Girls Night: Chicken Cordon Bleu w/ Spinach

    Made some dinner for my sweet friend Amber tonight! Of course she brought the wine ;)
This may look fancy to all my beginner chefs in the house, but don't worry, I'll walk you through it. 

Chicken Cordon Bleu w/ Spinach:

     So basically traditional chicken cordon bleu is stuffed chicken with swiss cheese and ham, breaded and then fried. Of course I had to do it the healthy way... But trust me, y'all, this recipe is AMAZING. I use all of the traditional ingredients except I add spinach, bake instead of fry, and instead of traditional bread crumbs, I use panko. If you haven't used panko before, it is an asian style bread crumb, lighter and healthier than the average breadcrumb, it also adds that extra crunch we all love. It's available in the baking aisle at the grocery store, next to the normal bread crumbs. 
     People have actually requested that I make this for their birthday dinners in the past. It's Mason's absolute favorite meal and now I'm sure Amber is going to have to try to make it for herself. As difficult as it looks to make, trust me, it's easy and you're totally going to impress anyone you make this for.

SERVES 2
Ingredients:
-2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, fat removed
-2 slices swiss cheese
-2 thick slices of deli ham
-1/2 c. baby spinach 
-2 c. Panko Bread Crumbs
-1 tsp. salt
-1/2 tsp. pepper
-1 tsp. parsley
-1 clove of garlic **remember those awesome frozen cubes of garlic!!!**
-2 eggs
-1 egg white
-1/4 c. whole wheat flour 
-cooking spray 
ADDITIONAL ITEMS:
-foil
-meat mallet
-toothpicks 

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. using a meat mallet, beat chicken until breasts are about 1/4 inch thick

                   

3. layer first one slice ham, then once slice of swiss on each breast

4. lay the spinach on one half of the breasts

5. starting on the end where the spinach is, roll the chicken breasts completely up and secure with toothpicks
                                                         
6. prepare three bowls/dishes with the following ingredients:
     -bowl 1: whole wheat flour
     -bowl 2: eggs, egg white, garlic -whisked together
     -bowl 3: panko, salt, pepper, parsley -stir together

7. completely coat the chicken in flour
8. dip flour coated chicken in egg
9. dip egg coated chicken in panko mixture
10. dip it in the egg again
11. panko one last time 
        **yes you're double dippin' in the panko!!! makes for super crunch!**

12. lay on foil covered, greased baking sheet and spray a little cooking spray on top 

13. bake for 20-25 minutes or until internal temp. of chicken reaches 165 degrees

14. let cool for 5 minutes

15. IMPRESS EVERYONE YOU MAKE THIS FOR
16. FEEL AMAZING AND HEALTHY

     I made mine tonight with 3 types of squash sauteed with onion. Just cut up my squash and put it in a mixin bowl, then coated it with 1 1/2 tbsp. of oil (I used grapeseed, its flavorless, has an incredibly high smoke point and is full of omegas!!!), 1/2 tsp. Lawry's seasoning salt, a dash of black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and red pepper!! Holy moly it was awesome and I am so satisfied.

Sleep tight,
Maude