Chicken Cordon Bleu

This month's Progressive Eats menu takes a stroll down memory lane from each of its contributors. Lana from Never Enough Thyme challenged us to cook up a bit of nostalgia and comfort food from our childhood. At first I wasn't sure which way to go since I've already made so many of my childhood favorites like Chicken a la King, Chicken Corn Chowder, Chicken Pot Pie, and Chicken Noodle Soup. But then I remembered something that I hadn't shared yet that holds a special place in my heart—Chicken Cordon Bleu.

I guess I didn't realize it before now, but there seems to be a theme to some of my favorite childhood foods. I was going to suggest that chicken was easy to come by back then until I realized that a couple of those dishes actually originated from a can. But not this one. Chicken roll-up night was always a favorite in our house, and us kids were always tasked with pounding out the chicken breasts as thin as we could get them without ripping them (much).

Chicken Cordon Bleu Mac and Cheese

I know today is the first day of Spring, but since it doesn't officially start until 10:45 pm tonight—I'm going to slide in one last comfort food dish. Okay, I can't actually guarantee it's the last one; you never know when the mood may strike. But you know, in the spirit of the weather turning warm(ish) and all...

So yes, this dish. It had been dancing around in my head for quite some time before I actually made it happen. I'd been thinking back to some of my favorite foods growing up. There were certain meals that I always looked forward to. Chicken a la King, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Cordon Bleu...and I loved it when I heard my dad pounding out some chicken in the kitchen. That meant we were having either Chicken Cordon Bleu or Pepperoni Chicken Rolls. Hmmmm, I sense a theme here.

The funny thing is, even though these are some of my favorite childhood meals, I don't find myself making them very often for my own kids. What's wrong with me? I mean, chicken noodle soup and chicken pot pie are fairly regular, but none of the others. When I mentioned chicken cordon bleu, my kids looked at me without recognition registering on their faces. I mean, surely I'd made it once or twice before. Right? I racked my brain and think the last time I made it, my 17-year old was about 3 or 4. That meant that he didn't remember, and my two younger ones had never tried it. #momfail