Chicken Cordon Bleu

I didn't intend for the teacher appreciation luncheon menu to be a throwback to the 80's, but it did turn out that way! I considered serving chicken Oscar to coordinate with the Academy Award theme but wasn't convinced everyone would love it. I chose Chicken Cordon Bleu (Blue-Ribbon Chicken) and renamed it Academy Award Chicken.

You can make it look a lot prettier if you pound and flatten the chicken breasts, but I didn't do that because of the time it would take. I sliced the breasts length-wise, rolled them up, and secured them with toothpicks which seemed to work pretty well.

This is a great make-ahead dish because you can roll the breasts and brown them on the stove but finish them later in the oven.

One of my friend's husbands ate some leftover chicken for dinner, and she texted me that he said, "I am fixing to smack somebody" after eating it. I had to ask her if that was a good thing, and she assured me it's very good - in a redneck way!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients

3 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 2 lbs.)
6 slices Swiss cheese
6 slices smoked ham
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon chicken base (like Better Than Bouillon)
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Slice the chicken breasts in half the long way. Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.
2. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides.
3. Remove the chicken from pan. Bake for 20 minutes in a 350 oven.
4. Add tablespoon of flour to skillet and cook for one minute, stirring. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer while the chicken bakes. 
5. Remove chicken from oven. Whisk cream slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.