Chicken Cordon Bleu with Black-Eyed Pea and Corn Salad

Wow, what a fanatic piece of chicken! It was very moist and tasty. This is not your typical Chicken Cordon Bleu, as in a piece of chicken stuffed with ham and cheese. The ham and cheese are placed on top of the chicken after searing both sides of the chicken.

When it comes to side dishes I am a little lost, before searching for side dish I would have just made some white rice topped with butter. Well with the Chicken Cordon Blue, I found a nice little recipe for a Black-Eyed Peas and Corn Salad. I know what you are thinking really black-eyed peas… I not that big of a fan either, but I made myself just do it. I am so glad I did. I loved it. It’s the dressing that makes it yummy!

I am also in the process of learning to video edit using an Apple; here is a short video for the Chicken Cordon Bleu. Many years ago I worked at a TV station in the News Department. I loved shooting and editing video, but it’s been over ten years ago that even touched a video camera… So bear with me on this. I will film some of my cooking and other will just be pictures and others might just be the recipe.

I AM TRYING TO GET THE VIDEO TO POST... BUT HERE IS THERE THE RECIPES.

So enjoy. I am including the recipes in all blogs, the two for tonight’s meal is after the video.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast (5-6 oz each), trimmed and tenders removed
1/8 teaspoon black ground pepper (for spice mix)
3 tablespoons of shredded Swiss cheese
1 tablespoon reduced fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons of Panko breadcrumbs (Panko is a Japanese breadcrumb)
1 ½ teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 table spoon chopped ham
Salt and black pepper to rub on chicken

1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

2. Rub chicken with salt and black pepper.

3. Combine Swiss cheese and cream cheese in a bowl.

4. Combine the 1/8 teaspoon of pepper with Panko, parsley, and 1 teaspoon oil in another bowl.

5. Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a medium, over proof skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken until browned on both sides (about 2 minutes per side).

6. Move the chicken so that both pieces are touching in the center of skillet. Spread the cheese mixture on to the chicken, sprinkle with ham, and top the Planko mixture.

7. Bake chicken until the it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees (5 to 7 minutes)

Black-Eyed Pea and Corn Salad

1 cup frozen black-eyed peas cooked according to package (40-45 minutes)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn, thawed
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
4 ½ teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

1. Cook the peas according to the package directions and drain. In a bowl, combine the peas, corn, and onion.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, mustard, sugar, salt, and peppeer.

3. Pour the mixture over vegetables and toss to coat.

4. Serve warm or chilled.

The Cooking School Failed, but a idea...

Since I didn't have much time to write about Cooking Lessons with Martha Stewart, I am going to change it up. I am still going to cook using the Lessons of Martha Stewart, but I am going to write about the meals I make.

The meals I will be making are MEALS FOR TWO.

Tonight's Meal was BRIAN'S LAZY MAN'S LASAGNA. What makes this a lazy man's lasagna is I hate dealing with trying to spread the cheese mixture, so instead of spreading the cheese... I use 4 Cheese Ravioli in place of cheese mixture and lasagna noodles.

I tried something new for this dish tonight, most of the time I just use store bought Pasta Sauce. I stepped out of the box this time and made my own pasta sauce. So the first step of this is making the sauce. This is made with ALL FRESH Ingredients.

What is needed for BRIAN'S TOMATO PEPPER PASTA SAUCE. Its not hot... the Pepper is Bell Pepper.

What's needed:
4 large tomatoes
½ of a red bell pepper, seeded and diced
½ of a onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the tomatoes carefully to the water, and boil the tomatoes skin begins to split. Remove from the water, cool under cold running water, and peel off the skin.

2. Place tomatoes into a medium skillet, and mash with a potato masher. Mix in the bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes or until the onions and peppers are tender. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

While BRIAN'S TOMATO PEPPER PASTA SAUCE was cooking, I started working on my LAZY MAN LASAGNA. Since this Meals for two, the Lasagnas were made individual 4 inch ramekin. One for each person.

So preheat the oven (I use a toaster oven) to 350 Degrees and start a pot of water to boiling to cook the Cheese Ravioli according to package. I have used fresh ravioli or frozen... either work.

What's needed:

1 batch of Brian’s Tomato Pepper Pasta Sauce
16 Cheese ravioli, according to package
½ of a red bell pepper, seeded and diced
½ of a onion, coarsely chopped
½ link of Smoked Sausage (Turkey or Beef), sliced you need at least 8 pieces
1 tablespoon oil
½ cup Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook Cheese Ravioli according to package. Heat oil in a skillet; add the bell pepper, onion, and sausage. Cook sausage until browned.

3. Place a small spoon full of pasta sauce in the bottom of a 4” ramekin.

4. Place a layer of ravioli. Add a layer of sausage mixture, then top with pasta sauce. Repeat this step one more time.

5. Place half of the cheese on each of the lasagnas.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.