Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ingredients:
4 chicken breast portions
2 thick slices of ham
2 thick slices of swiss cheese
Salt
Pepper
McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning
Honey
Dijon Mustard
Dried rosemary (optional)
Preheat Oven to 400º
1. Place chicken breasts into large zip-lock bag, one at a time, and pound with tenderizing mallet (or something hard, like a can of corn). Just enough to help flatten the chicken breast.
2. Lay flat on cutting board and season the top-side with salt, pepper and montreal steak seasoning.
3. Cut both the ham and swiss cheese slices in half. Place a slice of each on one half of each chicken breast.
4. Flip the other side of the chicken breast over the ham and cheese. Then season the top with salt and pepper (to taste).
5. In a small bowl, mix equal parts honey and dijon mustard (approx. 1 TBSP each). Mix well.
6. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and place chicken breasts on the cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart. Drizzle with honey mustard.
7. Sprinkle dried rosemary on top of the honey mustard for a little extra flavor. (optional)
8. Bake at 400º for 30 minutes or until chicken breast internal temperature reaches 160º.
Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Ingredients:
2 cans black-eyed peas
1 small can (8.5 oz) or 1/2 regular can (15 oz) italian style diced tomatoes
1 small can or 1/2 regular can yellow whole kernel corn
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 red/purple onion, diced
Fresh Cilantro
Italian dressing
Salt
McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning
1. Drain both cans of black-eyed peas and empty into a large bowl.
2. Drain both the canned corn and canned tomatoes and add to black-eyed peas. (I usually buy the regular sized can, 15 oz. Use half of each and save the rest to incorporate in meals later on in the week.)
*Frozen black-eyed peas and corn work well too! They are more cost effective, but take an addition 30-45 minutes to prepare.
3. Red bell peppers come in all different sizes. Depending on the size of your pepper and your liking of red pepper, remove all seeds and membranes, dice accordingly (1/2 pepper-1 whole pepper) and add to your bowl.
*Do not substitute a different colored pepper for the red pepper. The red pepper has a sweeter, milder flavor than the yellow or green bell peppers. If you go through the self-check out at Wal-mart, you can ring up your red bell pepper as a green bell pepper at half the cost.
4. Similarly, depending on the size and your liking of onion, dice accordingly. My family loves onions, so half of an onion is usually the perfect amount.
5. Pull a hand-full of fresh cilantro leaves from the bunch and mince. Add to bowl.
6. Add salt and McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning to taste.
7. Add Italian dressing a little at a time, mix well, and taste as you go. Keep adding until you have reached your desired flavor. I like to use Ken's Steakhouse Lite Northern Italian.
8. Mix all ingredients well. You can enjoy the salad right away, or refrigerate over-night to allow the ingredients to marry for an even better flavor the following day!
Home-made Croutons
Ingredients:
French or sourdough loaf/baguette
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
1. Cut off a few 1-inch slices from your loaf /baguette. I happened to have an "everything" style french loaf on hand.
2. Make an aluminum foil "bowl". Cube bread into bite size pieces and toss in your "bowl".
*I like to make an aluminum foil bowl because it gets the job done and you can just toss it in the trash when your done! Yay for no clean up!
3. Drizzle with the olive oil. Then sprinkle a little garlic and onion powder. Toss cubes with your hands. Repeat drizzle and sprinkle steps until most of the bread has a light coating of the olive oil/garlic/onion powder mixture.
4. Toss in the toaster oven at 400º for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and gently toss. Place back in toaster oven for an addition 5 minutes. Repeat if necessary to achieve a good crisp crouton. Be careful to not over-bake. They will burn easily.
*If you do not have a toast oven, place them in the oven next to or under your chicken. Follow the same process.
5. Add to salad. I like to keep it simple by buying whole romaine hearts. I chop the lettuce into bite size pieces, add shredded cheese, and whatever dressing we have on hand.
*you could also add some of the diced red bell pepper to your salad.
