It certainly has turned very fall down south. Trees leaves turning, pumpkins, hay bales, mums, and corn stalks adorn yards and front porches every where. Nothing gets me more in the mood for fall than football and comfort food. However, both of those tend to have an effect on my waistline as football stresses me out causing me to eat and I eat the comfort food that is oh so yummy, and oh so expanding to the waist line! So I am trying my best to indulge on occasion, but also to take some classics and tighten them up a bit. One place to start is with a favorite of mine, chicken cordon bleu. I adore this dish because it involves chicken and cheese. Pretty much anything to do with cheese excites me. I am excited that a Whole Foods is opening near us, because they have cheese samples. It's a sickness really. :)
So my version is going to be baked and use a lot less of the fatty items we are used to in CCB, but it doesn't lack flavor and doesn't rely on artificial non-sense to make it healthier. Just small portions of the bad stuff.
You will be using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, eggs & egg whites, hot sauce, panko bread crumbs with seasonings, Sargento thin sliced swiss cheese, nitrate free ham and a foil lined pan to cut down on the mess. So go ahead and get the assembly set up!
Preheat your over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Start out with the panko, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder combined in a shallow bowl (I used a pie plate.). Combine eggs, egg whites and hot sauce in another bowl. Then lay out your ham and swiss so you aren't dipping in the packaging while assembling. (You will need 2 pieces of ham and 2 pieces of cheese per chicken breast).
Now lay out your chicken and cut a pocket into the chicken, or butterfly it, making sure to leave it connected like a book in the back. Place in ham and cheese and fold the chicken back over.
After they are all coated, place them in the 350 degree over for approximately 30 to 40 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 170 degrees. We decided to serve with a side of green beans. Yum!! It was a huge hit.
Make a note that in the recipe below, I used roughly 8 oz chicken breasts (raw). These are the Tyson Trimmed and Ready Right Size portion containers. I half this for myself and only eat about a 4 ounce portion with the beans which totals to be around 400 calories for the meal. So just be mindful if you use these breasts, you may want to half it to keep the calorie count low. I buy these larger portions because the hubby eats the whole thing :)
Ingredients
- 6 - 8oz boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 2 packages, about 1.5 lbs each, of the Tyson Trimmed and Ready Chicken Breasts labeled Right sized portions)
- 12 slices of nitrate free ham
- 12 slices of Sargento Ultra Thin Swiss cheese
- 2 cups of panko bread crumbs
- 1 tsp of onion powder
- 1 tsp of garlic powder
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- 1 egg and 3 egg whites
- 3 to 4 good dashes of Frank's Red Hot Sauce (you may wanna use less, or more, depending on your spice tolerance)
Recipe
- Preheat the over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Foil line a large baking sheet and spray with cooking spray
- Combine panko, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder in a shallow dish.
- Combine egg, egg whites, and hot sauce and whisk together in a bowl.
- Take each chicken breast, cut a small pocket and layer in 2 slices of cheese and 2 slices of ham, then fold the chicken back over the top.
- Place the chicken in the egg wash and then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture. Continue until each breast is coated. You may need to press the crumbs on with your hands.
- Lay each piece of chicken, not touching, onto the baking sheet and place in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until their internal temperature reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Enjoy!!
Let me know what you think!
Love
Misty
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