Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is my version of Chicken Cordon Bleu. Its considerably lower in fat without the hollandaise sauce, but still quite tasty. Make these in bulk and freeze. This is a very quick one dish meal when assembled and frozen ahead of time. This is a good dish to have a friend over for a bulk cooking day.

Chicken Cordon Bleu
boneless skinless chicken breasts
ham lunch meat (not too thin)
processed Swiss cheese slices(Find these with the American slices for grilled cheese sandwiches.)
crochet string
3 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp butter
2 cups chicken broth OR water and chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp pepper
Butterfly each breast half and separate to make 2 pieces. Pound each piece of chicken to an even thickness. Place 1 slice of cheese and 1 slice of ham on each piece of chicken. (If the ham is rectangular, cut in half and use 1/2 a slice for each piece of chicken.) Roll the chicken breast up with the ham and cheese on the inside. Wrap each piece 2 or 3 times with the string and tie. Freeze extra chicken now...see freezing instructions below. To cook...Dredge chicken in the flour. Heat butter in a deep skillet and add the chicken. Brown chicken on all sides...adding extra butter if needed. Add the leftover flour to the pan and cook 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, italian seasoning, and pepper to the skillet. Cover and cook 15-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through...stirring occasionally. Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.

FREEZE:
After assembling and tying chicken, place on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen solid. Move to a zip top baggie, date, and label. To thaw...remove desired amount of chicken from the bag and place in a covered container in the refrigerator overnight. Then, cook as directed.