Chicken Cordon Bleu with Scalloped Potatoes

Instructions

Chicken Cordon Bleu Instructions

1. Step
   Slice chicken breast down the middle 3/4 of the way so that you can open the chicken breast (like a book).
2. Step
   On a cutting board, lay a piece of plastic wrap that is at least 4x the size of chicken breast. Lay the opened chicken breast in middle of plastic wrap and then top with another piece of plastic wrap the same size as the first one.
3. Step
   With a meat mallet or heavy bottomed saucepan, flatten out the chicken breast until about 1/2 inch thick, then take the top piece of wrap off and save to repeat process. Place pounded chicken breast to the side and repeat with the other 3 breasts.
4. Step
   Once all chicken breasts are pounded out, season both sides of chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Step
   Evenly spread 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese over all 4 chicken breasts, then place 1 slice of ham on top of the cheese on each of the chicken breasts.
6. Step
   Roll each chicken breast from one end to the other, then use a toothpick to hold each together while you roll the others (ensure you roll tightly).
7. Step
   The breading station is optional. If you don’t want to bread, you can cook using a toothpick to hold the chicken together.
8. Step
   For breading, separate flour, breadcrumbs and beaten eggs into 3 separate bowls.
9. Step
   Remove toothpick from 1 chicken breast and roll in flour, then roll in egg and then finally roll in breadcrumbs, making sure you get an even coating all around the chicken.
10. Step
    Place breaded chicken on a pan sprayed with cooking spray or coated with a little oil.
11. Step
    Repeat steps 8 and 9 for the other 3 chicken breasts.
12. Step
    Cook at 350°F (180°C) for about 20-30 min, turning halfway through. Cook until internal temperature reaches 165°F (75°C).

Scalloped Potatoes Instructions

1. Step
   Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Step
   In a medium pan, melt butter, add minced garlic, and cook for 1 minute on low heat.
3. Step
   Add flour, nutmeg, cayenne, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and cook until light brown in color and flour is cooked out (30 seconds to 1 minute).
4. Step
   Whisk in milk until smooth, turn heat to medium, and cook until slightly thickened (consistency is approximately that of a cream soup, but do not thicken too much), remove from heat.
5. Step
   Thinly slice potatoes with knife (try to get thickness of about 1/4 inch) and put in a container with cold water to stop from browning (if available, use mandolin or food processor to slice potato).
6. Step
   Remove sliced potatoes from water (make sure to shake off excess water) and toss in a bowl with paprika, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper, making sure to evenly spread seasoning.
7. Step
   In an oven-proof casserole dish that has been greased with butter, spread 3 tbsp of milk sauce into the bottom of the dish and then spread a single layer of potato around the dish making sure to slightly overlap the potato slices.
8. Step
   Sprinkle a small amount of Monterey Jack cheese over the potato layer.
9. Step
   Repeat steps 6-8 until all the potatoes are layered on top of each other like a cake. Be sure to save 3 tbsp of sauce and 1/2 cup of cheese to add to top of the potatoes later—the remaining sauce can be spread evenly over the top of the potatoes.
10. Step
    Cover with lid or tin foil and bake for 60 to 75 minutes.
11. Step
    Cook until internal temperature reaches 350°F (177°C), then pull from oven, remove lid and spread the 3 tbsp of sauce and cheese (saved from earlier) evenly over top of potatoes and broil for 5 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.
12. Step
    Pull from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.