Cordon Bleu Crescent Rolls

I finally caved and joined Pinterest. Although I try to avoid the recipes for the most part, once in a while one jumps out at me. If you haven't already guess, we like Cordon Bleu anything in our home. I saw these and knew Blaine would be a big fan. Erika happened to be in town, so she was another guinea pig. It got a thumbs up from each of us. Plus, they were pretty good the next day for lunch. Not bad! Here is the original.

1 can crescent rolls (biscuit dough would work, too)

4-8 breaded chicken tenders, pre-cooked and cooled

8 slices swiss cheese

8 slices ham

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Depending on the size of the chicken strips, you may need to cut them in half. Smaller works better. Roll out each crescent roll. Place a slice of ham, cheese and a chicken strip on the fat end. Then roll up. Repeat till all are used. Bake on a cookie sheet or baking stone for 12-18 minutes until golden brown. Rest about 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I figured it's about time I posted another recipe. I actually have a list to add, but just haven't made time to do it. This week both of us wanted Chicken Cordon Bleu, but I didn't want to go to the effort to make them. So, I tried an experiment. I added all the ingredients with some noodles and made it into a casserole. It turned out quite well, if I do say so myself.

1 12 oz package whole wheat egg noodles
3 chicken breasts (uncooked), diced
7 oz black forest ham, diced
2 cups swiss cheese, shredded
1 cup heavy cream or half and half
1 1/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 T. garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 T. pepper
1/2 tsp celery salt
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp ground Thyme

Seasoned Bread Crumb Topping
1-2 cups plain panko bread crumbs
1/2 stick melted unsalted butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground Thyme

Butter a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook noodles in boiling for 4-5 minutes until they are 3/4 of the way cooked. Drain noodles and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add diced chicken and ham to noodles. Mix together. In a small mixing bowl add cream, stock and seasonings. Mix well. Pour over noodle mixture. Mix well. Add one cup cheese and mix. Pour into buttered casserole dish. Spread remaining cheese on top.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter. Add bread crumbs and seasoning. Mix well. Spread crumb mixture over cheese. Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes to toast the bread crumbs, or until the chicken is cooked through. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Parmesan Crisps

These delightful bites are quick, easy, and tasty! Try them with soups and salads (especially Caesar).

1/2 cup finely grated/shredded Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp black pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 300'F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Draw four 4-inch circles on the liner (I traced around a custard ramekin) one inch apart.
2. In a small bowl, mix the cheese and pepper. Divide into the four circles and spread in a thin, even layer to the edges of the circle.
3. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and just beginning to brown. Let cool on baking sheet. Carefully remove and enjoy!

Queso Blanco

Gina and I made this over Easter and enjoyed it for the whole weekend. It makes a lot (probably about 4 cups!) so feel free to halve the recipe. It can also be made with orange American cheese, but then it wouldn't be blanco. :)

• 1 1/4 (1.25) lb block White American Cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes [We couldn't find the cheese in a block, so we unwrapped lots of little single slices and tore them in pieces.:)]
• 1/4 cup diced green chilies (small can)
• 2 pickled jalapenos, chopped (optional)
• 1 ounce pickled jalapeno juice (optional)
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup cold water
• pinch of cumin (optional)

Toss all ingredients into a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stopping to stir after every minute. The mixture might seem watery during the first few stirs, but should come together as a nice runny dip after all the cheese is melted.

Serve immediately as a dip with tortilla chips or as a sauce over your favorite Mexican dish.Gina mixed a little salsa in hers, which was also delicious.

*Recipe Note: White American cheese is found at most deli counters in your local grocery store.

*Reheat Instructions: Store any leftover cheese dip in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until creamy and hot. 

Adapted from recipe at penniesonaplatter.com 

Sausage-Cheese Muffins

These are a great two-bite size. Would work well for a brunch, or just freeze a batch and reheat as needed for breakfast.

1 (1-lb) package ground pork sausage
3 cups Bisquick
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (10 3/4-oz) can condensed cheese soup
1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 375'F. Cook sausage in a large skillet, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain and cool.
2. Combine sausage, Bisquick, and shredded cheese in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
3. Stir together soup and 1/2 cup water; add to sausage mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon into lightly greased mini muffin pans, filling to top of cups.
4. Bake at 375'F for 16 minutes or until golden.
Yield: 4 dozen

Homemade Farm Cheese

So a friend at church was telling me about making cheese at one of her RS meetings and it sounded like a lot of fun! They used a tablet to make it form. I hunted around online and found that you can also do it using lemon juice.

1 gallon whole milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. lemon juice

1. Heat the milk and pinch of salt in a heavy duty pot over medium heat until temperature reaches 190'F (frothy on top like a simmer).
2. Add lemon juice and stir. You should see it curdle. Let sit for 10 minutes.
3. Line a seive with doubled up cheesecloth, a clean handkercheif, or a non-terry dishtowel. Pour liquid through seive. The seive will catch the curds. The whey will flow through. Gathering the corners of the cloth, squeeze out excess liquid. Store refridgerated approx 1 week (or to the date of expiration of the milk you used).
Yield: approx 1 lb cheese

Helpful hints culled from reading lots of comments on other recipes:

• Do NOT used ULTRApasturized milk. Just regular.
• If the liquid going through your seive is white, your milk wasn't hot enough. Pour it back into your pot, reheat to 190'F, add (another) 1/4 cup lemon juice and try again. The whey should be yellow. (I had to do this because the first time I heated to 180' like in some recipes-didn't work.)
• You can add in herbs (or probably anything else) as you're straining it before you form it into a ball if you want.
• You can reduce the recipe:  I used 4 cups milk, 1 T lemon juice, pinch of salt and ended up with a baseball sized round of cheese.

Slices of cheese fried and served with tomato and basil, fresh cracked salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

Mom and Dad's cheese with finely chopped onions and basil.