Ingredients for Roll-ups:

8 rice sheets (TheLadyinRed recommends more for mess-ups in case you soak them in water too long and they - oops! - melt!) (You can find these in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores.)

16 slices Swiss cheese
16 slices deli ham
16 slices of thin cut bacon (or 8 slices of regular cut bacon), pre-cooked
1 lb. fresh spinach
1 small pre-roasted chicken, shredded so you have approximately 3 cups of chicken (You won't use the whole chicken, so start by shredding the breast meat, then the thigh meat, and go from there.  TheLadyinRed says you will need 3 cups; Chef Jeff says 4.  It depends on how much you can stuff into each roll.)
1 lemon, cut into wedges (for garnish) (optional)

Ingredients for Sauce:

1 package cream cheese
2 cups grated provolone cheese (or any grated white cheese of your choice) (TheLadyinRed used a blend of grated white cheddar mixed with grated mozzarella.)
3 cups whole milk
1/2 stick butter
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt (TheLadyinRed recommends leaving out the additional salt as the bacon, cheese, and ham already contain salt and it's best not to over salt a dish.)
1 red pepper, minced (optional says TheLadyinRed)

Instructions:

1. Melt the 1/2 stick butter for the sauce in a medium sized saucepan.

2.  Once the butter is melted, add the cream cheese.  Mash it up with the spoon.  This is sort of a melt-and-mash process.

3.  Add the milk, salt (if using), pepper, red pepper, cornstarch, grated cheese, and parsley.  Keep stirring until everything is combined and melted.  It should be very hot but not boiling.  Keep the cheesy white sauce on the lowest temperature stove-possible, and stir it occasionally so it doesn't stick or burn as you prepare the rest of the dish.

4.  Preheat the oven to 425°.

10.  Repeat steps 6-9 to create a total of 8 large rolls, lined up side-by-side in the baking dish.  (Don't forget to stir your cheese sauce!)

11.  Pour JUST SOME of the cheese sauce over the top of the rolls.  DO NOT USE IT ALL because the baking dish will overflow!  Save the extra cheesy white sauce for plating.

12.  In a small pot, melt 1 stick of butter on medium heat.

13.  Add the spices, mix, and once the butter is entirely melted, add the Panko bread crumbs.  Stir it up until the crumbs are coated in butter.

15.  Lower the oven temperature to 375°.  (The oven temperature was 425°, which is higher than the required baking temperature.  This was purposely done so when you open the oven door, and heat escapes, the temperature doesn't drop too low.)

16.  TheLadyinRed recommends placing the baking dish on top of a foil-lined tray before putting it in the oven, so if anything bubbles over, you won't have a huge oven mess.  It will allow for easy clean-up.

17.  Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.  Remove it from the oven and let it stand for at least 10 minutes before serving with lemon wedges as a garnish.  The lemon adds a complementary flavor to offset the creaminess of the dish.

18.  Spoon some leftover re-heated sauce across the center of each serving.

Ingredients for Beer-Blasted Ham & Beans:

2 ham steaks, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 15.5 oz can small white beans
1 15.5 oz can black beans
1 onion chopped
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp quality bbq sauce
1 tbsp ketchup
1 16 oz. package bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bottle of dark beer (you don't want anything sweet!)*

Ingredients for Collard Greens:

1 bunch fresh collard greens
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 tsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions for the Beer-Blasted Ham & Beans:

1. This is so freaking easy - just take all of the ingredients and throw them into your crock-pot.   Turn the heat up to high and cook for 6 - 8 hours, until the bacon is done.  Voila!  Dinner is served!  (The bacon will be floppy, but that's ok!)

Instructions for the Collard Greens:

1.  Ten minutes before you serve dinner, start on the collard greens.
2.  Heat a large sauté pan over medium-low heat and melt the butter in it.  Add the olive oil.
3.  Meanwhile, rinse your collard greens and tear the leaves off going down both sides of the stems.  (The stems are hard and chewy.  You don't need them or want them.  Discard them.)
4.  Take the leaves you just tore off the stems, and tear them again into bite-size pieces.

5.  Place the collard greens in your sauté pan and stir them around to coat them in the butter and oil.  Cover the pan with the lid.
6.  By covering the pan you will cause the collard greens to cook down, wither, and soften up.
7.  In about 5 minutes, lift the lid and stir the greens around.  Cover it again.
8.  In another 5 minutes the collard greens should be done.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Special Notes:

*If you don't want to use beer, you can substitute about a 1/2 cup of water instead.  The idea here is that the beer will change its flavor as it cooks.  I'm not a big beer drinker myself, but when I cook with beer I can really appreciate its influences on food.   Please don't substitute a sweet or pale ale here.  I tried it that way, and it doesn't work with the flavor profile, in my opinion.  A dark beer is definitely the way to go.

Collard greens make a great accompaniment with this dish.  It offsets the smoky flavors of the bacon and barbecue sauce in the ham and beans.  I know there are a million ways to prepare collard greens, including cooking them in bacon fat, lard, or even adding bacon to them.  In this case, I consider it overkill because of the pairing with the main dish.

Ingredients:

2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, sliced
1/2 lb. ham diced (you can use ham steaks, and dice them; no need to pre-cook them; use them straight from the package)
2 Tablespoons butter
1 (16 oz.) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup cooked white rice
1 lb. frozen, cooked shrimp, thawed (or you can substitute 1 lb. cooked chicken breast meat, chopped; you can pre-cook the boneless, skinless chicken breasts with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, chop up and set aside)



Instructions:

1.  Cook the rice and set aside.  Pre-cook the chicken if you are using chicken instead of shrimp.

2.  Get a big pot and melt the butter.  Add the celery, onions, and garlic and cook until tender (about 3 minutes).

3.  Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, and salt.  Stir.  Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.

4.  Add the cooked rice, shrimp (or chicken), and ham to the pot.  Cook uncovered for 5 more minutes.




Special Notes:

Makes 6 servings.  This is a very kid-friendly jambalaya since it's not too spicy.  You can add some Cajun seasoning and black pepper if you want to spice it up.  Also, you can add or swap out the meat/fish choices.  I've made it using chicken, shrimp, and ham at the same time.  But, you can also add crumbled, pre-cooked andouille sausage or crawfish to make it more authentic.