Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

picture "borrowed" from HERE

So my new internet obsession is Pinterest (website where you can "pin" any picture of any item to a "board" with comments, etc., kind of like an organized visual binder of favorite things)! Ironically, this is where I first came across this recipe and decided I must make it for dinner asap. Lately I've been in a total cooking rut and haven't tried anything new in way too long. Can I just say that I LOVED this??? I was out of a couple things but made some quick substitutions and it turned out brilliantly! Will definitely be making this again! Yummmm! The recipe was on The Girl Who Ate Everything's blog. Oh! And might I add that it wasn't until I was actually making this that I realized you just layer everything into a 9x13" pan! No rolling up and toothpicking on this one! Ok one more thing--call me crazy, but this is the first recipe that I've ever seen mix breadcrumbs and melted butter together and then sprinkle them on top of the food. GENIUS. Until now, I had only seen the "sprinkle breadcrumbs then drizzle with melted butter" method, which does NOT work as well. Funny how the little things can amaze me. Ok, I'm done blabberin'.

For the Cordon Bleu:

• 3 large, thick boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half length-wise (to make two thinner chicken breast cutlets out of each one)
• 12 slices good quality deli ham (I used presliced ham that comes in a chunk, so my slices were thicker than deli meat, which I really liked!)
• 1 cup bread crumbs (preferably fresh)- I used Panko with awesome results
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 pound (8 oz) thinly sliced Swiss cheese- I used monterrey jack and I loved it!

For the Parmesan-Dijon Cream Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon chicken base paste (or 1 bouillon cube, crushed)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used the kind that comes in the plastic jar since I had a horrible experience using the real Parm-Regg cheese and my alfredo came out so bitter it went straight to the trash-

Directions:
Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs and melted butter. Set aside.

Lay the cut chicken breasts in a single layer in the 9X13-inch dish. Lightly salt and pepper them. Layer each chicken breast with two slices of ham (in my case, just one since mine were already a good thickness) and top with slices of Swiss (monterrey) cheese, layering across the chicken breast to make sure the entire chicken breast is covered with ham and cheese. When I did this I made sure to layer each breast individually so when they were done cooking it would be easier to take each one out for serving. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the chicken.

Bake the chicken for 30-35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through completely, the cheese is bubbling and the bread crumbs are golden. I had a bit of excess water from the chicken when mine was done, so I just tipped the pan over the sink and poured it out.

When the chicken has about 10 minutes left to cook--in a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in the flour, whisking constantly. Cook the flour/butter mixture for 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking quickly. Stir in the chicken bouillon and salt. Whisk mixture constantly over medium heat until the mixture begins to simmer and thicken, about 3-5 minutes.

Once the sauce has bubbled and thickened, remove from heat and stir in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Keep the sauce warm until the chicken is finished baking. If your sauce is too thick, whisk in some more milk. If it's too thin, simmer longer.

Serve each chicken cordon bleu portion with warm sauce. Makes 6 servings.

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