Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

   I remember the first time I made Chicken Cordon Bleu. It was an epic failure. Kale and I had only been married a few months. One night we planned to have some friends over for dinner, and I thought making Chicken Cordon Bleu would be a great dish to impress with! It involved pounding the chicken, which I had never done, and rolling the chicken and blah blah blah. Yeah, it didnt turn out so well. At all. It was lacking in flavor and looked pretty silly. I was so embarrassed!

   I wish I would have had this recipe back then. It is so delicious, and could not have been any easier to prepare. All you have to do is cut the chicken breasts lengthwise to form thinner cutlets and just layer the ham and swiss cheese on top. Sprinkle on some fresh bread crumbs and pop em in the oven. What made this chicken so outstanding was the Parmesan-Dijon Cream Sauce to spoon over the top! It is super duper delish! This chicken will be a permanent dish in our dinner rotation. A big thank you goes out to Mel from  Mels Kitchen Cafe for such an awesome recipe!

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

*NOTE: Please use fresh bread crumbs. Not store-bought. It really helps this chicken tastes so great!

3 large boneless skinless Chicken Breasts, cut in half lengthwise, to form 2 thinner cutlets. (In total you will have 6 thin chicken breast cutlets)

12 slices deli Ham

12 slices thinly sliced Swiss Cheese

1 cup fresh Bread Crumbs

2 Tablespoons Butter, melted

FOR THE PARMESAN-DIJON CREAM SAUCE:

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour

1 cup Milk

1 teaspoon Chicken Bouillon granules (or 1 bouillon cube, crushed)

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese

DIRECTIONS:  Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat 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 baking dish. Layer each chicken breast with two slices of ham, overlapping so they cover entire breast. Then over the ham layer two slices of swiss cheese overlapping to cover ham. Repeat over all chicken breasts. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the tops of the chicken.

Bake the chicken for 30-35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and cheese is bubbling, and bread crumbs are golden brown.

While the chicken bakes, in a medium saucepan on medium heat, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the flour, whisking constantly. Cook for about a minute. Slowly pour in the milk, still whisking constantly. Stir in the chicken bouillon granules, and salt. Continue to whisk constantly until the mixture begins to simmer and thicken, about 3-5 minutes. Once the sauce has thickened, turn the heat down to low and stir in the mustard, worcestershire sauce and Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted. Keep the sauce warm until chicken is finished cooking.

Serve each chicken cordon bleu with warm sauce. ENJOY!