Chicken Cordon Bleu

This recipe is from Cook's Country. We had this for dinner on Christmas Eve. I was surprised the Ritz crackers stayed crunchy. There is no sauce with this recipe.

25 Ritz crackers (about 3/4 sleeve)
4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
8 thin slices deli ham
2 C. shredded Swiss cheese
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 oz. each)
salt and pepper
3 eggs
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard (like Grey Poupon)
1 C. all-purpose flour

1. Make Crumbs: Adjust the oven racks to the lowest and middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees. Pulse crackers and bread in food processor until coarsely ground. Drizzle in butter; pulse to incorporate. Bake crumbs on rimmed baking sheet on  middle rack, stirring occasionally, until light brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a shallow dish. Leave oven on.

2. Stuff Chicken: Top each ham slice with 1/4 cup cheese and roll tightly; set aside. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Cut pocket in thickest part of chicken, and stuff each breast with two ham/cheese rolls. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken to plate and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes.

3. Coat and Bake: Beat eggs and mustard in second shallow dish. Place flour in third shallow dish. One at a time, coat stuffed chicken lightly with flour, dip into egg mixture, and dredge in crumbs, pressing to adhere. Transfer chicken to clean baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees on lowest rack until bottom of chicken is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Move baking sheet to middle rack and reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake until chicken is golden brown and chicken registers 160 degrees, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer chicken to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Serve.

Notes: I found that the ham/cheese rolls were sometimes too big to fit into the chicken. When that happened, I just cut the rolls in half. After the chicken is stuffed use your hands to try to close the pocket. The refrigeration helps the chicken stay closed. To save time, I prepared the chicken ahead and refrigerated it overnight. The next day I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper and then followed the instructions in Step 3. The recipe recommends Black Forest ham, but any variety will probably work.