Chicken Cordon Bleu

It's throwback Thursday! 

Do you know what this means? That you do something from your past. Chicken Cordon Bleu was literally the first thing I learned to cook on my own. I mean besides simple stuff. 

I don't really cook for men.
I know! Shocking right?? 

If I cook for you, its a pretty big deal. Sadly, the few guys I have cooked for haven't realized this. Food is important, cooking is personal. I put a piece of myself in every dish I create. Some men just don't respect that. I've made a fancy dinner only to be canceled on mere hours before he was supposed to come over. I've made dinner for someone who made faces because he doesn't recognized an ingredient. I've cooked for someone who thought that I was a short order cook. I mean really?! It's no wonder I don't cook for guys. You just don't deserve it! Anyhow. This was the first time I cooked for someone and his roommate no less. 

True to what would become classic me cooking for men, it didn't go that well. He didn't even really seem to like what I made. Thank god I'm sort of a pain in the ass and resolved to rarely cook for men. I can count on one hand the number of times I put knife to board and butter to skillet to make food for men.

Shit, at least the chicken is good! This combines all things that I love. Meat and cheese. And bread. All you need is butter and life is good. Actually, the recipe below is simple Chicken Cordon Bleu. Even back then I was kind of fancy. I pounded the chicken out, heated some butter on the stove top and did a lite saute of the chicken on one side. I put all the cheese and ham on the sauteed side and rolled it up, raw side out. As you can see, once you master this little gem, there's a LOT of different ways you can make it! Enjoy!  

Chicken Cordon Bleu

What you need

 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

 1/4 teaspoon salt

 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

 6 slices Swiss cheese

 4 slices cooked ham

 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

What you do

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 

Coat a 7x11 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness.

Sprinkle each piece of chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. 

Place 1 cheese slice and 1 ham slice on top of each breast. 

Roll up each breast, and secure with a toothpick. 

Place in baking dish, and sprinkle chicken evenly with bread crumbs.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. 

Remove from oven, and place 1/2 cheese slice on top of each breast. 

Return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted. 

Remove toothpicks, and serve immediately.