Chicken Cordon Bleu

 Chicken Cordon Bleu

 

CHICKEN INGREDIENTS

• 6 pieces of thin sliced chicken breast about 1/4″ thick
• Salt, pepper, and garlic powder for seasoning
• 6 thin slices of deli ham
• 6 thin slices of deli cheese (I used provolone- swiss would be another good choice)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs (I took 2 slices of whole wheat bread and used my food processor to crumble them).
• Handful of panko bread crumbs – optional

PARMESAN PEPPER SAUCE INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese
• 1/3 cup fresh parmesan cheese – grated

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place slices of chicken on a large piece of wax paper.
3. Sprinkle both sides of each piece of chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
4. Fold a piece of deli ham in half or in thirds so that it fits on the chicken.
5. Fold a piece of cheese in half (I used provolone) and place on top of the ham.
6. Tightly roll up each piece of chicken jellyroll style (or if you don’t know what jellyroll style means, think of it as you’re rolling up a sleeping bag).
7. In three shallow pans, place flour in one, egg in another, and fresh bread crumbs/panko bread crumbs in the last.
8. Dredge each piece of chicken in flour, then roll it in egg, and finally, surround it with fresh bread crumbs. Use toothpicks to close the ends so that the cheese doesn’t leak out when it bakes. Place each piece of chicken seam side down on your lightly greased baking sheet.
9. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.
10. While the chicken is baking, prepare the parmesan pepper sauce by melting butter in a saucepan.
11. When butter has melted, add in flour and whisk vigorously. Slowly pour in one cup of milk and continue stirring until it has thickened. Add in salt, pepper, dijon mustard, cream cheese, and parmesan cheese. Continue to stir until the cheese has melted and all of the ingredients are incorporated. Allow to simmer for a few minutes over medium-low heat.
12. When the chicken rollups are done baking, cut each piece in half (or leave whole, but it looks cool to see the inside!) and top with a spoonful of parmesan pepper cream sauce.
13. Enjoy!