Quick & Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

I had to make this recipe after enjoying sub-par frozen Chicken Ccordon Bleu from the grocery store when we were in France.  Lol.  This was almost as easy but tasted worlds better.  I've only made easy CCB recipes, never the "real" one.  Another one I love is this easy casserole version.   If you can buy chicken fillets (just sliced chicken breasts) at your grocery store, this recipe will be super easy.  Otherwise you're cutting them yourself or pounding them.

Note: The sauce for this recipe tastes great, but congeals quickly off the heat.  I included a pic on the very bottom of this post of some sauce on the chicken; it had cooled too much by this point but still tasted good.  That's why it looks interesting.  However, the chicken is great without the sauce too.  Some of the kids opted out of sauce.

Quick & Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

FOR THE CORDON BLEU:
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half length-wise (to form two thinner chicken breast cutlets)- or 6 chicken cutlets/fillets
Salt and pepper
12 slices deli ham
6-8 slices Swiss cheese (6 to 8 ounces)
1 cup bread crumbs (I prefer panko in this recipe)
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 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (to taste)

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Lay the cut chicken breasts in a single layer in the 9X13-inch dish. Lightly sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

2.  Layer each chicken breast with two slices of ham and top with 2 slices of swiss cheese, shingling across the chicken breast to make sure the entire piece of chicken is covered with ham and cheese. Toss the bread crumbs with the melted butter and sprinkle the mixture over the top of the chicken.
Bake the chicken for 30-35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through completely, the cheese is bubbling and the bread crumbs are golden.

3.  For the sauce, while the chicken bakes, in a medium saucepan, melt the 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in the flour, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking quickly to avoid lumps.  Stir in the chicken bouillon granules. Whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture begins to simmer and thicken, about 3-5 minutes.

4.  Once the sauce has bubbled and thickened, remove from heat and stir in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Keep the sauce warm until the chicken is finished baking. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed.  Serve each chicken cordon bleu portion with warm sauce.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Yum- I loved this recipe.  It was by far the easiest Chicken Cordon Bleu shortcut recipe I've tried, and the tastiest.  I've never made *actual* chicken cordon bleu- lol!!  I don't want to or need to after this.  (Check out the other recipes I've tried in the link above.)  I increased the sauce on this by 50%, and it was probably too much, but I loooove sauce.  Lol!  It's probably not necessary for normal, non-loving sauce people to increase the sauce.  You decide!  Recipe below is original way with no increases. I served this with rice so I could pour that sauce on.  You know it.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
adapted from Closet Cooking
(can increase the sauce by 50% if you're feeling extra saucy)

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
salt and pepper taste
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 pound deli sliced ham (2 slices per breast)
1/4 pound deli sliced swiss cheese (2 slices per breast)
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease a 9x13 or similar sized baking dish.  Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until it just starts to brown, before sprinkling in the flour, mixing and cooking until it just starts to brown, about 2-3 minutes.

2.  Add the chicken broth and milk, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 2-3 minutes, before mixing in the lemon juice, mustards, paprika, salt and pepper and removing from the heat.

3.  Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in a baking pan, top with the ham (2 slices) followed by the cheese (2 slices), and the sauce.

4.  Melt the butter, mix in the breadcrumbs followed by the parmesan and sprinkle it over the chicken in the pan. Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until the chicken is cooked through, the breadcrumbs are golden, and the sides are bubbling, about 30-40 minutes.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Super-Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu w/Roasted Broccoli

This recipe was super good, and super easy. It is Chicken Cordon Bleu; by far, the easiest version I've ever made (and I've made other easy versions!) This one is just layered on a pan, no stuffing/rolling involved, and your veg bakes right along with the chicken, so it can be a one-dish meal. One can add rice or a parmesan orzo to make the meal go farther, but it's not needed.         

