Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken Cordon Bleu is a chicken breast stuffed with ham and cheese, breaded and fried.  It's delicious, but heavy.  I make a version that gives you all the same flavors, but is a lot lighter and easier to make.  I used to make this dish all the time, but just sort of forgot about it until my Old School Italian Husband mentioned it the other day.  I thought it was time to bring it back and share it on the blog.  It's quick enough to make on a weeknight, but delicious enough to serve at a dinner party.  Gotta love recipes like that.

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

4 chicken cutlets (chicken breast cut in half horizontally so it's thinner)
4 slices deli ham
4 slices Swiss cheese (I used provolone - the picky boys don't like Swiss)
Creole mustard (or Dijon)
salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly oil a baking sheet.  Place chicken cutlets on baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.

Here is the creole mustard I like to use but you can use Dijon if that's what you have.  Brush a thin layer of mustard onto each piece of chicken.  *Safety reminder:  Spoon some mustard into a bowl.  Don't contaminate the mustard jar with raw chicken!

Lay a slice of ham over the mustard on each piece.

Next, lay a slice of cheese on each piece.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.  If you have thicker pieces of chicken you'll need to bake a little longer.

How easy was that?  And just look how yummy these look!

The chicken is tender and juicy and flavored just perfectly from the mustard, ham and cheese.  Plus, without the breading, these are much lighter than the original version.  My Pickiest Eater Ever Son loves this dish even though he hates mustard!  It just all works together.  I hope you give this one a try and enjoy it as much as we did.