Cordon Bleu Croquettes

My husband is a kid at heart - aren't we all? On the rare occasions we eat fast food, he'll be the first to order chicken nuggets, chicken rings, chicken tenders, etc. Just like my young niece and young toddlers of friends, it seems like everyone has a love of small, bite sized chicken. Playing on the idea of chicken nuggets, I prepared these Cordon Bleu Croquettes that take chicken nuggets to a more grown up level.

I found a recipe on Rachel Ray's website and used it as an inspiration for my own spin. I used ground turkey instead of chicken combined with chopped ham and formed meatballs. Tucked in each meatball is a cube of swiss cheese. The meatballs are coated with panko breadcrumbs (for a great crispy crunch) and fried until golden. Now every chicken nugget needs some kind of dipping sauce so for this, we paired it with a garlic mustard. Who knows, maybe we can introduce this to kids and see if we can develop their palates even more...

Cordon Bleu Croquettes
recipe inspired by Rachel Ray

1 pound ground turkey breast
4 thin slices baked ham, chopped fine
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning or ground thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 pound chunk Swiss cheese, cubed
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs for coating
Olive oil, for frying

In a medium bowl, combine the turkey, ham, onion, poultry seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper. Take a cube of swiss chese and form a meatball around it with the turkey/ham mixture.

In a small bowl, place the breadcrumbs and roll each meatball in the breadcrumbs to coat.

In a large skillet, heat 1 inch olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the coated meatballs and fry, turning once, until browned, about 4-6 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.