Chicken Cordon Blue meets Chicken Florentine

I found a recipe on Pinterest for a Chicken Cordon Blue casserole and thought "that would be easier than pounding out the chicken and stuffing it.. what else can I add?" We'll, since spinach is the easiest veggie to sneak in to dishes I thought that would work and then when I think of spinach and cheese and a creamy sauce I immediately crave the salty crunch from bacon.. So, out of all that, this dish was created. It has all the elements to satisfy your taste bud senses! 

You can make this dish and serve it immediately, make it ahead for dinner later, or even make it ahead for your freezer and have it stashed away for a night you want to take it easy. 

What you need:

4 chicken breasts (I butterfly mine for quicker cooking time)

2 tbl olive oil

1 tbl butter

Garlic salt and pepper

Deli sliced ham

1 cup shredded swiss cheese

1/4 lb diced cooked bacon

1 cup baby spinach leaves

2 tbl flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 tbl lemon juice

1 tbl dijon mustard

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 tsp granulated garlic

Non- stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil and butter over medium in a large skillet. Season chicken with garlic salt and pepper. Brown chicken in the skillet, just a few minutes per side. Once browned remove the chicken and set aside in baking dish. 

Return the skillet to the heat. Little brown bits of flavor and all. 

You should have about 2 tbl of the olive oil/ butter mixture left in the pan, if not, add a little butter. 

Add your flour to the pan. 

Whisk with olive oil/ butter and cook about a minute. 

Add milk slowly while whisking. And then add lemon juice and Dijon mustard. You may want to add a little salt and pepper to your taste at this point too. 

Now it's time to put it all together. 

On top of the chicken in the baking dish layer the ham, then the cheese, spinach, and bacon. 

Pour your mustard cream sauce over your layers. 

And top with panko bread crumbs and season lightly with granulated garlic. Spray your topping lightly with non- stick cooking spray ( to help with browning without adding butter). 

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked throughout, sauce is bubbly and topping is lightly browning. 

Serve with buttered noodles and parmesan cheese or a rice pilaf for a complete meal. 

This will serve 4-8 people depending on your appetite. 

Easy enough for a weeknight meal and impressive enough to serve to company. This is another recipe that you could make for dinner tonight and make a spare for the freezer at the same time. If you're cooking it from the refrigerator because you made it ahead of time or defrosted it add about 10 minutes to the oven cooking time. 

Yum!