Chicken Monte Cristo Sandwich

After a day of cleaning and decluttering, I wanted to make something simple for dinner.  Pulling out some boneless chicken breasts I first thought maybe I’d do chicken and waffles.  And then my eyes landed on the white bread and I thought…not waffles…french toast!  Thus was born my chicken Monte Cristo.

1 lb boneless chicken breasts, sliced thin

8 slices potato bread (or any kind you prefer)

4 slices swiss cheese

3 large eggs, whisked

2 TBS butter

3 TBS flour

canola oil

1/4 cup water

Melt the butter in a skillet on medium high heat.

Dust chicken with the flour and then add to the skillet, and let brown on each side.  Remove from pan.

Dip bread into eggs and doing just a few slices at a time, brown in the same pan with just a bit of oil added.  When all the bread is fried, it’s time to assemble it.

Place the chicken on four of the the bread slices, and top with the swiss cheese [omitting the top slice of bread].  Without crowding the pan, and moving quickly, place the open-faced sandwiches on the hot pan, add a bit of water and quickly cover the pan.  This will melt the cheese quickly.  Repeat with remaining sandwiches.  When you remove them from the pan, quickly place the top slice of french toast on each sandwich, pressing lightly.  The gooey deliciousness of the cheese will adhere the bread to the sandwich.

Delicious on it’s own, but feel free to serve with maple syrup or even strawberry preserves like the original Monte Cristo.

Related articles

• Monte Cristo Sandwiches (themagnoliacafe.wordpress.com)
• Best Gourmet Sandwich Recipes (answers.com)

Chicken Breasts in Mustard Sauce

Image via Wikipedia

There are times when I go all out for dinner.  Spending hours chopping in order to make complicated recipes with multiple steps.  There’s something quite satisfying about that.  But there are times when I want to make something yummy, but without all the fuss and muss of the culinarily complex.

I don’t recall where I first had chicken in mustard sauce, but I know it was love at first bite.  Over the years I’ve served this to my family and to guests, in the early years making it with heavy cream and lately with the lighter sour cream.  Either way the taste is delicious and best of all, it’s quick and easy to make!

Chicken Breasts with Dijon Mustard Sauce

* 1 tablespoon butter or butter substitute

* 1 tablespoon olive oil

* 2 large shallots, sliced

* 6 boneless chicken breast cutlets

* 1 cup light sour cream

* 1/3 cup 2 % milk

* 3-4 tablespoons Dijon mustard

* 3 or 4 scallions, chopped, about 1/4 to 1/3 cup

Preparation:

In heavy skillet over medium high heat, melt butter with olive oil until it begins to sizzle; add shallots and cook until softened, stirring.

Add chicken and cook, turning once, for about 15 minutes or until chicken is browned and fork tender. Remove chicken and shallots from skillet; set aside.

In the same skillet add sour cream, milk, and Dijon mustard. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until sauce is smooth and heated through. Serve sauce over chicken; sprinkle with scallions.  Serve with rice or wheat pilaf and a green veggie.

Serves 6.