Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu:

-4 whole chicken breasts
-4 slices bacon
-4 slices Swiss cheese
-8-12 pieces dried beef
1 can cream of mushrooms soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. 5-minute rice
Salt & pepper, to taste
Toothpicks

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray large glass pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Cut slit in middle of chicken breasts, so that you can insert one slice swiss cheese. Double-over, if necessary. Season outside of chicken generously with salt & pepper.

3. Wrap each chicken breast with 2-3 pieces of dried meat. Then, wrap each breast with one piece of bacon. Secure with toothpick.

4. Add rice to bottom of dish.

5. Place chicken on top of rice. Cover with both soups, and one can of water.

6. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until top chicken begins to brown. Remove from oven, cover with foil.

7. Bake, covered, for additional 15-20 minutes until rice is cooked & fluffs with fork. Enjoy!

Best-Ever Steak Marinade

I won't use anything else - nature & simplicity at it's best! Great on London Broil, ribeyes, New York Strips, you name it. The natural tenderizes are in the marinade, so you work less & eat sooner.

Steak Marinade (for 2 good sized-steaks):

1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. worchestershire sauce
3 cloves fresh garlic, pressed or chopped fine
3 tsp. red wine vinegar
3 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp. minced dried onions
Fresh ground sea salt & pepper, to taste

1. Sprinkle steaks with salt & pepper, to taste. Use the back of a fork to rub in the spices, pricking the steak occasionally.

2. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a Zip-Loc bag. Mix well. Add steaks. Marinate for 1 hour, up to 3 days.

3. Grill steaks, to personal preference. This marinate is great on steaks cooked medium & under.

4. Let steaks rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing. This gives the meat to chance to finish cooking, and tenderize with juices.

5. Slice or cut, and enjoy! GREAT with Roasted Smashed Potatoes, salad & garlic bread.

Roasted Smashed Potatoes w/ Unlimited Toppings

This recipe is one I've used over & over, always with fantastic results. Incredibly simple to prepare! Toppings can be any thing you'd like to use - so, sky's the limit!  Topping idea's follow recipe.

Quick kitchen note - make sure to use unsalted butter, as the salted kind will burn too quickly, and will also skyrocket the sodium content. This recipe is GREAT for parties, and be doubled or tripled, as needed. These particular measurements will feed 8-10 people, planning on 4-5 potatoes, per person. You may also cut it in half, to feed a family or 3 or 4. If doubling or tripling, plan on 1.5 hours to cook all batches - you need to cook each batch separately, then pour into a large dish, and cover with foil to keep warm. Will stay warm up to 3 hours.



Roasted Smashed Potatoes

3 lbs. small potatoes, washed & dried (Yukon Gold mini's, Fingerlings or tiny red potatoes)
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped fine
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/4 c. pure olive oil (Not EVOO- it will burn)
1 tsp. sea salt
fresh cracked pepper, to taste

1. Turn large burner on high heat. In a large pot with lid, drop in butter. Allow to melt & slightly brown, while preparing potatoes, about 3 minutes.

2. Make sure potatoes are clean, washed & dried. When butter has started to brown, turn heat down slightly & add potatoes to hot pot. Stir well, so that every potato is covered in melted butter. Cover, and let roast for 5 minutes undisturbed.

3. Remove lid. Turn heat to medium. Add garlic, sea salt, pepper & olive oil to pot, stirring to be sure to coat potatoes well. Re-cover. Roast for 10 minutes.

4. Remove lid & check potatoes. They should be brown on the bottom. Stir well. Re-cover, let roast for 5 minutes.

5. For the final time, remove lid. With a sturdy glass, smash the potatoes down into the liquid, so they will start to cook inside, and create a great crust on the outside. Roast, uncovered, 5 minutes more.

6. Remove from heat. Pour all contents of pot into large serving dish. Place several bowls of your favorite toppings around the potato serving dish, and allow guests to make their own creation. Serve warm, and enjoy!


Ideas for toppings:

-Butter
-Sour Cream
-Crumbled bacon
-Goat cheese
-Tony Sachere Cajun Seasoning Salt
-Mixed cheese blend - Taco Mix or Cheddar Mix
-Diced green onions
-Pico de gallo, or fresh Roma tomatoes, diced
-Vidalia onion, chopped fine
-Variety of steak sauces & dressings (bleu cheese or Heintz 57 is our fave!)
-Chopped steak or chicken
-Black olives, chopped
-Sauteed mushrooms
-French's Fried Onions pieces
-Fresh guacamole

Simple Apple Cobbler

Such an easy way to make a great homemade apple cobbler. Including baking time, the whole thing takes less than 40 minutes.

Apple Cobbler:

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 egg
1 c. self-rising flour
1 c. milk
1/4 tsp. rum flavoring
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. apple pie spice
1 can apple filling (Musselman's is my favorite)
1/2 stick butter

1. Preheat oven to 325. In 9 x 13 glass baking dish, place half the butter. Place in oven & let melt, until butter is slightly browned.

2. In medium-sized bowl, mix all dry ingredients with a fork until well blended.

3. Make 3 wells in dry ingredients, one larger than the other two. In first small well, pour egg (lightly beaten, but not frothy). In second small well, pour extracts. In larger well, pour milk. Whisk everything together until well blended. There should be no lumps.

4. Remove pan from oven. Swirl melted butter to coat bottom & all sides of dish. Dish is HOT - use oven mitts to swirl.

5. Pour 2/3 of the batter into the dish. Evenly distribute apples over batter.

6. Pour the rest of the batter evenly over apples.

7. Dot the top of the cobbler with small pieces of butter. Place in hot oven. Turn heat down to 300.

8. Bake cobbler for 20 minutes. Cobbler should be slightly browned on top. Cover with foil & bake until done, when knife inserted in the center comes up clean (about 8-10 minutes more).

9. Serve warm, with caramel sauce or vanilla ice cream on top. Enjoy!