This recipe is a huge classic. French supermarkets sell tons of the frozen version everyday. But let’s face it, these industrial substitutes are pretty much awful. Nothing compared to the real flavor and most important: you never really know for sure which meat is in it!

It’s one of the easiest recipes I know and the result is always a big hit. Don’t look for it, there is no excuse not to make them from scratch

Preparation time: 10 minutes – Cooking time: 12 minutes

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
4 slices of ham
4 slices of Emmenthal cheese (Swiss cheese)
1 egg
6 tablespoons of bread crumbs
3 tablespoons of flour
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Instructions

1/ Unfold one chicken breast, season with a pinch of salt and place it between two pieces of waxed paper or plastic wrap. Flatten the breast by  pounding it with a meat mallet (or the bottom of a heavy pan) until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with the other chicken breasts.

2/ Place one slice of ham on each chicken breast and top with a slice of cheese. Ham and cheese slices must have the same size than the flattened chicken, cut any sticking out part.

3/ Simply fold chicken breasts so ham and cheese are inside the chicken.

4/ Pour in three different plates the the flour, the egg and the bread crumbs. Beat the egg with a fork.

5/ Carefully dredge each chicken cordon bleu into the flour first (eliminate excess but make sure it’s entirely covered with flour). Then dredge it into the beaten egg and finish with the breadcrumbs.

6/ Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add olive oil.

7/ When olive oil is hot, add the chicken cordons bleus and cook 6 minutes on each side or until they have a golden color. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with some greens.

Please welcome Jill McKeever of SimpleDailyRecipes.com who kindly offered to guest a recipe (Thanks again Jill ):

Garlic soup may not sound like the choice soup to serve at a dinner party, yet you’ll be surprised by its mild, dare I say, sweet flavor.  If you love the taste of roasted garlic, you will love this soup.  It is extremely easy to prepare and only takes 15 minutes to bring together.

Because there’s so little that goes into this soup, it’s important to use the freshest and best ingredients you have available.  Don’t be afraid of the first ingredient, chicken fat.  It possesses great flavor that adds depth to this already delicate soup.  I recommend rendering chicken fat from poultry that has been pasture raised. If you dig making your own chicken stock, then you probably already have some on hand.

If you love to bake your own artisan breads, I suggest an Olive Oil baguette spiced with fresh ground pepper and garlic to be the toasted center of attention.  The smooth sweet garlic soup soaked into the peppery-garlic toast is a match made in heaven.

HERE’S ALL IT TAKES to serve 4 friends:

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

3 tablespoons chicken fat
1 head garlic, each clove peeled and sliced
8 slices baguette
4 cups fresh chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Instructions

1/ Heat oven to 375º for toasting baguette slices.

2/ In a medium saucepan over low heat, sauté garlic in chicken fat until tender – about 7-10 minutes total. Transfer the garlic to a plate.

3/ Brush baguette slices on both sides with garlic seasoned oil and toast in oven until they are golden brown. Transfer 2 toasts into each soup bowl.

4/ Add the cooked garlic, chicken stock, and thyme back into the saucepan and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.

5/ Ladle the soup over the garlic toasts and serve immediately.

Recipe and photo by Jill McKeever of SimpleDailyRecipes.com. Check out her blog!

The herb mix used in this stuffed chicken breasts recipe is commonly used in French cuisine, we call it ‘fines herbes‘. It’s a mix of chives, chervil, parsley and tarragon… Perfect with fish and white meats.
I cook herbed mascarpone stuffed chicken quite often because it’s really easy and quickly made. Fines herbes are really tasty and trust me the herbs and wine sauce is to die for with mashed potatoes .

Preparation time: 10 mn  Cooking time: 20 mn

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
9 oz (250 g) of Mascarpone cheese
4/5 cup (20 cl) of dry white wine
2 tablespoons of butter
1 handful of chives
1 handful of parsley
1 handful of chervil
1 handful of tarragon
Salt & pepper

Instructions

1/ Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C/Th 6).

2/ Rinse and chop chives, chervil, parsley and tarragon.

3/ In a bowl, combine mascarpone cheese with herbs. Season generously with salt and pepper.

4/ Open chicken breasts by entering a knife in the center. Slice to both sides being careful not to break it.

5/ Stuff them with the herbed mascarpone. (If there are thiner parts of the chicken breasts you can’t stuff, top the stuffed chicken breast with a layer of herbed mascarpone and finish with a layer of chicken.)

6/ Dispose chicken breasts in an ovenproof dish. Pour white wine over them and top each chicken breast with a piece of butter. Top with salt and pepper.

7/ Bake in oven for 25 minutes.

Serve right away with boiled potatoes, rice or broccoli. Perfect with mashed potatoes.

This is one of my favorite recipes, so ridiculously simple and always getting a success!
It’s perfect for a dinner with friends (count 1 4lbs chicken for 4 servings) or a Sunday lunch with grandma… Whatever the occasion may be, if you’re going for a smaller chicken, don’t forget to adapt the cooking time

1/ Preheat oven to 450° F (230° C)

2/ Rinse chicken and dry it with a paper towel. Pour some salt & pepper inside.

3/ Clean lemon and make it holes with a fork so the juice comes out while cooking.

4/ Insert the lemon and some thyme in the chicken. If your chicken is too small, cut the lemon in 4 pieces and insert the quarters inside it.

5/ Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil on a roasting pan. Place chicken on it.

6/ Add 3 tbs of olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper on the chicken.

7/ Bake chicken for around 1 hour, turning it every 20 minutes and basting often with the juice.