Super-Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu w/Roasted Broccoli

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ pounds broccoli, cut into spears/thin wedges 
Salt and pepper
4-5 thin chicken breast cutlets (buy cutlets, or cut breasts in half and pound thin) 
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 to 8 slices deli ham, exact amount depends on brand/size of slices
4 to 8 slices Gruyere or Swiss cheese
¾ cup Ritz crackers (about 15), coarsely crushed

1.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Make sure an oven rack is in the lower-middle position. Brush a large, rimmed baking sheet (about 11X18-inches) with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Place the broccoli on one side of the sheet pan, and drizzle with remaining oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Place the chicken cutlets side-by-side on one side of the prepared baking sheet (to help them fit, you can alternate thicker end to thinner end as you lay them down). Placing them close together (without overlapping) will help the cheese stay put as they bake. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Spread the mustard lightly over the top of each chicken piece. Top with 1 to 2 slices ham to cover and then add one or two slices of the cheese evenly across the top. Sprinkle the cracker crumbs evenly over the cheese and press lightly so the crumbs aren’t loose.

3.  Bake for 20 minutes until the chicken registers 160 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer and the broccoli is roasted and tender. The exact time will depend on the thickness of the chicken. If the chicken still needs more time but the broccoli looks like it is finished, scoop the broccoli off the sheet pan onto a plate and lightly tent with foil while the chicken finishes cooking.

4. For a better presentation, remove the chicken and broccoli as soon as it comes out of the oven so it doesn't sit in the juices in the bottom of the pan. I did not do this; to keep with the ease of a one-pan meal (and laziness). It was fine to leave it in the pan for serving. 

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

We recently enjoyed Chicken Cordon Bleu when my mom made it for us around Christmas time. (My 8-year old especially enjoyed it!)  When we got back home, I was inspired to make this recipe I'd had pinned forever, but never made.  This is a nice recipe in that you can prepare it in the morning, stick it in the fridge, and then bake when you're ready to eat.  You can also use rotisserie chicken.  Here in Italy, the chickens are so small that I used two for this recipe.  If you have huge American chickens, one is probably enough.  (Always simmer the carcass with some veggies and herbs to make a great broth after removing the meat!)  

The original blog has this just served as-is, but I thought it was weird not to put it over rice or something.  So we had it over rice, and I loved it!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

adapted from Full Fork Ahead

1 whole cooked chicken, bones removed, meat diced or shredded (like rotisserie chicken, should have 5-6 cups)
1/2 pound very thinly sliced deli-style honey ham, rough chopped
1/4 pound thin sliced baby Swiss cheese

For the sauce:
4 tablespoons butter*
4 tablespoons flour
3 1/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the topping:
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Cooked Rice, for serving

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9- x 13-inch baking dish.  Put cooked shredded or diced chicken on the bottom of the baking dish. Rough chop the ham and scatter it over the top of the chicken. Lay the Swiss cheese on top of the ham.

2.  To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a large sauce pot over medium heat. When butter is melted, quickly stir in the flour to form a smooth roux.  Once the roux is smooth and bubbly, slowly pour in the cold milk while stirring briskly to make a smooth sauce. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Stir in the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt, smoked paprika and white pepper. Bring sauce just back to a low boil and turn off heat. Pour sauce evenly over the casserole, being certain to get some of the sauce around the edges of the pan.

3.  To make the topping: Melt the butter in a small saucepan on the stove, turn off the heat, and stir in the panko bread crumbs, pepper, and crushed dried parsley. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.**

4.  Bake casserole uncovered for 30-45 minutes until hot and bubbly throughout and topping has turned a light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes prior to serving.

*If you are worried about salt, you can use unsalted butter and then add salt if needed.  The rotisserie chicken, and especially the ham and cheese, contain quite a bit of salt already.  I used salted butter and added no extra salt.

**At this point, you can stick the whole thing in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap.  When ready to bake, take out of the fridge and set on counter while oven preheats.  Bake for 40 minutes or until heated through and bubbly and topping is browned.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **