Friday, January 27, 2012

Chicken Cordon Bleu


This is another recipe from Our Best Bites. I tend to pick a cookbook per week when I'm doing my meal planning, and this week it's this one!
My kids are getting pretty good at trying new things, but it doesn't always go over well and then I have to do the tough-love-parenting where I make them eat enough of it that I feel like they're not going to wake up starving at 3 am, and so sometimes I get nervous before serving them things that are new.  This was one of those recipes.  It's kind of "fancy," which sometimes is equated with "kids-don't-like-it."  Luckily it was received with rave reviews, and is now one of our favorite recipes!  I (of course) make it slightly differently from how it was originally written, so I'm giving you my version of the recipe.  Enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 slices provolone cheese (or mozzarella or Swiss)
4 slices deli ham
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally (cutting the thickness in half) so you have 4 thinner breast pieces.  Place each piece between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until the pieces are about 1/4" thick.
Combine seasonings and sprinkle evenly over one side of the chicken breast.  Place a slice of provolone and a slice of ham on top of each breast, then roll each piece up and secure with toothpicks.
Place flour in a shallow bowl (I use pie plates), beaten eggs in a second, and mix the bread crumbs and Parmesan in a third.  Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge in flour, rolling the chicken around to coat the entire piece, then in the eggs, and finally in the breadcrumb mixture.  Press the breadcrumbs evenly on all sides of chicken.
Place coated chicken on prepared baking sheet.  Spray tops of chicken with cooking spray.  Bake for 30-35 minutes in a 350-degree oven, or until chicken is cooked through.  If desired, you can place pan under the broiler for a minute to lightly brown the tops of the chicken.
Cool for 10 minutes, then remove toothpicks before serving.
Serves 4.

2 comments:

M said...

Chicken Cordon Bleu--always a favorite and, yes, it does seem fancy, meaning Mom didn't make it growing up and I always think of it as an ambitious thing to make. Way to go.

Kelly V. said...

I just made this last sunday for my mil's birthday! So good but a little time consuming on the prep.