2 free range organic chicken breast halves
4 slices baked ham (good quality deli ham is perfect)
2 slices organic cheese
Dijon mustard
freshly ground black pepper
6 slices of bacon
Preparation
Butterfly the chicken breast halves by making a long slice lengthwise into (but not through) the thickest part of the chicken. Open the chicken up, as if opening a book. Pound with a meat mallet until the thickness is roughly equal throughout the breast.
Spread the inside of the chicken breasts with a teaspoon or so of Dijon mustard. Season with black pepper. (No salt, you don’t need extra salt on this chicken with all the ham and bacon!)
Cut the cheese slices into strips about 1/2 inch wide, and a bit shorter than the length of the chicken breast (so they will stuff in there neatly). Stack the slices together into 2 stacks, one for each chicken breast half. Set aside.
Take 2 pieces of the deli ham and lay them together on a work surface. Overlap them partially, so that the total length of ham is around an inch longer than the cheese slices.
Put a cheese stack in the center of the ham slices, then fold the short ends over the cheese, and roll up like a burrito. This will keep the cheese from oozing out while baking! Repeat for the remaining ham and cheese.
Put the ham and cheese bundle on the chicken breasts, then wrap the chicken around the ham. Wrap 3 slices of bacon around the chicken in a spiral formation to hold the chicken together.
Secure with toothpicks if necessary.
Preheat an oven to 375F. Brown the chicken and bacon on all sides in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Transfer the chicken to the oven (in the skillet if oven-proof, or in a small baking dish).
Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until chicken is well-browned and internal temperature is 155-160F.
Remove from oven; allow chicken to rest, tented with foil, for at least 10 minutes. (The internal temp will continue to rise to complete cooking the chicken.)
Ready to serve! Enjoy!
