Poultry, Projects and Planning

I went to an all girl Catholic high school and even as late as the end of the 90's Home Economics was still a required course. Instead of spending time wrapped up in the sexist aspect of the course requirement, I spent the entire semester loving the field of study. The course work was divided into three different focuses over the semester with one big project at the end of each of the curriculum. There was sewing and textiles, interior design and and home furnishing, and my favorite of course - cooking and nutrition. During the cooking and nutrition portion we had a classroom concentrated few weeks where we learned about nutrition, meal planning, time management and kitchen safety. During the last few weeks we had class everyday in a big room full of kitchen stations as we practiced our techniques we had learned earlier in the classroom. Our final project was to prepare an entire meal with our group in an allotted time frame. Prior to the big day we had to present our menu, our time phased cooking plan and a mock up of our table setting. And on the final day we had to execute the plan and serve our meal to our group and our teacher, Mrs. Mooney. Although the physical resemblance was absent, Mrs. Mooney was very Donna Reed-ish and taught us several things during the semester that I still recall. I don't remember very many details about high school, but some of the things we learned in Home Ec have never left my mind. One of the details I still remember is that the entree to our final project was pan seared chicken smothered with cheese. When I made the recipe below I reminisced fondly about that meal and the preparation that went into pulling it off.

Easy Skillet Cordon Bleu
Adapted from Southern Living December 2007
Yield

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup fat-free milk
  
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 chicken tenders (about 1 lb.)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 Canadian bacon slices, cut into thin strips
• 4 Smoked Fontina cheese slices, halved

Preparation

1. Combine breadcrumbs, pepper, and salt in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag or a shallow bowl.

Rinse chicken tenders, dredge in milk

and coat in the bread crumbs.

2. Melt butter with oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken 3 1/2 to 4 minutes on each side or until done.

Arrange Canadian bacon strips over chicken in skillet,

and top each with 1 cheese slice.

Broil 5 1/2 inches from heat 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. If you are not sure if your skillet is broiler proof, wrap the handle in aluminum foil before placing the pan in the oven.