Cheesy Chicken Cordon Bleu Meal Makeover

This is an old favorite recipe of mine that underwent a “meal makeover” with the Meal Makeover Moms Janice and Liz, making it not only easy and tasty, but healthy, too! I won a meal makeover consultation a month or two ago, and I had a blast chatting with Janice and Liz on the phone in April as we discussed some of my recipes that might need a little healthy boost. This ended up being the recipe that stood out the most.

I made the new and improved Chicken Cordon Bleu for my family last week, and everyone loved it, even my teen who normally doesn’t like the swiss cheese-ham combo on her chicken. She asked for seconds and then had some for lunch the next day. Score!

5.0 from 6 reviews

Cheesy Chicken Cordon Bleu

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The flavor of this dish shines thanks to the Holland House cooking wine. Our families enjoy this saucy dish with brown rice and steamed broccoli florets on the side. You could also serve it with whole grain noodles and just about any other veggie: peas, asparagus, carrots … you name it.

Author: Meal Makeover Moms

Recipe type: main dish

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

½ cup all-purpose flour plus 3 tablespoons, divided
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 x 3-inch strips (32 total)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
½ cup Holland House Cooking Wine
½ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon celery seed
1½ cups 1% low-fat milk
1 cup all-natural chicken broth
6 ounces diced spiral or honey-baked ham (1 cup)
2 ounces low-fat Swiss cheese, chopped or shredded (about ½ cup)

Instructions

Place ½ cup of the flour, the pepper, and salt in a large bowl and stir to combine. Toss the chicken in the flour mixture until each piece is well coated.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add half of the chicken pieces and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and repeat with 1 more tablespoon oil and the remaining chicken. Adjust the heat to medium if the chicken browns too quickly. Remove the chicken to a plate when done.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, the remaining 3 tablespoons of flour, the basil, paprika, and celery seed and whisk constantly until smooth, about 2 minutes. Whisk the cooking wine into the flour mixture until well incorporated and the wine has cooked off a bit, about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and broth until well combined. Raise the heat and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer and stir gently until the mixture thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir the chicken and ham into the milk mixture and simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove from the heat, stir in the cheese until it melts, and serve on individual plates with your favorite vegetable and whole grain starch.

Notes

Nutrition Information per Serving: 340calories, 13g fat (3.0g saturated), 590mg sodium, 13g carbohydrate, 0g fiber, 37g protein, 15% calcium

Janice and Liz also made a video of the recipe for those of you who do well with visual cues.

A huge thank you to the Meal Makeover Moms for everything!

About Lolli

Lolli has written 2178 posts on this blog.

I became a mom in 1996, and in 2005 I had my fifth. Yes, 5 kids. In 2007, this blog was born (my 6th baby that will never grow up) and I've been sharing recipes, photography tricks, parenting tips, and everything in between. You can also find me writing at Home Made Simple, Famous Footwear blog and P&G Everyday. *Add my posts to your Google Reader today!*