I made a half version of this too as I was just making it for a couple of servings for him. The recipe calls for Monterey Jack and Swiss, I just used Emmentaler Swiss from Costco.
I started by poaching the chicken in broth. I brought it to a boil, covered it and left it barely a simmer for 10 minutes per side.
I let it cool when done and kept the broth for the sauce.
I chopped the broccoli crown into bite size pieces. I chopped the chicken the same way. I grated the cheese and set all of them aside.
I did the ham per the recipe instructions, put it in the microwave on paper towels for a couple of minutes, patted it dry and then diced it small.
I think this was a good idea (the nuke part) as there was a lot of liquid that seeped out...
Lastly, I made the cheese sauce and cooked the pasta. I preheated the oven to 350°F and sprayed my pan with "Pam". I dumped all the ingredients in then stirred in the sauce.
I topped with more cheese and then Panko (no butter though, even though the recipe called for it) and then into the oven it went.
I cooked it for about 40 minutes. I had to broil it to brown it. (I think that's just my weird oven - it seems to like to do things at its own pace - sometimes correctly and other times not)...
I let it rest for half an hour when it came out. I plated his two meals (it actually turned out to be four), cooled them until really cool, then wrapped them up in saran on a plates and put them in the fridge. In the meantime, I had a taste. It was reminiscent of the recipe title...it was pretty good. The broccoli wasn't soggy which was what I wanted and the cayenne pepper was just right.
Anyway, I wasn't eating it so I wasn't complaining. It wasn't too much work, though it sure seemed like a lot when I had so many other things to do this evening, not to mention I burned the top of my hand while putting the pan in the oven. :( Just another cooking scar to add to the collection... :D
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