Chicken Cordon Bleu

I am not a big fan of Swiss cheese. I only eat it in a few things - Reuben Sandwiches and this recipe. The husband seems to like it no matter what, but I just think it has the wrong taste for me. I am broadening my horizons with cheese, don't get me wrong, but as a girl raised on American cheese, this always tasted a little weird to me.

That said, I got this recipe from dLife. And it's really tasty. We use Black Forest Ham, and a fairly high quality (and sometimes, Guyere) Swiss. We have also finally been able to afford Foster Farms chicken, instead of the icky stuff (fatty, and veiny) that comes in a bulk bag. Things are starting to taste better! This is a fairly easy recipe to make, and we served it with lightly steamed broccoli. Fabulous dinner!

Chicken Cordon Bleu
(Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients
8 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 small)
2 oz sliced, smoked ham , cut in half
2 oz Cheese, Swiss, reduced fat, thin slice, cut in half
1 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp white all purpose flour
1 cooking spray
1/3 cup fresh chopped onion*
2 1/2 oz Soup, cream of chicken, condensed, canned (1/4 can)

 
 1. Flatten each piece of chicken to about 1/4-inch thickness by placing the chicken breasts in between 2 sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap and then using a meat mallet or rolling pin to flatten them out.

2. Next, place one-half slice each of ham and cheese in the center of each chicken breast half. Roll up lengthwise, and then secure with wooden toothpicks.

 

3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Dip each chicken roll in egg and then dredge in flour. Place the chicken rolls seam side down into a shallow casserole dish coated with cooking spray.

4. Bake for 20 minutes. While baking, combine the onion and soup, stirring well. After the first 20-minute baking period, pour the soup mixture over the chicken and then continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the chicken is done.

*If you prefer, mushrooms may be substituted for the onion in this recipe.

Yummy!

Chicken Pot Pie

Sorry for the lack of posts, my husband and I have been really sick. Luckily, no H1N1, but just sick weirdness.

So, we have made a couple of wonderful dishes in the last week, but unfortunately, I did not take any pictures. And just for a warning, I am a terrible photographer. Some things turn out well, some things don't. Alright we got that out of the way, let's move on, shall we?

I had a craving one day for chicken pot pie, and just figured it was going to be too high in carbs or too hard to make. This recipe proves to be neither. I got it from dLife, of course. And I made a couple of tweaks to fit what I like to eat. The original recipe called for bell peppers and I do not like bell peppers except on my pizza. It also called for green beans, but I forgot to pick some up. So, instead, I used some mushrooms. I like the taste much better.

Without further ado, here is the recipe from dLife modified to my liking and a few notes added a long the way to help you out.

Ingredients:
1 lb. Skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp margarine
1 large onion, choped
3 med celery stalks, chopped
1 cup carrots, sliced
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
12 oz. poultry gravy, low sodium, prepared (such as Heinz)
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
2 tbsp white all-purpose flour
2 frozen 9" pie crusts (if you freeze them, be sure to leave 60-90 minutes for defrosting. If you refrigerate them, leave about 12-15 minutes)

Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2 Season the chicken with the poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.
3 In a large deep skillet or saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 teaspoon of the margarine.
4 Add the chicken and cook just until slightly pink in the center.
5 Remove to a cutting board. When cool, chop into bite size pieces.
6 Melt the remaining 1 teaspoon margarine in the same skillet or saucepan. Add the onion, celery, mushrooms, and carrots.
7 Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped chicken.
8 In a medium bowl, mix together the gravy, sour cream and flour.
9 Stir into the chicken mixture in the skillet or saucepan.
10 Scrape the filling into the prepared pie crust.
11 Carefully fit the top crust over the filling. Cut 3 to 5 slits in the top crust for ventilation.
12 Place the pie plate on a cookie sheet covered in foil (this tends to leak all over the inside of the oven)
12 Bake until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
13 Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

This was the first one that I made

I made this one tonight - my husband's eyes were bigger than his stomach.

This is great the first night, but even better the next couple of days. Enjoy!

The Way To Start The Day - Breakfast!

The first thing I had to change about my diet was breakfast. I was a little sad, because I am pretty much an easy in, easy out prep for breakfast - cereal. Unfortunately, that was not cutting it in the blood sugar department. Luckily, about that time, dlife - a Diabetic website - came out with a 7 day breakfast meal plan. I didn't like all of the choices, of course. So, I skipped some things, and tweaked others. I'm going to post a couple of my favorites. dLife listed reasons for the food choices they had, and so far, they seem to have worked for me.

On my weekends, I try to prep stuff for my breakfasts and lunches, so I don't have to spend too much time on it before work during the week. One of the things that I do, is prepare the nuts for a Greek Yogurt Parfait.

Nuts to Add to Greek Yogurt Parfait
1 Cup Almonds
1 Cup Macadamia Nuts
1 Tablespoon Ground Flax Seed
1 Tablespoon of butter/margarine
1 Tablespoon honey
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

I use a nut chopper and chop up about a 1/4 cup of nuts at a time, set them aside and add the flax seed. Melt butter and honey in a frying pan. Once melted, add all nuts/seeds and cinnamon. Toast over medium heat, making sure not to burn them.

Cool, and refrigerate for use later.

Greek Yogurt Parfait
1/2 cup of Greek Yogurt (plain)
2 Tablespoons Nut Mixture
1/4 Cup Berries
1 Teaspoon Splenda or other sweetener
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Add vanilla and sweetener to yogurt and mix with spoon. Add berries and nuts.

According to dLife, Greek yogurt has more protein and less carbs and is easier to digest than regular yogurt. It's also great for those that are lactose intolerant.

Fruit and Yogurt Smoothies
1/2 Cup Milk (I use 1 %)
1/2 Cup Greek yogurt
3/4 Cup Fresh or Frozen Fruit (my favorite is blackberries)
1 Tablespoon Wheat Germ or Flax Seed
Vanilla to taste
Sweetener to taste
Ice Cubes

If you use frozen fruit, put that in the blender first, if you use fresh fruit, put the ice cubes in first. Add milk, yogurt, fresh fruit (if not using frozen), vanilla, sweetener, and wheat germ/flax seed. Blend until liquid and smooth.

Steel Cut Oats
This takes some time, so I generally make it either the night before, or on my weekends.
This makes four servings - but it refrigerates well for later.
1 Cup Uncooked Steel Cut (Irish) Oats
1 Tablespoon Butter/Margarine/Oil
3 Cups Boiling water
1 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Chopped Fruit
1/2 Tablespoon Butter/Margarine
1 Teaspoon Flax seed

Toast uncooked Steel Cut Oats for 2 minutes in melted butter. Add boiling water. Cook for 25 minutes on med-low heat, stirring a few times during. Add milk and cook for 10 more minutes. Cover and set aside for 2 minutes. Spoon out into bowl and add butter, fruit (or dried cranberries, raisins, etc) and flax seed. You can substitute 2 Tablespoon Peanut Butter or 1/2 cup nuts, for the extras on here.

When reheating this - add a little milk or cream. It helps a lot with the consistency.

I hope this gives you some good starts for the day. I encourage you to check out dLife for some other ideas.