de-Frenched Chicken Cordon Bleu

How do you de-French Chicken Cordon Bleu? Well, for starters, it's not fried in butter, half and half, or white wine. I also added vitamin & iron rich green leafy spinach. Don't get me wrong, I adore a good Beurre Blanc sauce. Seriously, don't get me started on French cuisine - I dream of Nutella stuffed croissants, creme brulee, crepes drenched with Grand Marnier, crispy & chewy perfectly baked french bread as well as all of their amazingly rich and decadent sauces, not to mention their cheese! Yum. However; French cuisine is not the type of food my family eats on a regular basis. So we press forward in our quest to eat well and still enjoy some kind of French influence in our meals. Because if there is one thing the French know how to do with flare and finesse: it's eat.

How to make de-Frenched Chicken Cordon Bleu:

Filet as many chicken breasts as needed & open the breast to receive the goodness.
Lay a thin slice of deli ham, one slice of swiss cheese and a healthy stack of fresh spinach leaves.
Close the breast. Drizzle with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, parsely, sage. Next, pile on the veggies, any veggies will do.

We added onion....

Add chopped carrots....

And peeled, cubed potatoes.

Drizzle with evoo again and seasonings again.

Bake @ 425 degrees for 30-ish minutes - perhaps longer if the potatoes are still crunchy.

Enjoy.

Tortilla Soup, from scratch

 Turn this lovely pile of vegetables into Dinner!

Lish's Tortilla Soup - this is one of my all time favorites. 

So healthful, flavorful and economical if you are feeding a crowd. 

1) Boil 1-2 breast(s) of chicken - allow to cool, then shred and set aside
I am the master at stretching meat, and since there are beans in this soup as well, you don't need a chicken breast per person, you just need the taste of it present. I usually calculate 1 breast per three persons.
Also, don't over boil chicken. It makes it tough and chewy. Boil it over medium-high heat, keep an eye on it, use an internal thermometer to check it periodically and pull it off the heat once it reaches 160 degrees.

2) In heavy-grade blender, blend up 3 cups of the broth from the chicken you just boiled, with about 2 tablespoons of corn kernels. Blend it until the kernels disappear and it doesn't sound like a jet is landing in your kitchen any longer.... The corn kernels impart a nice authentic corn flavor.
Please use caution when blending hot liquids. Increase speed slowly, allowing the steam to vent through the removable plastic circle piece found on all blender lids. Cover the hole with a dish towel.

3)I love this recipe for it's versatility and nurition content.
Add in any/all of the following veggies:
 1 carrot stick, 1 celery stalk, 1 small yellow onion,  1-2 tomatoes, 1/2 of a medium sized zucchini or squash, 1" thick slice of cabbage, 1/2 of any color bell pepper, and a healthy sized bunch of fresh cilantro. For a little kick, consider adding a serano and/or a jalapeno pepper. I typically dice the peppers into smaller pieces before blending to ensure that there are no "chunks" of spicy pepper in anyone's bowl.

4)On stovetop, in large soup pot; add the following:
1 can of pinto or black beans; drained (or a can of each for a larger crowd)
1/2 bag of frozen sweet corn
shredded chicken from step #1
Season with 1+ teaspoon each: salt, pepper, cumin, and some variety of chile powder.
Seasoning is always done to taste by the person cooking it, the only thing to be cautious of is salt. Otherwise, bring on the flavor, baby!

5) Pour the blended vegetables over the chicken, beans, and corn and stir together. Bring to a low boil to allow flavor to meld.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, slices of avocado, chopped cilantro, sliced green onion and tortillas chips. All of the toppings are very enjoyable for guests to build their bowl to their personal liking. Enjoy!