Chicken Cordon Bleu with a twist

Recipe Title: Chicken Cordon Bleu with a twist (click here to go to my YouTube Video)

By: Miriam Borys

Yield:  5

Ingredients:

5 chicken breasts (skinless & boneless)
5 swiss cheese slices
¼ cup goats cheese
¾ cup fresh spinach leaves
¼ cup black olives

¼ cup white flour
2 eggs
2 cups bread crumbs of choice (see my recipe below)

Method:

Rinse chicken breast under cold running water to remove surface pathogens. Pat dry off with a paper towel.

Skin side down, make a slight cut in the fleshy part of each breast. Do not make a deep cut or the chicken breast cannot be flattened. Cover each chicken breast with plastic wrap using enough to leave room for the chicken to expand and more than double in size.

With a mallet or a small pot gently pound the chicken breast until it has flattened, skin side down.

Once the chicken breast is double in size and flat, place a piece of swiss cheese, 5 spinach leaves, a chunk of goats cheese, a 6 black olives in the center of each.

Fold the chicken up to cover the filling so that the chicken breasts are all the same shape.  Place in a baking dish and freeze for 1 hour. The freezing will allow you to flour, egg wash & bread all the while keeping the shape of the cordon bleu.

After 1 hour in the freezer preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place the flour, eggs & bread crumbs in separate flat dishes.

Flour, eggs wash & bread each chicken breast and place into a clean baking dish.

Cook in a preheated oven for 15 - 25 minutes depending on how frozen the cordon bleu was. Always ensure your poultry is a minimum of 170 degrees internal temperature or the juices run clear.

Serve immediately while hot.

Herb & shallot bread crumbs

3 slices of bread
½ cup assorted nuts (hazelnuts, pecans, cashews)
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
½ shallot
2 tsp. Dried herbs of choice (I used bouquet garni from ‘Red Barn’)

½ teaspoon salt & pepper

Chef Miriam Little Borys, B.Ed., MA.
'Cooking Uncovered'
http://www.youtube.com/user/mlborys?feature=mhee
blog: www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com
Website: www.miriamborys.com

Tomato Hamburger Soup with Quinoa

Recipe Title: Tomato Hamburger Soup with Quinoa (click here to go to my YouTube video of this recipe)

A thick soup recipe for a cold rainy night.

By: Miriam Borys

Yield:  6 servings

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil

350 grams lean ground beef - precooked and degreased
1 onion - diced
2 carrots - medium diced
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon serrano pepper
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

Salt & pepper to taste

½ - 1 cup red wine
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
6 + cups beef broth or water if broth is not available

¼ cup quinoa

Saute ground beef until just cooked. Remove from heat and place all cooked beef into wire mesh strainer over a bowl. All the grease will gather in the bowl - discard grease.

In the pot used to cook ground beef, add oil, onions, serrano pepper and garlic. 

Saute until transparent.

Add cooked beef, carrots and herbs and continue to sauté to infuse the flavours. 

Add red wine to deglaze the pot. 

Add tomatoes, quinoa and beef stock.

Cook for 20 minutes.

Serve hot.

degreased ground beef

mandolin

Chef Miriam Little Borys, B.Ed., MA.
'Cooking Uncovered'
http://www.youtube.com/user/mlborys?feature=mhee
blog: www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com
Website: www.miriamborys.com

Hummus with sun dried tomatoes and shallots ( for my niece Lee from Edmonton, Alberta)

Recipe Title:  Hummus with sun dried tomatoes and shallots ( for my niece Lee from Edmonton, Alberta)

Hummus is easy to make in a food processor and there are hundreds of options to change the normal tasting hummus into something aromatic with a little attitude. You will find that sometimes I list an ingredient as optional. This means that your hummus will not be compromised by leaving it out....but usually it is such a nice addition.

Recipe By: Miriam Borys

Ingredients:

540 ml chick peas – drained & well rinsed with cold water & drained again

3 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ cup olive oil

Cracked pepper & salt - to taste approximately ½ teaspoon each

1 lemon (juice of)

3 tbsp. Tahini (sesame paste)

¼  cup fresh spinach leaves (optional but adds to the flavor and the color)

½ shallot (or 2 tablespoons)

2 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes (I used the sun dried tomatoes in oil from a jar)

½ bunch cilantro (1 cup)

½  to 1 cup vegetable stock or water depending on how thick you wish your hummus to be

Method:

1. Drain chick peas well. Rinse under cold water in a sieve and drain well.
2. Puree chickpeas in a processor first.
3. Add all remaining ingredients to the processor except vegetable stock.
4. Processes until large pieces are gone. Scrape the sides of the processor bowl down.
5. Continue to process while adding water or vegetable stock until the hummus is at the desired thickness.  This stage is up to you and your personal taste.
6. Store in the fridge until service time.