chicken cordon bleu

Another weeknight special, a chicken recipe which I haven't made in a very long time. For this chicken cordon bleu version, I once again made use of what's available in our ingredient supply. Substituting bacon for the ham, which was called for in the recipe, the bacon was fully cooked until browned, transferred to a papertowel-lined tray to degrease. I sliced up some Swiss fontina cheese, also a substitute for regular Swiss cheese. The chicken breast fillets were prepared next, pounded until flattened in between plastic wraps. I always like to squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the chicken to give it some preliminary flavor before sprinkling them with salt and pepper. Let it sit in the fridge to marinate for just a few minutes. Lay the pounded chicken fillet flat and arrange some bacon slices on top followed by the Swiss cheese slices. Fold the fillet over the bacon & cheese slices. Repeat this process with the other fillets. In a shallow glass dish or pie pan, beat one egg. Pour some breadcrumbs on a plate. Dip the filled chicken fillets in the egg and coat both sides well. Then roll them in breadcrumbs until evenly coated. Pan fry in a small amount of olive oil about seven minutes per side on medium heat or until chicken in nicely brown and cooked through.

To serve, slice the chicken pieces to reveal the filling. I served them with a side dish of couscous cooked with spinach and chopped tomatoes. Any kind of simple pasta side dish tossed with olive oil and garlic will work just as well.