Sunday, June 8, 2008

Baked Chicken, Ham and Cheese Bundles

Ok, this one is something that I did a few days ago when I wanted to do something different. Basically it is a chicken breast wrapped in ham and cheese and then all baked up in pastry. To me chicken+ham+cheese+bread= good stuff. It has a few steps, but still pretty easy. Really impressive for company too. I know that this only calls for 2 chicken breasts, but believe me it will serve 3 adults easy. Andy likes to eat this with some Ranch on the side...of course.

You Will Need:
2 Chicken Breasts
1 can of Ready to Bake Pizza Crust. (Crescent Rolls will work too, just roll the whole sheet out and do not separate them into triangles. Then moosh the seems together to make 1 big sheet of dough.)
8 slices of Ham
4 slices of Provolone or Swiss Cheese
2 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard
1 Egg (Optional)
Salt and Pepper

Here's What You Do:
Lightly salt and pepper chicken breasts on both sides. (Go easy on the salt, the ham and cheese are both salty.)
Cook each breast in a small amount of extra virgin olive oil.
Let chicken slightly cool and then put in the fridge for 30 minutes. (You want to cool the chicken all the way through so that it won't over-cook when you bake it in the oven.)
Heat oven to 350.
Take the pizza dough or crescent and lay flat. Cut dough down the middle into 2 equal parts.
In the center of each piece of dough spread some of the Dijon mustard. On top of the mustard place 2 pieces of ham, 1 piece of cheese and then top with the whole chicken breast. Then place the other piece of cheese and the other 2 pieces of ham on top of the chicken.
Gather the edges of the dough and wrap up all of the ingredients into a nice little bundle. Don't be afraid if the dough tears or if you need to take some off one side to close up a whole on the other. They don't need to look perfect. If you want to brush the top of the bundles with some egg wash, feel free.
Bake for 35 minutes or until crust is golden and cooked through. Since the filling is already cooked, you are really just baking the dough. But you don't want to bake at 375 like the dough directions say or it will cook too fast and the inside won't get hot enough.

2 comments:

Jamie Mullins said...

Sounds UH-mazing!! I think this sounds like something Tyler would really eat up!

Jessica Rolf said...

I love your blog Emily because you use words like "moosh" in your instructions, and I totally understand what you are talking about!