Easy and Delicious Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is such a delicious and easy weeknight meal. Our son had gone to spend a long weekend with his grandparents, so I got home at around 6:00pm and needed to throw something together quickly for me and Kenneth! (We are spoiled rotten with all the help Kent gives us, getting dinner ready pretty much every week night!) I decided Chicken Cordon Bleu sounded really good; I knew I had some cheese slices in the freezer and with thin pounded chicken this dish wouldn't take too long to bake once it was prepared. I found a recipe similar to what I remembered making many, many years ago when I had first discovered AllRecipes.com and pulled all the ingredients out. I quick thawed some chicken while I gathered my ingredients. I couldn't find my meat mallet, so I discovered that a large bottle of Parmesan cheese also works well for pounding chicken thin, sandwiched between a sheet of wax paper!

This dish was prepped and in the oven within about 15 minutes and then baked for another 40, so in less than an hour we had a delicious meal that we both really enjoyed! I served this with a fresh Caesar salad and some crusty garlic Texas toast for a very satisfying and tasty meal. I used provolone cheese slices, since that's what I had, but you can really use just about any white cheese you prefer in this dish. Depending on the size of your chicken breasts (and how "cheesy" you like things), you may want to use half a slice of cheese, or a full one - totally up to you!

Chicken Cordon Bleu adapted from HOLLYSTACH on AllRecipes

Ingredients
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
6 slices (or half slices) of provolone, Swiss, or mozzarella cheese
6 slices ham
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
2 TBS grated Parmesan cheese
6-12 toothpicks

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lay out the pounded chicken breasts on a clean surface. Place a slice of ham on each piece, then one slice of cheese. Roll the chicken up around the cheese and ham, and secure with toothpicks. Dip each roll in melted butter, then roll in bread crumbs. Place in a shallow baking dish. Drizzle any remaining butter over top of chicken.
3. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is browned and juices run clear.

Link Parties:
Marvelous Mondays
Melt In Your Mouth Monday
Motivate Me Monday