This mini chicken cordon bleu recipe is perfect for meat and cheese lovers. It is simple to make and very delicious.
My husband has learned that the way to my heart is time spent together (my love language) and food. In the case of any occasion where he would need to provide a gift, buying and/or making me food is always a good way to go.
I’m a little difficult to buy for. I don’t like presents, don’t like flowers, and don’t like most sugars. As I mentioned, my love language is spending time together so as long as you spend time with me, I count it as your present. But you have to be careful. I love spending time with people (before 7 pm, after that time I get a little grouchy) and the more time you spend with me, the more I need. I know, it’s an awful trait. So for my husband, the more time he gives me, the more I want. Our birthdays are in March and so after Thanksgiving, Christmas, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President’s Day, and then our birthdays, I sort of feel left out. My husband and I spend so much time together for those few months that after it’s all over, I suddenly don’t spend time with him and it’s just miserable. Which is why he has learned to cook some of my favorite dishes and cooks almost every Sunday.
He knows how much I love cheese and he loves meat so combining ham and chicken with cheese is the perfect way for us both to eat a dish that we enjoy. This version of Chicken Cordon Bleu is fried a bit on the skillet giving it a nice crunchy texture on the outside and then it is baked in the oven to give it a nice melted, soft, oozing delicious flavor on the inside.
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 cup panko crumbs
- 10 chicken tenderloins
- 10 slices ham
- 10 slices swiss cheese or another favorite cheese
- 2 tablespoons oil
- Mix flour, salt, and black pepper in one bowl.
- Beat egg and milk together in a separate bowl.
- Add panko crumbs to a different, separate bowl.
- Between 2 pieces of wax paper or in a gallon-size Ziploc bag, place chicken tenderloins and use a mallet to smash chicken so it is all an even thickness.
- Take one chicken tenderloin, lay it out flat, add one slice of ham and layer it with one slice of cheese. Roll it (or fold it over if not big enough) and place a toothpick down the middle of the chicken to hold it in place. Roll it through the flour mixture until evenly covered and shake off extra. Next roll it in the egg mixture until evenly covered. Then roll it through the panko crumbs until evenly covered and shake off extra.
- Repeat previous step with each chicken until they are all finished.
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
- Heat oil in a skillet until hot. Place each chicken onto the skillet and brown both sides.
- Spray a casserole dish large enough to fit all chickens with cooking spray. Place all chickens into the dish and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cooked all the way through.