Cordon Bleu-ish Chicken

I love love love chicken cordon bleu, but the traditional recipe is soooooo heavy in calories and fat that it's a definite no-go when you're trying to eat healthy. So over the years I've developed my own version. Baked instead of fried, and sans sauce, but still very yummy. I also don't pound out my chicken breasts, but you can if you have the time.

Cordon Bleu-ish Chicken

Ingredients:

• PAM
• 4 medium chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, all visible fat removed
• 4 deli slices of ham (I used Black Forest ham)
• 4 deli slices of cheese (usually Swiss, but I used Provolone tonight)
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a baking pan with PAM.
• Butterfly the chicken breasts.  (Pound them out to 1/4" thickness if you desire.)
• Open up the breasts and stuff each one with a folded slice of ham and a folded slice of cheese.
• Close up the breasts and place them in the sprayed baking pan.  Sprinkle with TSSS.
• Bake until cooked through, approximately 25-30 minutes.

Bon appetit!

Miso-Glazed Sea Bass

Fresh wild Corvina sea bass has currently been on sale at the local grocery store, so this is the 3rd week in a row we're eating it. I'm a seasonal/sale shopper. I just can't justify paying triple for something off-season, there are so many other food choices out there that it's unnecessary. If oranges aren't on sale in the summer, eat the watermelon that is. If the pork chops are full price this week, skip them and buy the sea bass that's seasonal and on sale. :-)

I made this tonight and it was oh-so-good and oh-so-easy. You can buy miso paste in the refrigerated section at most grocery stores, usually over by the tofu or other Asian items. They come in little tubs and keep for several months in the fridge. Just make sure (if you're on the South Beach Diet) to read the labels and buy the ones with no sugar added. I don't miss the sugar because I don't need my miso to be sweet, but if you like the sweetness, you could always add your own no-calorie sweetener. It's all about being aware and being in control of what you put into your body.


Miso-Glazed Sea Bass
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• PAM
• 1 1/2 pound sea bass fillet, skinned and de-boned, cut into portions
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 2 tablespoons miso (white or brown, it doesn't matter, it's just taste preference)
• juice of 1 small lime
• water
• freshly-ground black pepper

Directions:

• Preheat broiler.  Spray a baking sheet lightly with PAM.
• Season one side of the fillets with the TSSS.  Place seasoned-side down onto the sprayed baking sheet.
• In a small bowl, whisk together miso and lime juice.  Add water, a little bit at a time, until you get a thick drizzle (about the consistency of pancake batter).  Add freshly-ground black pepper.
• Spoon miso mixture over the tops of the fillets.
• Place the fish 6 - 8 inches under the broiler until it is cooked through, about 8 - 10 minutes.

This is delicious accompanied with roasted veggies (cooked in the same oven at the same time).

Random Soup

I make a lot of random soups.  As in I don't have recipes for them, I just throw together whatever happens to be in my fridge and pantry.  The only constant is boxed chicken broth (I like Pacific Natural Foods brand because it's organic and free range, and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg).  I combine1 part chicken broth to 1 part water, bring to a boil, add several dashes of fish sauce, and throw in whatever else I have on hand.

Random Soup
















Today's soup includes:

• carrots
• button mushrooms
• Chinese broccoli
• sugar snap peas
• shrimp
• soba noodles

And it was so good!

Broiled Fish Fillets with Dressing

Here's a super quick and easy way to prepare fish with just two ingredients.  I even do it in my toaster oven (in a 9"x9" glass baking dish), which is great in the summer when it's already hot enough without having to fire up the big oven.

Broiled Fish Fillets with Dressing

Ingredients:

• fish fillets, de-boned and de-skinned, cut into portions (wild Corvina sea bass in the above photo)
• your favorite bottled salad dressing (Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette in the above photo)

Directions:

• In a baking dish, pour enough dressing to coat the bottom of the dish.
• Place the fish fillets in a single layer in the dish.
• Pour more dressing over the fish to coat.  If necessary, use a spoon or pastry brush to make sure the fillets are well coated.  You don't need to pour so much dressing as to completely submerge the fish, just enough to coat it will do.
• Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes. 
• Preheat broiler.
• Broil until the fish is cooked through and nicely browned on top.  (Approximately 8-10 minutes for 1 pound of sea bass, halibut or other white fish.  Approximately 10-12 minutes for 1 pound of salmon, tuna or other firmer fish.)
• Serve over a green salad or with rice and veggies.  YUM!

I like to make this with vinaigrette-type dressings, such as Italian, Balsamic Vinaigrette, Ginger Soy, etc., although a friend of mine broils salmon with ranch dressing and swears by it.  I'd be interested in hearing (or reading?) your feedback on what fish/dressing combination you used and what you thought about it.  Tonight's combo in the above photo is wild Corvina sea bass with Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing.  Delish!