Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu
As odd as it may seem, this is such a fun recipe for me to write, this is the first Columbia Table Kitchen original! Developing recipes has quickly been one of my favorite parts of this adventure. Chicken cordon bleu is such a simple concept, and a flavor Anna often orders when out to eat. Simply put, it’s chicken breast with ham and melted Swiss cheese most commonly served as a sandwich. I was looking for a way to lighten this up a bit and create a version that would work great for leftovers to take to work for my lunch. I have made this numerous times for myself, and love serving it with fresh green beans or corn on the cob. This isn’t the lightest version, but with a few simple swaps, it’s easy to cut out some extra calories if you’re looking for a lighter dinner recipe.
2 lbs. chicken breast, cooked
12 oz. diced ham (honey ham is my favorite)
8 oz. Swiss Cheese
Sauce
3 TBSP butter
2 TBSP flour
1 c. milk
2 TBSP cream cheese
1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 c. Italian bread crumbs for topping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cooked chicken, chopped ham, and shredded cheese in a large bowl. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and then whisk in flour. While continually whisking slowly add in milk, followed by cream cheese until a thick smooth sauce has formed. Stir in smoked paprika, paprika, and garlic powder. If sauce is too thick add in more milk. Stir sauce into the meat mixture. Pour into a greased casserole dish, sprinkle bread crumbs over the top. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until bubbly.
*Shredded Swiss cheese can be hard to find sometimes. Freshly grated Swiss cheese melts nicely into the casserole. When I haven’t felt like shredding cheese I have layered half the meat into the casserole dish, sliced Swiss cheese, followed by the last of the meat, then poured the sauce over top before baking.
This recipe made enough for 5 servings for one person. Adding more meat and doubling the sauce would stretch this further. Or could also double the sauce and add in cooked noodles of choice.
