Lighter Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is one of the first recipes we've tried that I am not recommending to the general population. Not only did our chicken, cheese, bacon, chicken dish not stay in that order while cooking, it was really dry. The cheese looked and tasted like it wasn't even there. I think it may have been a cookie sheet casualty (slid off the chicken onto the cookie sheet mid-bake) and the reason why my kitchen smells a bit of sour dairy products. Or maybe I just need to empty the trash can...

As you can see in the recipe below, the bacon and cheese are sandwiched between two thin pieces of chicken. I don't know if our chicken was too thick but all I tasted was chicken, chicken, and really dry chicken. And the servings were waaaaaay too big to eat an entire piece by yourself. I know it doesn't look big in the photo, but it was very filling (have I mentioned it was a lot of chicken?). I'm only posting the recipe in hopes that someone more daring (or possibly with more time) than I will be able to tweak it and make it edible. Maybe try it as an open face chicken-wich? As in, forget the top piece of chicken and just have chicken, bacon and cheese?

Tyler did make us some awesome sweet potato fries though. Who doesn't want fried sweet potato smothered in chili, cheese and onions? I'll post that recipe later.

• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided, plus more for brushing
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 8 chicken cutlets (1 1/2 pounds total)
• Salt and pepper
• 8 slices Canadian bacon (1/2 pound total)
• 4 ounces sliced Swiss 

Heat broiler. In a small bowl, mix together panko and oil until coated.

 

Season chicken with salt and pepper. On a rimmed baking sheet, make 4 stacks, sandwiching Canadian bacon and Swiss between 2 chicken cutlets. Brush tops with oil, season with salt and pepper, and broil until golden and cooked through, 7 minutes. Spread each stack with 1/2 teaspoon mustard and sprinkle with panko. Broil until panko is golden and toasted, 1 to 2 minutes.

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 20 min

Recipe from Martha Stewart Living