Chicken Cordon Bleu & Parmesan-Dijon Cream Sauce

I made this for the first time last night and HOLY COW it was soooooo good. I plan on making this over and over again. Don't mind the poorly lit picture - did you know the sun is going down way to fast for my liking? Sheesh, anyway, I love this meal, make it, you'll love it too.

INGREDIENTS:

(makes 4 large servings)

25 Ritz crackers

4 slices sandwich bread

6 tbsp butter, melted

8 thin slices deli ham

2 cups shredded Swiss or 8 slices Swiss

4 thick boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper

3 large eggs

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 cup all purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Pulse crackers and bread in a food processor until they are coarsely ground. Drizzle in the melted butter and pulse to incorporate. Transfer the crumbs to an aluminum foil lined, rimmed baking sheet.  Bake in the preheated oven for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the the crumbs are lightly browned. Transfer the crumbs to a shallow baking dish. Leave the oven on. 

Lay 2 ham slices on a cutting board and top with 2 slices of cheese or 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Next, roll the ham up over the cheese, do this four times and set aside.

Pat dry the chicken breasts and cut a pocket in the thickest part of the chicken. Stuff each pocket with a ham and cheese roll and then fold the chicken over the rolls and press to seal. You can use a toothpick to gently secure the edge. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Refrigerate the stuffed chicken for about 20 minutes.

In another shallow dish beat the eggs and mustard. Place the flour in a third shallow dish. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator. One breast at a time coat chicken in flour, then dip in the egg mixture and finally dredge the chicken in the breadcrumbs, pressing lightly to help the crumbs stick (the breaded chicken can be refrigerated, covered for up to 1 day).

Transfer the chicken to a greased, aluminum foil lined, rimmed baking sheet. Bake on the lowest rack until the chicken is browned (10 minutes). Then move the chicken to the middle rack and reduce the temperature to 400 degrees. Bake until golden brown and the chicken is cooked through (160 degrees on a thermometer). Approx. 25-30 minutes. Let chicken rest 5 minutes before serving. 

*Start cooking sauce while chicken bakes (see notes)

Notes: 

The amazing flavor of this dish stands alone but if you'd like to add a little more flavor to this already delicious meal try out the Parmesan- Dijon cream sauce. It doesn't hurt that some of this yummy sauce happen to spill over to my cauliflower-broccoli-carrot steamed vegetables. Mmmm.

Recipe: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Parmesan-Dijon Cream Sauce:

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1 cup milk

1 tsp chicken bouillon granules (or 1 cube, crushed)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour, whisking constantly while cooking the butter/flour mixture for 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk and continue whisking quickly. Stir in the chicken bouillon granules and salt. Whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture begins to simmer and thicken, about 3-5 minutes. Once the sauce has bubbled and thickened, remove from heat and stir in the mustard, Worcestershire and Parmesan cheese. stir until the cheese is melted. Keep the sauce warm until the chicken finishes baking.

This sauce was wonderful over the chicken and when it hit my pile of steamed veggies...to die for. 

Recipe: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Creamy Chicken Carbonara Pasta

This recipe is from the kitchen of the Pioneer Woman. I adapted it to our tastes by adding some herb chicken (we like some serious protein with dinner).

INGREDIENTS:
12 ounces pasta of any kind (by weight)
6 - 8 chicken tenders
8 pieces of thick cut bacon, diced. I didn't have thick so, I doubled the amount of thin cut bacon.
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 whole eggs
3/4 cups finely grated Parmesan
3/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
Salt and pepper to taste
To season the chicken:
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
Lawry's Season salt
Garlic powder
Fresh pepper

DIRECTIONS:
We use frozen chicken tenders at our house. I put a little olive oil in a pan and put the frozen chicken in as skillet seasoning with Lawry's, pepper, garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning. Cover the pan and let cook. When finished let cool for a few minutes and chop/slice.

Fry the bacon until just barely crisp. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Pour off all the bacon grease, but don't clean the pan. Return the pan to the stove over medium-low heat and throw  in the onions and garlic.  Cook until golden brown and set aside with the chicken.

Cook pasta according to package directions

In a bowl, mix together eggs, Parmesan, cream and salt and pepper until smooth.

When the pasta is done, reserve a cup or two of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and place it in a bowl. While the pasta is still really hot, slowly drizzle in the egg mixture, stirring the pasta the whole time. The sauce will become thick and should coat the pasta. Splash in a little hot pasta water if needed for consistency.

Half way through, add the peas, bacon, chicken and sauteed onion/garlic. Finish adding the sauce, stirring until it's all combined.

Serve immediately with Parmesan cheese.

NOTES:
This is a great recipe. When I made it I used 1/3 of the recipe and still had leftovers.

Makes sure to mix constantly when pouring in the egg mixture. You don't want scrambled eggs in your sauce.

Recipe: Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Creamy Garlic Alfredo

This is another wonderful recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. This sauce is a quick and easy with a big flavorful payoff. I use it on pasta and also as sauce for pizzas. It's delicious.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 oz. cream cheese, softened (you can use lowfat or regular)
1 cup milk (I use 1%)
3 oz. parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, take care not to let the garlic burn. Add the cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until the mixture is smooth. It will look curdled at first, but with constant whisking for 2-3 minutes, it should come together to form a smooth, creamy paste. Add the milk gradually, 1/4 cup at a time. whisking quickly and constantly until each addition is incorporated fully into the sauce. Stir in parmesan cheese, pepper and salt. Stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is desired consistency. Cook 2-3 minutes for a thicker sauce or remove right after cheese is incorporated fully for a thinner sauce. Serve immediately over hot cooked noodles.

NOTE:
This is important... don't burn your garlic. yuck, the second time I made this sauce I accidentally overcooked my garlic, bummer. However, I have made it succesfully many times since then. A good trick is to have everything measured out and ready by your pot.

Don't skimp on the 3 oz. of cheese. It's needed and it packs a ton of flavor.

This sauce makes about 2 cups. I use only 1 cup for just my husband and I and freeze the other half and save if for pizza sauce on our grilled pizzas.

Recipe: Directly from Mel's Kitchen Cafe