Pecan Crusted Chicken Cordon Bleu

I love chicken cordon bleu, the hubs loves it and wait for it my picky pain in the rumpus about eating kiddo loves it as well! So last night when I saw some chicken cutlets at my wonderful grocery store I knew cordon bleu was on the menu. All a chicken cutlet is a chicken breast that has been pounded thin, I normally do this myself. But when I saw that my lovely meat cutter had done the work for me I couldn’t resist. While at the store I kept trying to think how I could mix the traditional cordon bleu up a bit, and for some reason pecans kept coming into my head. So I decided to go full on with it and use a Smokey honey ham as well in the filling and Gouda creamy wonderful Gouda cheese. You could completely use any type of ham or cheese; mix it up do what you like!

Now when you read the recipe you will see an unusual ingredient for the coating in addition to the pecans, rice cereal. That’s right! Ok really this wasn’t planned but turned out amazing! When I returned from the store I found that I was completely out bread crumbs like OUT!!! Typical for me! And frankly I wasn’t going back to the store, none of that was keeping me from making dinner though I could already taste the cheese. I went searching through my pantry and rice cereal is what I came out with! Boy oh boy did it make for a nice crisp crust! Plus it made this friendly to the gluten-free crowd!  

Whatever your style give this dish a try it is quite delish! 

Pecan Crusted Chicken Cordon Bleu

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup pecans

1 cup rice cereal

2 Eggs (beat with a splash of water)

4 slices Smoked Honey Ham

4 slices Gouda Cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Using a meat mallet beat and spread the chicken breasts to about a ¼ inch in thickness to create a thin chicken cutlet then season with salt and pepper. In your food processor crush pecans, and place in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish whip egg with a bit of water. Take chicken cutlet place a piece of ham on it then a slice of cheese, roll and secure with toothpick. Take roll and dip in egg then into the pecan mixture making sure to coat all sides. Place on prepared tray, repeat with remaining cutlets. Bake chicken for 35 minutes turning half way through cooking time. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes prior to removing the toothpick. Serve and enjoy!