Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is honestly one of my favorite dishes! Once I learned how to make it, I was making it so often!

In the process, I learned that aside from having as clean a roll as possible with the filling inside of the chicken, having the right cheese and ham pairing was key. Instead of the traditional Swiss cheese, I prefer to use Havarti. It's a slightly sharper cheese. And with black forest ham, you also get a deeper, more smoky flavor than most other hams. You could also use a nice proscuitto or jamon as well.

I also like to sprinkle in some dried oregano and ground black pepper into the pool of bread crumbs to add another layer of flavor!

Serves: 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

4 thinly sliced chicken breasts
4 slices of Havarti cheese
8 slices of Black Forest ham
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tablespoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
a pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 7x11 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness.
Sprinkle each piece of chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Place 1 cheese slice and 1 ham slice on top of each breast. Roll up each breast, and secure with a toothpick. Place in baking dish, and sprinkle chicken evenly with bread crumbs.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from oven, and place 1/2 cheese slice on top of each breast. Return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Remove toothpicks, and serve immediately.