Chicken Cordon Bleu is a long time favorite of mine.  This recipe is a little different from the traditional Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe; there is no swiss cheese as would be expected.  This chicken is filled with a savory cheddar cheese sauce.  I highly recommend stepping outside of the Chicken Cordon Bleu box and giving your taste buds a new taste.

Are you hosting a holiday dinner?  Do you love having meals in the freezer that you can throw in the oven without all the prep after a long busy day?  If you answered yes to either of these then you will love this one.  You can do all the prep work days or weeks in advance.  You can freeze the uncooked chicken after browning it and then the day of you just need to thaw and bake.  Gotta love that!!  I love serving this with wild rice and some roasted vegetables.  And I especially love that I don’t have to do all the messy work the day of.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients:

6-7 Skinless/boneless chicken breasts
6-7 thin slices of ham
2 eggs, beaten
¼ tsp salt
Flour
3-4 cups bread crumbs

 Cheese Filling:

¾ cup light cream
1 ½ c. shredded cheddar
2 T. butter
2 T. flour
Salt, pepper, white pepper, poultry seasoning to taste

Directions:

To make cheese sauce – Melt butter in small saucepan and stir in flour.  Slowly stir in cream and seasonings to taste.  Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.  Add cheese; stir until melted.  Pour into a bowl and chill in fridge.  Set aside.

Place seasoned chicken breast between plastic wrap and pound to flatten.  {At this point the chicken may be quite large.  I sometimes cut the chicken in half after pounding.}  Place a piece of ham and a slice of cheese mixture on chicken and roll up.  Secure with toothpicks.

Roll chicken in flour, dip in egg and roll in bread crumbs.  Chill in fridge.

Heat skillet with oil. Brown chicken on all sides-drain on paper towel.  Remove toothpicks.

Place in baking dish and bake @ 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Heat remaining cheese sauce and use to pour over individual servings.

**You can make these ahead of time.  After browning the chicken cool and wrap each in plastic wrap and freeze.  Then the day of just thaw and bake!