Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu

Are you getting tired of grilling out yet?  Nope, me neither!  I have, however, gotten my fill of burgers and brats, so I've been trying out some more creative recipes for the grill.  Angela at Joyously Domestic posted a recipe earlier this month for Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu and I thought that was a genius idea.  I would never have come up with it on my own because I would have assumed that the cheese would melt and run completely out of the chicken.  But Angela's chicken looked amazing, so I decided I had to try it.  I wanted to try it on Sunday when we had friends over for dinner, but right at dinnertime it started storming like crazy.  There was no grilling to be done that day!  So I tried it the next evening.  I didn't follow Angela's recipe exactly; she assembled and marinated her chicken breasts ahead of time, but I skipped that step.  Here's how I made mine.

Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients:
4 large boneless chicken breasts
12-16 slices deli ham
6-8 slices Swiss cheese, cut in half
Seasonings of your choice

Directions:
Preheat grill for indirect heat.

Slice each chicken breast horizontally through the fattest part, being careful not to cut it all the way through.  Stuff each pocket with 3-4 slices of ham and 1½ to 2 slices of cheese.  Season outside of chicken breasts however you like.

Grill chicken over indirect heat until no longer pink inside, about 20 minutes, flipping once.  Grill time will depend on how thick your chicken is.

Makes 4-8 servings.

Easy peasy!  And so yummy!  You can use any white cheese you like.  I actually used Gouda, and well, it was really good-a!  (Sorry, couldn't resist.)  Havarti would be really tasty too, I think.  The seasoning that I used on mine was a combination of Penzey's Ruth Ann's Muskego Ave and some smoked paprika.  

This chicken turned out so moist and flavorful.  The grill gave it a really lovely smoky flavor.  And the cheese didn't melt out of it.  I listed the servings as 4-8 because this will depend on how big your breasts are.  I get my chicken breasts from Sam's and they are monsters!  Often over a pound each.  It's nice in one way because you will have no problem stuffing a chicken breast that size, but it will definitely be more than one serving.  Neither my husband nor I could finish one.  So we had them for lunch the next day.  So if you're using really big ones, you could easily feed 8 with 4 breasts.

Here are a few pics of the process:

Cutting out a little pocket for the ham and cheese.  I guess it's really more of a flap, because the chicken doesn't have to completely cover the ham and cheese.

Ham and cheese.  Thin-sliced ham works best.

Insert ham and cheese.  I did two pieces of ham and one piece of cheese (folded in half) to begin, and then after I took this pic I decided it needed more, so I added another two pieces of ham and another half piece of cheese.

Fold flap over.  It's ok if the ham and cheese stick out a bit.

Fully seasoned and ready for the grill!

I served these with my Honey Mustard Potato Slices and some lovely sauteed yellow squash.  It was a lovely summer meal.  So if you are stuck in a burgers and brats rut, give this chicken a try!