Chicken Cordon Bleu is delicious, but it requires a lot of steps, making it less than convenient for a weeknight meal.  My solution is to use similar ingredients, but rather than pounding the meat, rolling it with the ingredients, and cooking it in a skillet, I place it in a baking dish, drape the ham, cheese, and additional ingredients over it, and bake it.  My husband, who loves both chicken and Swiss cheese, is a big fan.

 

1 1/2 lbs chicken cutlets

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 lb thinly sliced Swiss cheese (or more if you want this dish to be super cheesy)

1/2 lb Virginia ham, thinly sliced (or more if you’d like)

1 cup tomatoes, diced

1 tsp ground dried sage or 2 tsp finely chopped fresh sage

Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, cut the butter into pats and place it in the baking dish.  Put the baking dish in the oven for a few minutes until the butter is completely melted.  Remove the baking dish from the oven and swirl the butter around to coat the surface.

2. Place the chicken cutlets in the baking dish.  Turn them over a couple of times to coat them in the butter.  Sprinkle the cutlets with salt and pepper to taste, then sprinkle the sage over them.

3. Place two slices of ham on each cutlet, folding the ham if necessary to fit the surface.  Then, cover the ham with diced tomatoes.  Season with a little more salt, if desired.  Finally, lay a blanket of Swiss cheese on top, 3 slices per cutlet (of course, you can always use more cheese!).

4. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil, then put it in the oven to cook for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil for the last 5 minutes of the cooking time.  Serve warm.

Serves 4