Chicken Cordon Bleu

I tried this for the first time tonight and I can easily say that this meal will be served again and again in our home.  When my 2 year old devours his entire plate, I know the recipe is a keeper!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Without a slice of cheese on top

With a slice of cheese added

I'm surprised I could stop eating long enough to take this picture!

Ingredients:


3-4 boneless chicken breasts
8 slices Swiss Cheese
8 slices ham (choose ham from the deli)
1/2 C bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. paprika
2 eggs


Preheat oven to 400º.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.  Slice chicken longways, but not all the way through.  Sandwich a slice of swiss cheese between two slices of ham and place inside the chicken.  Fold closed and secure with toothpicks.  


Beat eggs slightly with a fork and pour onto a plate or a shallow dish.  Combine bread crumbs and paprika and pour onto a plate or shallow dish (seperate from the egg). 


Using your hands, dip and cover each breast in egg.  Then repeat in the bread crumb mixture. 


Place in the baking dish and put a small pat of butter on top of each breast. 


Cook about 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. 


Add another slices of swiss cheese on top of each breast and cook until melted. 


Serve with Outback Steakhouse Honey Mustard Sauce! 

Spaghetti Sauce

I  found this recipe in a magazine about a year ago.  It's simple, but T.A.S.T.Y!  I like a little tomato chunk in my sauce so this is a great recipe if you also like that sort of thing.  This sauce is juicy and since it's homemade, you can add as much or as little onions and seasonings as you prefer. 

Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, chopped very finely

2 cloves garlic, crushed with a press

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes in juice

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 C loosely packed fresh basil, chopped 

In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat until hot.  Add onions and cook until tender, stirring occasionally.  

Stir in garlic and tomato paste; cook about 1 minute.  Stir in tomatoes with their juice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4  teaspoon of pepper.  Heat on high heat until boiling.  Be sure to break up tomatoes with the back of the spoon or use a potato masher.  Cook about 15 minutes.  Stir in basil.  

*If not using right away, you can store in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

* If stored in the fridge, it will last about 3 days. 

Serve over your favorite pasta.  Don't forget the garlic bread!

Chicken and Stuffing

This is one of those meals I've had for years.  It's written down on an index card and I don't even know where I got it.  I just love stuffing and since it's cooked right along with the chicken and sauce, it is extra moist; just how stuffing should be!   

Chicken and Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups boiling water

4 Tbsp margarine, melted

1 box chicken flavored stuffing

4-6 boneless chicken breasts

paprika, to taste

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

1/3 cup milk

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 400º

2.  Mix water and margarine.  Add stuffing and fluff lightly

3.  Spoon stuffing across center of 3-qt shallow baking dish, leaving space on both sides for chicken.  Arrange chicken on each side of stuffing.  Sprinkle chicken with paprika.

4.  Mix soup, milk and parsley.  Pour over chicken. 

5.  Cover and bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is done. 

French Dip Sandwich

There is nothing better than a warm, toasted roast beef sandwich with melted cheese with grilled onions and peppers.  Okay, maybe all that with steamy Au Jus sauce to dip it in!  This is at the top of our list of favorites at our house!  

French Dip Sandwich

Ingredients:


1 package of hoagie rolls
1 lb of sliced roast beef (we prefer to get our meat directly from the deli)
1 green pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 package Provolone cheese
1-2 packages of Au Jus gravy mix


Set oven to broil. 


Prepare the Au Jus gravy as directed.  Place each slice of roast beef in gravy seperately.  Cook until meat and gravy heated through.  Avoid letting it boil. 


In a frying pan, coat with olive oil and saute peppers and onions until they are soft. (At our house we have to do the peppers seperate from the onions because SOMEONE doesn't like peppers)


Butter the rolls and build the sandwich.  Place meat, cheese, peppers and onions on the roll.  


Place in oven and toast until cheese is melted and roll is toasted. 


Pour some of the gravy into a small bowl for dipping. 


Enjoy!