Skinny Hot Brown

The Skinny Hot Brown is made skinny by:

whole grain bread
Lite soy milk
part skim mozzarella cheese

I also used chicken breasts instead of turkey, ham ends in lieu of bacon, and added caramelized onions. Mmmmhmmmm. Caramelized onions. I can’t imagine this dish without them.

The full list of ingredients:

2 slices whole grain bread
2 pre-cooked chicken breasts (or turkey, which, I bet has more flavor), thinly sliced
1 tomato
1 onion
¼ to ½ lb. bacon strips or ham ends
olive oil
salt

Sauce:

1 ¼ cup Lite soy milk (substitute other dairy at your discretion)
¼ onion
2 bay leaves
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, or other cheese of your choice, such as white cheddar
2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Since caramelizing onions takes so long, start those first. Cut the onion in half, peel, then slice thinly. Warm a couple tablespoons of olive oil over low heat. Add onions and sprinkle with salt. Toss in the pan to coat evenly with salt and olive oil. Cook over medium-low heat until onions brown, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. Once they begin to brown, lower heat and continue to cook until they reach a deep brown color, continuing to stir frequently, for another twenty minutes or so.

At this point, you can preheat your broiler. You will need it in a minute.

When the onions are mostly caramelized, cook the bacon strips or ham ends.

To make the sauce, heat the milk in a small saucepan. Cut a quarter from an onion, peel, and then stuff two bay leaves between the layers. Add to milk in saucepan, along with a pinch of nutmeg. Simmer for 15 minutes, then remove onion and bay leaves.

While milk is simmering, melt two tablespoons of butter over low heat. Once melted, add two tablespoons of flour and stir until combined and slightly browned, about three minutes. Slowly whisk in milk. Continue to stir the milk into the flour/butter mixture until slightly thickened and free of lumps, about three minutes. Add 1/3 cup mozzarella or other cheese, along with the two tablespoons of Parmesan. Stir until cheese is thoroughly melted. Add fresh ground black pepper. Keep sauce warm while you finish the onions, bacon, tomatoes, heat the chicken and toast the bread.

Tired yet? I know. There’s a lot going on. But it tastes soooo good! Just perfect for a rainy afternoon.

Slice the tomato in thick slices. Place in a pan, sprinkle with pepper, and cook until warmed through.

For the bread, spread a thin layer of butter over the top (or skip, if you want an even skinnier version) and either toast in a toaster-oven, or in a pan over medium heat. Place bread in a baking dish large enough to accommodate the size of your slices.

Heat your precooked chicken or turkey, then place the thin slices on top of your bread. Top with sauce. Place in broiler and broil until the top of the sauce is bubbly and tinged brown. Remove from heat and place on individual plates. Top with tomatoes, bacon or ham ends, and caramelized onions.

And that is my Skinny Hot Brown. Version one anyway.