Chicken Cordon Bleu

(This is for four chicken breasts; we always double the recipe and use a 9 x 13 pan. If you aren’t allergic to dairy, you can use low fat real cheese!)

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup reduced sodium, fat free chicken broth

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp herbs of choice (oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, etc…)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (make your own!)

1 tbsp grated vegan Parmeson

1 tsp paprika

4 chicken breasts (smaller 4 to 6 ounce portion, not the huge ones!)

herbs of choice (oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, etc…)

black pepper

4 thinly sliced pieces of fat free ham or turkey ham (the ultra thin deli style works well)

chopped fresh baby spinach

1/4 cup shredded vegan mozzarella

Cooking Instructions:

1. Lightly coat an 8 inch square pan with your choice of “grease”. (I usually brush a very light coat of olive oil.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the broth with the garlic and herbs and microwave for 20 seconds until it’s warm.

3. Combine the bread crumbs with the Parmeson and paprika.

4. Pound the chicken breasts to a uniform thinness.  (We put the breast between parchment paper and pound them with the bottom of a heavy ice cream scoop.  If you have a meat mallet, that works, too. Recipes will often tell you to pound between saran wrap. Do what works for you.)

5. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with the herbs of your choice and black pepper.

6. Place one slice of the ham, some chopped baby spinach, and 1 tbsp of the mozzarella on top of each chicken breast and roll up the breasts in a jelly roll style.

7. Dip the rolled chicken breasts into the chicken broth and cover with the breadcrumb mixture.

8. Put the breasts into the baking pan, seam side down, and pour the remaining chicken broth over the chicken breasts evenly.

9. Bake for about 30 minutes until the juices from the chicken are clear and the chicken is golden brown.

10. You can serve immediately or cover them with foil to keep warm until it’s time to serve them.