Un-Stuffed Chicken Cordon Bleu

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I'd been craving the flavors of chicken cordon bleu for awhile, but not wanting to deal with the labor intensive pounding, stuffing and rolling of the traditional kind I remember from years ago. 

I opted instead to deconstruct (if you will) my chicken cordon blue and instead of stuffing the chicken breasts, I piled the ingredients on top before I popped them into the oven.

I think the results were as flavorful as the traditional kind but maybe not quite as eye appealing as they would have been if they were stuffed.  You be the judge...


I also used a very non-traditional coating for the chicken that I just happen to have in the back of pantry.  It was a half eaten box of cheesy crackers that I knew nobody was ever going to finish (and surprisingly, they weren't stale) so into the recipe they went.

Truth be told, while I was breading the chicken I actually remember my sister-in-law Pam using the same kind of breading for chicken long ago and thinking she was brilliant!  Great minds think alike I guess :)

UN-STUFFED CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 box cheesy crackers (I used Cheese-Its), crunched
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup half and half
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced1 tablespoon honey
8 slices deli ham
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
-In a large, flat dish, crunch up all the cheesy crackers.
-One at a time, coat the chicken breasts with the crunched crackers making sure to press the crackers onto the chicken.
-Season with salt and pepper.
-In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook the coated chicken in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until nicely browned on both sides (approximately 3-4 minutes each side)
- Remove the chicken to a casserole dish and wipe out the remaining cracker crumbs from the skillet to prepare for make the sauce.




-In the skillet over low heat, add 1 tablespoon butter, white wine, half and half, honey and tarragon.
-Simmer slightly to reduce the sauce by one third.
-Meanwhile top each chicken breast with 2 slices of ham and grate your cheese.
-When the sauce has reduced, pour the sauce carefully over the topped chicken breasts and top with the shredded cheese.
-Bake for 20-25 minutes uncovered and then cover the pan with foil and continue baking for an additional 10-15 minutes so the chicken can cook all the way through and is no longer pink in the middle.



I served mine with some steamed broccoli and a nice side salad to finish. 

Ding, ding, ding. Dinner time! Come and get it!!!



I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments on this recipe or if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them for you. 

Thanks for stopping by my Kudos Kitchen!  See you next time!

Until we eat again!
Renee

Un-Stuffed Chicken Cordon Bleu