From the crunch of the Italian bread crumbs to the Swiss cheese oozing from the inside of the chicken, this has probably come to be my most favorite chicken dish.

I got the recipe from my grandmother, and now I’m putting it here for safe keeping! 😉

Whilst it makes six, this can easily be decreased into a smaller recipe.
[recipediv]

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Prep time: [preptime pt=50M]50 minutes
Cook time: [cooktime pt=30M]30 minutes
Total time: 1h 20m

Makes [recipey yield=6]

Ingredients

• [ing]6 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless[/ing]
• [ing]Salt[/ing]
• [ing]12 slices cold-cut ham[/ing] (you’ll be working with 6 stacks of 2 slices each)
• [ing]1½-2 cups shredded Swiss cheese[/ing]
• [ing]Italian dressing[/ing]
• [ing]Italian bread crumbs[/ing]

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Remove the fat from the chicken breasts, then pound the chicken with a mallet/tenderizer until about half an inch thick. Salt lightly/sparingly.
3. On a cutting mat, parchment paper or wax paper, sprinkle cheese over a ham stack. Roll hamburger-style, then place near edge of one chicken breast. Roll until the ham and cheese are rolled into the middle of chicken breast, then place a toothpick in the center to keep it in place.
4. Repeat Step 3 until finished with all chicken.
5. Pour Italian dressing into a bowl or plate to allow for easier applying. Put the bread crumbs onto another bowl or plate for better covering.
6. Remove the toothpick from one roulade, and roll it around in the dressing until coated well. Then, roll around in the bread crumbs until coated well. The cheese may fall out, but I just picked up the cheese and put it a baking dish.[1. Baking dish preference of choice. This depends on how many you’re making and whether you want them touching. If you’re making one or two, you can easily get away with using two single-serving oblong-shaped dishes for this; if you don’t mind each roulade touching, you could just use one…and so on.]
7. Repeat Step 6 until all roulades are in the baking dish.
8. Drizzle Italian dressing over roulades and throughout baking dish until a thin layer of dressing exists, or as desired. Sprinkle cheese over roulades as desired as well.
9. Place in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Notes

• To make less, prep time will be reduced greatly, but cook time will remain.
• If you find the top of the food browning, it may be best to add foil to the top of the dish (and secure it) to prevent the food from burning. Every oven is different, so if you normally use a 350-degree oven for something that calls for 375 degrees, go with that, and adjust the cook time as needed. I use an old oven, so the temperatures are a bit off.
• I was generous with my cheese, but I didn’t use all of the 2 cups. It just depends on what you prefer!

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