Chicken Cordon Bleu Meatballs

Our sister Orra used to make the best chicken cordon bleu. I can remember her having to pound out the chicken, bread it and then fry it. I usually have a hard time trying to pound out a chicken breast. It can go sideways for me very quickly. I thought maybe using ground chicken would be easier for me. 

While it doesn't really save any time compared to Orra's way, I do find it much more simple. I believe I got 4 servings of 3 meatballs each out of this recipe when serving it with egg noodles.  

Cheese, chicken, creamy sauce - so many things to love here. 

Chicken Cordon Bleu Meatballs

Ingredients

Mustard Cream Sauce

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 cup milk

salt & pepper

1/4 cup whipping cream (heavy cream)

2 tsp prepared mustard

1 tsp chicken bouillon powder

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded 

Meatballs

1 lb ground chicken

salt & pepper

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

4 slices deli ham

4 slices Swiss cheese

3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

2 eggs beaten

1 Tbsp milk

To Cook

canola oil (enough to cover 1/3 up the sides of the skillet)

Directions

Prepare the mustard cream sauce - Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour in and whisk until smooth. Continue whisking as you slowly pour in the milk, salt & pepper, and cream. Whisk until smooth. 

Add in the mustard, bouillon, and Worcestershire. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Once it has thickened, remove from heat and stir in the wine and Parmesan cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Set sauce aside and keep warm until meatballs are done.

Prepare the meatballs - In a mixing bowl, combine chicken, salt & pepper, egg, and panko. Mix well and form into 12 balls.

Cut the ham and Swiss cheese slices into 4 pieces each. Make little stacks of the ham and cheese to go inside the meatballs. In a bowl, combine the panko and Parmesan. In another bowl, combine the beaten eggs and Tbsp of milk. 

Flatten a meatball slightly in the palm of your hand. Place one stack of the ham and cheese in the meatball and pinch the meat up around it. Re-roll to shape into a meatball again.

Dip the meatball into the eggs and then roll in the breadcrumb/Parmesan mixture to evenly coat. 

repeat until all meatballs are formed and ready to be cooked. 

Heat the canola oil to 350 degrees in a large skillet. Place the meatballs into the hot oil.

Gently turn each meatball to cook all sides until meatballs are cooked through. Watch closely so you don't burn the meatballs. When meatballs are almost done - make sure your sauce is still heated. 

When done, remove the meatballs from the oil and place on paper towels to drain off any excess oil. Carefully move the oil off the heat and let it cool completely before discarding it (or saving it for another use). 

Serve hot over noodles or rice with the sauce. 

Love the bit of melty cheese peeking out!

Note - the sauce and meatballs can be made ahead of time. For the sauce - prepare as above to the point it is done and just being warmed. Remove from heat and place in covered, microwave safe container. Let cool and keep in fridge for up to 2 days. Simply reheat when ready to use. 

I have prepped the meatballs to the point where they are ready to go in the oil and then covered and refrigerated them for up to 6 hours - I'm sure they would be fine overnight -  (ie: made them at breakfast time and chilled until dinner time). Then let them sit at room temp for about half an hour before continuing to cook as above.