Half Baked Doubles Down

4 chicken Breasts

Bread Crumbs

8 pieces of Bacon

Gouda Cheese

Pepperjack Cheese

Meat mallet, rolling pin, frying pan, or flat rock (depending on your tool of choice)

Who doesn’t love taking their pent up anger out on chicken? To begin, place chicken breasts between two sheets of wax paper and pound flat. The professionals use a meat mallet, your everyday cooks use a rolling pin, and MacGyvers use a frying pan or large flat rock… whatever your tool of choice, is you want to beat the chicken flat until it’s about 1/4 inch thick.

Meanwhile, pre-cook your bacon so it is just starting to crisp. Pat dry to minimize grease. Add two strips of bacon broken up to each breast. Top with Gouda and pepperjack cheese, then roll. The rolling is the tricky part. The thinner your breasts, the easier it will be to roll your chicken cordon bleu. What you’re going for is a delicious center of creamy melted cheese and bacon surrounded by chicken breast. Think of it like chicken sushi… (this is, after all, a double down).

Once you’ve successfully rolled your chicken breasts, coat them with bread crumbs, place them on a baking sheet and pop them into the oven. After 20 minutes flip the breasts to cook evenly on both sides. Total cooking time depends on how thick/thin your chicken breasts are, however it will take around 35 minutes.

Once you’re ready, add a dollop of chipotle sauce (recipe follows) to your Southwest Chicken Cordon bleu and enjoy!

These chewy cutlets may look like chicken tenders, but they are 100% veggie. This recipe is taken from the vegan cooking goddesses, Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, of the Post Punk Kitchen.

If you’re wondering what vital wheat gluten is…it’s flour made from the natural protein found in wheat, and in the veggie/vegan world, it’s fantastic for making foods with a “meat-like” texture. You can find it in most grocery stores; Bob’s Red Mill is one common brand.

2 cups canned Chickpeas
1 cup vital wheat gluten
1 cup breadcrumbs
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, pressed or grated
Approx. 1 tsp each of dried thyme and dried sage
1 ½ tsp Hungarian paprika (or regular paprika is fine- I just use Hungarian because it’s slightly smoky)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mash chickpeas in mixing bowl.  Add in all of the other ingredients and knead into a dough.  Form into cutlets, the recipe should make around 8.  Put some olive oil in a frying pan and heat it on medium. Pan fry the cutlets in batches until they are browned and a little crunchy on both sides. Put on paper towels to drain if needed.

Both of these Double Downs were topped with Chipotle Mayonaise. You’ll need:

1 cup mayo
Chipotle Peppers in Adobo, chopped
Sprinkle of Cayenne pepper
Dash of hot sauce

For the veggie double down, we mixed the chipotle mayo with some pre-chopped cole slaw mix.

So if you’re in need of a fun recipe or a conversation starter, check these homemade Double Downs out!