending with cheese. Place 1 tablespoon of the spinach mixture onto phyllo 2 inches from short end. Place ½ cup chicken mixture over spinach. Fold sides of phyllo in toward center; gently roll up. Place onto baking pan or stone, seam side down. Repeat with remaining phyllo, spinach mixture and chicken mixture for a total of eight bundles.
4) Spray outside of each bundle with nonstickcooking spray. Finely grate remaining
cheese over each bundle. Bake 20-22 minutesor until golden brown. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut bundles in half diagonally.

Serve with Dijon Cream if desired.

Yield: 8 servings

Dijon Sauce instructions:
In a 4qt. casserole melt butter and garlic over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt, and cayenne pepper; stir until smooth. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly till the mixture has a nutty aroma (do not let mixture brown). Add milk all at once and stir with a whisk until mixture comes to a boil and is slightly thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in Dijon Mustard. Serve immediately.

Ok, so I didn't let the phyllo dough thaw all the way, and some of it broke. So I ended up only making 6 rolls, which is fine, because that still gives us leftovers for lunch tomorrow :)