Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

Oh man, if you really want to trick people into thinking you are some kind of gourmet chef, this recipe is the way to go! What sounds fancier than, "Would you care to join us for some chicken cordon bleu?" And to really nail the invite, you have to ask it with a slight French accent, as if you've trained at some French culinary school. No paper plates with this meal! If you're going to make this dinner, you better commit all the way. I'm talking about real dinner plates, fancy napkins and the whole family actually sitting down at the dinner table. Sounds like a lot of work, but you'll thank me later.

So let's get started with this healthier, baked not fried, version of chicken cordon bleu with a fragrant accompaniment of a rosemary garlic cream sauce.

Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

 

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 pieces thinly sliced deli ham (I prefer Virginia baked)

4 ounces Swiss cheese, cut into 8 slices about 1/8 inch thick

16 spinach leaves with stems removed

1/4 cup flour

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup Italian style bread crumbs

salt

pepper

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a large cutting board, lay chicken breasts with plastic wrap completely covering. You will need to space them at least an inch apart, so you may have to do two at a time. With a mallet, pound chicken breast until they are about 1/4 inch thick. Remove plastic wrap and generously salt and add a dash of pepper to the tops of the breasts.

 

 

2. Place one slice of cheese on each half on the breast, leaving a 1/2 inch space in the middle of the breast. Top one of the slices of cheese with four spinach leaves. Top the other piece of cheese with the slice of ham, folded to fit the size of the cheese slice. Fold one side of the chicken breast on top of the other so the contents are sandwiched in the middle. Repeat for remaining breasts.

 

 

3. Using three shallow and wide containers, fill the first with flour, the second with beaten eggs and the third with the bread crumbs. Holding each breast firmly, so the middles don't fall out, dredge both sides of the breast in the flour. Once lightly coated on all sides, dip all exposing sides of the chicken in the beaten eggs. Once completely coated on all sides, press each side of the breast into the bread crumbs making sure to completely coat the entire breast.

 

 

4. Spray a 9X13 glass pan with cooking spray and lay each breast, not touching each other, in the pan. Insert a toothpick in the middle of each breast to ensure it does not unfold during cooking.

 

 

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until middle is no longer pink. You may need to sacrifice the beauty of one by cutting into it. Better safe than sorry! (The ham will give off a slightly pink hint on the part of the chicken that it is touching. This does not mean that the chicken is undercooked.)

 

 

6. Top with Rosemary Garlic Cream Sauce (recipe below) and sit back and enjoy the praises.

 



 

Rosemary Garlic Cream Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary or 1/4 teaspoon dried

1 1/2 cups milk (I use skim to reduce the fat content)

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

 

1. Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add in garlic and cook for one minute until fragrant.

 

 

2. Add flour and rosemary and cook until a paste forms.

 

 

3. Add milk, salt and pepper. Stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and begins to boil. Stir for two minutes more or until desired thickness.

 

 

*If using leftovers of this sauce, you will need to add additional milk to it when reheating to thin out the consistency.