Chicken Cordon Bleu

I LOVE shoving "stuff" inside chicken breasts!! Chicken makes the best vehicle for tasty little tid-bits. Ian actually requested "Chicken Cordon Bleu" for dinner one night. Let me just explain how this usually goes...me - "Hey babe, what do you want for dinner?" him - "I don't care, just something." Soooo, when he  asked for "something" in particular I took notice. I had never attempted Chicken Cordon Bleu before so I looked around and read several recipes, then adapted my own from the compilation of them all. It's classic, yet simply done.


Here's what ya need"

4 chicken breasts (pounded FLAT)

4 pieces of ham

4 slices of swiss cheese

1/4 c flour

2 eggs

1/2 c italian bread crumbs

1 stick of butter

1/2 c chicken broth

1 c heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350*.

Start by pounding out your chicken breasts...I always put mine in baggies so those gross raw chicken bits don't fly all over my kitchen!! These need to REALLY be pounded out...1/4 inch thick.

Season with salt and pepper.

Place a piece of ham on each breast.

Top with cheese on each piece.

Now it's time to roll 'em up! I alway lay out my tooth picks so that I can pick each up without touching the others because you don't want to contaminate them with raw chicken and then put them back in the container!!

Start at the small end and roll tightly.

Secure top and sides with the toothpicks...I usually end up using approx. 4 per breast.

Prep work makes my cooking world HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! I set out my flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in an assembly line before I ever got started...it's one of those things that makes just makes life simpler. It's all about the "FLOW."

Dredge each in flour.

Dip in the egg.

Roll in the bread crumbs.

Once they are all laid out on the pan and ready to go...top each with a "pat" of butter!

They need to cook for 30-40 minutes @ 350*.

While they are baking let's make the sauce.  Melt 4 tbs. butter in a sauce pan.

Add the chicken broth and the cream.

Let the sauce simmer and thicken while the chicken bakes.

When they're cooked thoroughly (the juices run clear)...pour the sauce over top.

I served mine with pasta and pesto cream (which I will post immediatly following...I hope).

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