Chicken Cordon Bleu

This was the easiest chicken cordon bleu recipe I've ever seen and it was DELICIOUS! From the website: "A midweek version of Chicken Cordon Bleu. All the flavor, all the crunch, much faster to make, and it's better for you because it's baked!" I used the quick-dredge method and seriously, I will never make chicken cordon bleu any other way.


When David and I were engaged, we decided that we wanted to hold our wedding luncheon at The Bluebird restaurant in Logan. We scheduled to go meet with the owner about booking a luncheon in their beautiful top-floor hall. I don't think we realized that we were also going to be able to taste the food that we could choose from, but it was delightful. One of our favorite memories from being engaged. We selected Chicken Cordon Bleu and mashed potatoes and it was the perfect wedding luncheon - we loved it so much. This past year we randomly saw some frozen chicken cordon bleu at Sams Club pretty close to our anniversary and we bought it and served it to the family for our anniversary dinner. We decided right then that we would always have chicken cordon bleu to celebrate our anniversary with our kids. I had counted on just buying it frozen, but when I came across this recipe I decided to give it a try (especially because the kids had liked it so much the first time) and it was a winner! I see lots of anniversary dinners in our future.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Source: Recipe Tin Eats

INGREDIENTS: 

BREADCRUMBS

Panko breadcrumbs - 1/2 cup for Super Easy or 1 cup for Quick Dredge
Oil spray

CHICKEN

2 small chicken breasts, around 6-7oz/180-210g each
Salt and pepper
4 slices swiss cheese (Note 1)
4 to 6 slices of ham, about 2.5oz/75g (Note 2)

METHOD 1: SUPER EASY

3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

METHOD 2: QUICK DREDGE

1 egg
2 tsp plain flour

DIJON CREAM SAUCE (MAKES 1 CUP)

1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1 1/4 cups milk (Note 3)
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp parmesan cheese, finely grated

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) or 180C/350F (fan).
Spread panko breadcrumbs on a baking tray and spray with oil. Bake for 3 minutes or until light golden. Remove and scrape into bowl straight away.
Cut a pocket into each chicken breast, as per the photo below.
Fold the cheese in half and place 2 pieces inside each pocket. Do the same with the ham. Close the pocket, seal with 2 toothpicks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

SUPER EASY METHODMix the mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl. Spread onto the top and sides of the chicken (not underside).
Sprinkle panko over the chicken, using your other hand to press the breadcrumbs onto the side of the chicken. Spray with oil.

QUICK DREDGE METHODWhisk egg and flour. Dip chicken into egg mixture, then into the panko breadcrumbs. Transfer to tray, spray with oil.

BAKINGBake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown and just cooked through. Remove toothpicks, serve with the Dijon Cream Sauce.

DIJON CREAM SAUCEMelt butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add flour and cook for 1 minute.
Add half the milk and whisk until the flour mixture is blended in.
Add remaining milk, mustard and cheese. Cook for 3 minutes, whisking constantly, until thickened. It will thicken as it cools.
Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with chicken.
Make Ahead: Use the Dredge Method and then refrigerate for up to 24 hours (probably ok longer, I just haven't tried) or freeze uncooked. Keep leftover breadcrumbs and touch up if required before baking. Thaw then cook per recipe.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Wraps

So here's the deal with cooking new things. Sometimes you find something awesome, like these chicken cordon bleu wraps. Sometimes you serve your family food that you don't even want to eat, even though the pinterest picture looked delicious. (I'm looking at you, Honey Curry Chicken.) The goal in my life is to have more of the former meals than the latter. We make a lot of things that we know and love, and by trying new things a couple of times a week, I'm slowly adding to that list. This meal is definitely going into the rotation. And as long as you have the ingredients on hand (swiss cheese and ham aren't things I always have) this is a super quick fix for a delicious dinner!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Wraps
Source: Taste and Tell

Ingredients:
½ cup miracle whip
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon honey
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
6 (6-8 inch) flour tortillas
9-12 slices Swiss cheese
6 oz deli sliced ham

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard and honey. Stir together and season lightly with salt and pepper. Add in the chicken and stir to coat.
Heat an electric skillet to medium heat. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Heat the tortillas in the microwave for 10 seconds or until pliable. Place 1 to 1½ slices of cheese down the center of each tortilla, followed by 1 oz of ham. Add about ½ cup of the chicken mixture, then roll up the tortilla.
Grill the wraps, seam side down until warm and until it has light to medium grill marks. Flip over and cook the second side until the wrap is warmed through and the cheese is melted.
Serve warm.

