Cheater Chicken Cordon Bleu

Kam mentioned to me once that he likes Chicken Cordon Bleu. So I looked into making it. Dannng. That is no small feat. But somehow, I stumbled across some hopeful recipes that made it look not entirely impossible. So I thought to myself, "Self, there's a recipe for easy everything. There's got to be a recipe for easy Chicken Cordon Bleu somewhere out there." And there were. There were a few actually. But to save you the pains of sorting through all of the hits and misses out there, I have adapted my own version of this recipe to make the easiest, cheatingest (read: inexperienced) chicken cordon bleu ever. Now, of course this doesn't compare to the real thing. But Kam said it's good, and I liked it (and I'm my worst critic, usually), and I know I'm not the only one who feels a little less than experienced in chefery (that's a word now).

So here it is:

Ok. Not the most attractive looking picture, I know. But remember? I don't take pictures of my food? It took so much self control not to eat all of this before I got a picture of it. So that mess on my plate is from the piece that I already ate.

(When I say piece, I mean each chicken breast wrapped up. Kam and I each ate 2 (Our chicken breasts were on the small side), so plan your servings accordingly.)

For each piece you'll need:

1/2 - 1 chicken breast

Note: If you already have flat chicken breasts, great. These usually make larger pieces. You'll need to either pound these with a meat tenderizer or work them with your hands (what I did) until they're about 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick and are malleable enough to roll. If you have fatter chicken breasts, you can cut them in half lengthwise and get 2 pieces out of them. You'll still need to massage them a little so that they'll roll up. Tip: Don't let them start to cook when you defrost them. It makes them less bendy.

1 slice of ham (I just used lunch meat ham.)

1 mozzarella cheese stick (I know you're supposed to use Swiss cheese, but remember? Easy. And I think I liked the way this tasted better, honestly.)

Butter (just enough that you'll be able to roll the pieces in it)

Breadcrumbs (Same idea. Just enough to cover your pieces)

Toothpicks


For the sauce:
(Kam said he thought they were good with or without the sauce. This makes a freaking ton of sauce (probably 8 servings) but we have cream of chicken soup out to wazoo so I didn't feel too guilty using a whole can anyway.)

1 can (10.5 oz. I think) of Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 cup of sour cream

Thyme (optional)



Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (I actually remembered this time).

2. Work chicken into flat malleable pieces (see above).

3. Wrap chicken around 1 piece of ham and cheese stick (I sometimes folded the piece of ham in half and ripped the cheese stick in half if the piece of chicken was smaller) and secure with toothpicks.

4. Dip pieces in butter, and then roll in breadcrumbs (or sprinkle over it. I found that easier).

5. Place in baking dish and cook for 40 minutes.


Sauce:

1. Mix cream of chicken, sour cream, and thyme in a sauce pan and heat up on the stove.


That's it! For real!


One of the things I loved about this recipe was that it called for pretty regular ingredients. I bought everything I needed for it and Kam never even knew I was planning a special dinner! He actually put all of the cheese sticks in our lunches before I got a chance to try the recipe, and we had to go buy more. I felt pretty clever. I was also afraid they would be too dry without the sauce (and usually the sauce you put on chicken cordon bleu calls for some kind of wine and fancy mustard, and we don't even like regular mustard. Or wine.) so I was happy to find a simple sauce that fit the bill and only called for ingredients I already had.

So let me know what you think. If you hate it, that's ok, too. I won't be offended. I'm happy enough when I can make something I'll eat. :)