Each week I try to have at least one nice dinner where we can all eat together and not be in a rush. We generally are all home and eat at the same time, but often someone’s hurrying off somewhere or bathtime is approaching.
I decided this week to make our French dinner our fancy one, and we served chicken cordon bleu.
This isn’t difficult, and it tastes great – but it calls for ingredients we don’t always keep on hand, and it makes a mess getting it ready for the oven – but after that, it’s easy as pie. Well, easier, maybe.
Here’s my easier American version:
– Slice open boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
– Lay a thin slice of ham inside and top that with a slice of Swiss cheese. Fold the chicken closed and secure it with toothpicks.
– Give the chicken a bath in melted butter and then dredge it in seasoned bread crumbs.
– Lay on a greased baking sheet (I lined mine with foil for easier clean-up) and bake at 350F for about an hour.
Next, we made a simple bechamel sauce to go with it.
– Melt two tablespoons of butter. Stir in two tablespoons of flour.
– Slowly pour in milk – maybe a cup? – and stir slowly over medium-low heat until sauce is thickened.
– Add shredded cheese of your choice to taste. Swiss would be yummy! but we were out, so we used cheddar.
– Pour over your cooked chicken.
Our finished plates looked like this:
Voila! Chicken cordon bleu!
We all liked this dish. I used to stuff chicken with cheese and broccoli often but quit doing that when the kids came along since it’s a bit more labor intensive. This was so popular, though, that I may have to start doing it again!
Do you stuff your chicken? With what??