Overnight Sandwiches

A friend posted these sandwiches on her facebook wall as a recommendation for a meal when feeding a large group of people (i.e. baptism, blessing, etc..) They were originally called Funeral Sandwiches, but I felt that was a bit morbid and because I've never had them at a funeral, I changed them to Overnight Sandwiches - because I love that you can prepare them ahead of time and just have them ready to cook. I made a few other modifications because we didn't love the soggy bread - but we loved the sauce-soaked bread when it was crispy.

Overnight Sandwiches
Source: Clever House Wife

Ingredients:
1 package (12 ct) of King's Hawaiian Rolls

12 slices ham deli meat
Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
½ cup butter, melted
3 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs mustard
2 Tbs brown sugar
dash of onion powder

Instructions
Cut each roll in half and place bottom halves on the bottom of a baking pan. Layer with ham slices and cheese and place the top half back on.
Mix together the butter, Worcestershire, mustard, brown sugar and onion powder. Pour sauce over sandwiches, making sure to coat each top. It's okay if you drip over the edges - but don't pour so much that the bottoms become super-soggy. Cover tightly and marinate anywhere from 4-24 hours. Overnight works best!

Preheat oven to 350°. Bake for 15 minutes uncovered, or until cheese is melted and bun tops are a bit golden and crispy.

Malibu Chicken

This yummy dish is one of my dad's favorites. Not only does it have some fun, bold flavors... but it is SO so so so so easy. Think: inside out chicken cordon bleu. (Plus, it's super simple to make as much or as little as you want. Which means that this is also a great lunch for those days when you want something more than leftovers.)

Malibu Chicken
Source: Scott Walker

Ingredients:
5 chicken tenders (You could use chicken breasts if you prefer)
5 slices swiss cheese
5 pieces deli sliced ham
Mustard
Miracle Whip

Directions:
Place chicken in a small baking dish. Cover with ham. (Sometimes I like to wrap the ham all the way around the chicken.) Top with swiss cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through).

When chicken is almost ready to come out of the oven, mix together fairly equal parts of the mustard and miracle whip for a delicious dipping sauce.

Ham and Swiss Sliders

I've been on a swiss cheese kick lately, and these sliders were an easy and delicious way to use some leftover ham and swiss! 

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. Miracle Whip
3 tsp. Dijon Mustard
6 slider rolls/buns (I used some leftover french bread and cut it into slider size)
6 slices Ham
3 Swiss cheese slices

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Split rolls in half and place on baking sheet. Put in oven for 2 minutes to slightly crisp them. (Don't do too much, because you will be putting them back in to melt the cheese.)  Mix dressing and mustard; spread onto bottom half of rolls. Top roll with ham and cheese.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until Cheese is melted and sandwich is heated through. 

Stuffing Chicken

My little sister Jenna brought this recipe home from college and my family fell in love with it. I was already moved out of the house - so I never understood fully how delicious it really was. However, after hearing about it for so long I decided to try the recipe out myself. (David later told me that we did eat it at my parents house once, or maybe twice, but I don't remember.) It's SO easy. And it has a different flavor than most of the chicken we eat. It's definitely a great recipe and will be added into our dinner rotation.

Stuffing Chicken

Ingredients:

8 chicken tenders (defrosted)
8 slices Swiss cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1 (8 ounce) package dry bread stuffing mix
1/2 cup melted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange chicken breasts in the baking dish. Place one slice of Swiss cheese on top of each chicken breast. Combine cream of chicken soup and milk in a medium bowl, and pour over chicken breasts. Sprinkle with stuffing mix. Pour melted butter over top.

Bake 40 minutes - enjoy!