Growing up, my mom always cooked our favorite meal for our birthday. We were a fairly large family and my dad was in graduate school. We were dirt poor, but my parents always went out of their way to make our birthday special. We may not have been able to go out for a fancy dinner, but at least we got our favorite home cooked meal.
My meal of choice? Chicken Cordon Bleu. Chicken Cordon Bleu translates from the French. It means Chicken Blue Ribbon. Sounds like a winner, right?! It is. I don't remember when the first was that I tried Chicken Cordon Bleu, but whatever the occasion, I was hooked. Chicken - good. Ham - good. Swiss Cheese - GOOD! And then the sauce. The sauce is tart and it just kicks up the flavor of the whole entree.
My biggest piece of advice on this? Don't be afraid of toothpicks. They are your friend. BUT, you may want to keep a tally of how many toothpicks you use so that you make sure they are all pulled out after the chicken is done cooking. Otherwise, your dinner guest may run into a stray toothpick while trying to eat. YOUCH!
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 1" cubes Swiss cheese
8 slices ham lunch meat
Poultry Seasoning
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup cornflake crumbs
Toothpicks
Sauce:
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup lemon juice
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breasts in a single layer inside a large ziploc bag. Using a mallet, pound the chicken flat so that each breast is evenly flat.
2. Lay chicken breast out on cutting board. Sprinkle with Poultry Seasoning. Place 2 slices of ham and 1 cube of cheese on top of chicken. Bring edges of chicken up to encase ham and cheese and secure with toothpicks.
3. Roll each chicken breast in melted butter and then in cornflake crumbs. Place in 8x8 inch pan. Pour remaining butter over the tops of chicken breasts.
4. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until juices run clear.
5. While chicken is baking, combine sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and lemon juice in small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until sauce just begins to boil. Turn to low heat and cover to keep warm. Serve over chicken.
Serves 4