Pink, Yellow and Bleu!

🎵🎶 I love the colors of Christmas time- red, green, blue, yellow and white. I love the colors of Christmas time…they make my day so happy and bright! 🎄🎅🎁🎵🎶

An excerpt from one of the Christmas songs I grew up with, sung by my cousin Carissa Ching and composed by my Uncle Greg Ching, entitled Colors of Christmas from the album Smile in Every Prayer, produced and released some 20 years ago! ❤️💚💙💛

Colors of Christmas- they are bright, happy and yummy!…yes yummy!!! I see pink, yellow and blue..in the pursuit of delicousness, we can call it bleu! These are the colors of my Chicken Cordon Bleu 💗💛💙

Chicken Cordon Bleu may sound complicated to do, but believe me…it’s not true! These fried breaded chicken breasts wrapped around a slice of ham and cheese is a great entrée to your Christmas lunch or dinner menu!

It’s so easy! Here’s how:

Pound/ flatten whole chicken breast fillet to 1/4 inch thick or cut breast into half- if you want thicker chicken portions. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Put cooked sweet ham and cheese slices on top and roll. Secure with a toothpick. Roll into flour, egg (seasoned with salt and pepper) and Japanese breadcrumbs. Repeat process if neccessary until chicken is fully coated.

Fry using a deep pan with cover. Make sure oil is hot enough before putting the chicken roll in. Then put fire in low heat and cover. Roll/flip chicken once in a while to make sure it is cooked through evenly. Breadcrumbs are easily browned/burned so you should watch closely to check.

Slice just before serving. Top with catsup, creamy white sauce or mushroom gravy! 😋

White sauce: Melt together 1 stick of butter and 1 all purpose cream plus salt and white pepper to taste. If you want a cheesy sauce, add grated cheese (omit salt and pepper) and mix using a wire whisk.

Mushroom gravy: Melt 1/2 stick of butter, add 1 can of sliced button mushrooms including brine, 1 chicken cube and all purpose cream.

Drizzle sauce right before serving or serve on a separate bowl. Enjoy!!! 😋

Elaine’s tip: Let chicken cool before slicing to avoid cheese oozing out of each slice. Use a serrated knife and carefully do a sawing motion when slicing to avoid deforming the roll.

High Pie! ✋

Hi everyone! Thank you for stopping by my kitchen. 😊

I know everyday is a struggle on what to cook for our family. Needless to say, we need to budget and plan our trips to the supermarket. Everyday with no fail, we need to search for the best resources to run our household and raise our family. And, if we can squeeze a bit of fun in between, we can end our days with a happy sigh and a grateful heart.😊❤️

Cooking is fun and stress-free if we have our ingredients on hand or easy to find. I wanna share with you an easy to prepare, an okay make-ahead meal and a dish that has it all. There’s protein from the chicken and mushrooms, creaminess from the milk and butter of the gravy, carbs from the mashed potatoes and of course heaven from the cheese! All these in one spoonful. Now give me a high pie!!! ✋

Shepherd or cottage pie is a type of savory pie, a classic British dish and is usually made with ground meat, minced veggies and mashed potatoes as crust. The name “cottage pie” was first used at the end of the 18th century. It was around that time that the poorer people of Great Britain, people who lived in cottages in the country, started using potatoes as an everyday food. If it is made with lamb it is usually called “shepherd’s pie”. But the options are endless, we can use any meat we prefer and add our favorite veggies. In my recipe I used chicken breast fillet because it cooks in no time. I kept it really simple and I know you can never go wrong with it.

You’ll need:

Chicken breast fillet strips
Minced garlic
Soy sauce
Black pepper
Water
Sliced mushrooms in can
All purpose cream
Potatoes
Evaporated milk
Butter
Quickmelt cheese
Olive oil

How to:

In a skillet, marinate chicken in garlic, soysauce and black pepper for 15 mins. Add water just enough to cover the chicken. Simmer until chicken is cooked. Add mushrooms including brine, a dab of butter and all purpose cream. Stir and continue cooking until gravy has thicken. Set aside. Peel and slice potatoes in cubes. Put them in a casserole with water then sprinkle with salt to taste. Boil until tender. Drain. Using the same hot casserole, mash potatoes using 2 forks, if a masher is unavailable. Add milk and butter, few tablespoons at a time, stir and mash until creamy and fluffy.

To assemble, put creamy chicken in a big or individual serving baking dishes, then spread mashed potatoes on top. Cover with grated or sliced cheese, drizzle with olive oil.

Bake until golden brown and bubbly.

If you enjoy this recipe and this test kitchen, please be sure to share your good news with us and others. I welcome your comments, as well as your own recipes and kitchen tips. As our test kitchen grows and reaches a lot of households, I hope to provide an even stronger community of support, reflection, and shared blessings. Greetings of peace and love to you all.💋💞

Roasted Citrus Chicken

Hello everyone! I hope you all had an exciting weekend with your family. 😊

Meal time is family time. We should spend more time with our family in the dining table than spending hours tied to the stove. 🕕🕖🕗

To help you with a quick and easy meal, I am suggesting you to try this roasted chicken recipe with bursting flavors of citrus fruits. 🍊🍋 So if you have a hectic schedule all week through, this is the recipe you can run to when your tummies are grumbling and you only have a short time to prepare. Huge flavors than can be done in a hurry! 👍

Among all the roasted chicken recipes I’ve tried, this one is my family’s favorite…and the easiest too! I serve this with cabbage slaw, buttered corn kernels or mashed potatoes. 🍴👌 If you have left over marinate/basting sauce, put over low heat and use as gravy. I hope you’ll like it! 🍴😋

Thank you for visiting my kitchen. You’ve read this far – don’t forget to follow me for more hassle-free recipes and cooking tips. Happy Monday! Happy cooking! 😘💋

Update: Add rosemary or thyme for a more flavorful roast! Yum! 

Elaine’s note: Lemons, limes and oranges will stay fresh kept at room temperature, away from exposure to sunlight, for about one week. If you will not be using them within this time period, you can store them in the refrigerator crisper where they will keep for a longer period of time.