Chicken Cordon Bleu

Good afternoon! I hope everyone is enjoying their extra long weekend. I decided to throw this together yesterday after realizing I had everything on hand to make it, and not only that, it's something I've been wanting to make for awhile now but I was always intimidated by it. There's really nothing to it though. It would be more work if you pound the chicken out nice and thin (MOM) but I found that if you butterfly it then it works just perfectly! I also used mozzarella cheese instead of the typical swiss because that is what I had on hand, and it didn't matter a bit, it was delicious. My husband keeps asking me when I'm making it again, so that tells me it's a winner!

Ingredients:

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, butterflied

12 Slices Mozzarella Cheese (cut thin slices straight from a block)

2 Pieces Ham (I used boiled ham lunch meat)

1 Cup Italian Breadcrumbs

1 Egg

Fat-Free Butter Spray

Toothpicks

Directions:

Take your butterflied chicken and down the middle lay down 3 slices of cheese, separated a bit, and then cut your ham slice in half and lay them on top of each other on the cheese slices. Put the other 3 slices of cheese on top of the ham. Roll up chicken from top to bottom and tuck in the sides and pierce with as many toothpicks as you need to hold it together. Beat up your egg in a small bowl and pour your breadcrumbs onto a plate. Dip your chicken into the egg then transfer it to the breadcrumbs and coat entire piece of chicken. Place in a baking dish and spray with butter spray to moisten the breadcrumbs. Bake at 375 Degrees for 35-45 minutes. Cut a slit in the chicken just to make sure it is done, all chicken will cook differently depending on size. Remove all toothpicks.

Reese Cup Ice Cream Pie

Hey everyone! Happy Memorial Day weekend to you all. Have I got a great treat for this holiday weekend. You are definitely going to want this at your get together, or just in general! My dad (hi pops!) used to make this exact pie but with butterfinger bars instead, and he would also add a packet of butterscotch pudding mix to it - just the dry part. That's what is so great about this recipe, it is SO versatile, make it how YOU want! I gave my hubby the option and he wanted reese cups, so that's what I made. I added some peanut butter to the ice cream before I mixed the candy in to give it some added flavor and I used the super chunky kind and it gave the pie a yummy addition of chopped peanuts, I would highly recommend using this. It is so easy and practically effortless. It will entail a little more work if you have to mix the candy bar into the ice cream by hand, but if you have a mixer then it's a cinch! Make this pie THIS weekend, you will not be disappointed!

Ingredients:

1 Graham Cracker Crust Pie Shell, store bought or homemade

8 Reese Cups, chopped into small pieces

Vanilla Ice Cream, half of a box container

2 Heaping Tablespoons Peanut Butter, super chunky

Directions:

Carefully take apart the ice cream container so that you can easily cut the block in half with a knife. Seal it back up and put in the freezer for a later use. Transfer the other half into your mixer and start mixing it until creamy. Add peanut butter, mix. Add chopped up candy and mix well. Pour into the pie shell and using a spatula, smooth the top over so it is all even. Cover and place in the freezer until frozen through. (I'd say about 5 hours, it's even better if you leave it overnight) Garnish with whipped cream and extra reese cups, if desired.

Daddy - Check out how easy it is in the mixer! Bet you wish you had one of these when you were mixing the crap out of it by hand. I bet it wasn't too hard for you though, you're super strong. :o)

Samoas

Oh man. I don't even know where to start with these. These have always been my favorite Girl Scout cookie. Close behind that, is Thin Mints (YUM!) and those are pretty much the only ones I like. At $3.50 a box, they're a little pricey..but it only comes around once a year, and they're so scrumptious that I personally think it's worth it! Also though, if you're looking for a much cheaper substitution to the Thin Mint, go grab yourself a package of Keebler's Grasshopper cookies, they taste exactly alike and you can enjoy them all year! Unfortunately there hasn't been an alternative to the Samoa cookies..until NOW! These are pretty labor intensive, but well worth it in the end. I will admit that nothing can beat the original Samoas, but for homemade ones, these are pretty stellar! If you're a fan of these, then I know you're going to want to try this recipe ASAP!

Ingredients (cookie):

1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar

3/4 Cup Butter, softened

1 Egg

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Directions (cookie):

In a mixing bowl combine sugar and butter and mix until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually add in flour and salt until dough starts to form. Work the rest of the flour in by hand on your counter top and form a ball with the dough. Sprinkle your counter surface with flour and lay your dough down and with a floured rolling pan start rolling the dough to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Take a biscuit cutter or top of a glass and press into the dough to make a circle. Using something that will make a small hole (the tip of a piping bag worked PERFECT) press it firmly into the middle of the circle you just made. Transfer cut cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, or until they start to turn golden brown around the bottom edges (they will be pale in color). Completely cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients (topping):

3 Cups Shredded Coconut

12-oz Caramels (I used an 11-oz bag of Kraft Caramel Bits)

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

3 Tablespoons Milk

10-oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions (topping):

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly onto a ungreased baking sheet and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet. Set aside. On VERY low heat, add your chocolate chips to a sauce pan and heat until melted, standing right next to it stirring constantly being extremely careful not to burn the chocolate. It should be a nice thin consistency. Turn all of your cookies over and with a pastry brush, dip it into the chocolate and brush the bottoms of the cookies with the chocolate. Set cookies aside until chocolate is set. You will have chocolate leftover to drizzle one top. Once the cookies are set, place the caramels into a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula. With a butter knife, take some of the caramel mixture and spread it on the cookie, making sure not to cover the hole in the middle. Once you are done, take a piping bag or a zip lock bag with the corner snipped off and fill with your remaining chocolate (heat it up for a bit if it has gotten too firm) and drizzle on top of the coconut mixture.