Pseudo Cordon Bleu

Keebler went to look for a job, and actually applied at fast food resturants! Hey, it's money, right? The more we make, the faster we can save, and the closer we are to our dreams. *grin*

On another list I'm on, they are discussing the ramifications of being a citizen of any country. Being a citizen implies ownership and responsibility for the actions of the government, therefore there is no "they" there is only "we" and "we" are doing nothing to change what "they" are doing to give us a bad name.

There was also the statement that only 1% of a population, being active and fighting back can and regularly does effectively topple governments or force massive change in other countries. I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts about that.

Saw one of the baby ratties using the rat-safe "hamster" wheel today. Too cute!!

Everything in the garden has fruit!!! Well, not really everything, but about 5 plants have fruit now (we've decided against seed saving for the most part until we get onto our own land. There's not really much reason to do other than buy a few plants each spring from our friends since we're growing so few plants each year.
Add that to the fact that we don't have nearly to space to keep anything seperate enough to avoid cross-polination, and it all works out to us not doing much in the way of saving seeds. Everything as it can be done, I say. *smile* In related news, there ARE about 5 plants that we CAN save the seeds from because they were the first to begin flowering and are different species of plants. We've marked the fruits with a sharpie just so we don't get confused.

We have fruiting: watermelon, spaghetti squash, yellow straightneck squash, a tomato, and a winter squash (that looks a bit droopy in the humidity)

Keebler wanted chicken cordon bleu tonight for dinner, but I am SO not spending $2.50 for two measly little unfilling chunks of meat that we'll end up impatiently tossing into the microwave and eating to tide us over while we make real food. *laugh* So we did about 30 minutes of preperation and he made a trip to the store for bread crumbs while I planted some cactus seeds, fall weather plants, and some ginger root. Here it is, gourmet with a budget, the dump cook way, and not nearly so much time spent:

Pseudo Chicken Cordon Bleu
(entire recipe is done in equivalents. As long as the chicken has no bones & no skin, there is some form of ham-tasting substance, there are breadcrumbs involved, and the cheeses are melted over it all, that's really all that matters.)

2 handfulls shredded swiss (or about a 2" pile of slices) (about 1.5 cups)
2 handfulls shredded provolone (or about a 2" pile of slices) (about 1.5 cups)
1 handfull shredded mozarella (or about a 1" pile of slices) (about 3/4 cup)
4 cups cubed turkey ham (or real ham)
6 cups cubed raw boneless skinkess chicken
3/4 cup fine italian seasoned bread crumbs

Put ham in bottom of 9x13 cake pan (or equivalent cooking dish), sprinkle 1/2 bread crumbs, top with chicken and rest of bread crumbs, then cheeses, spread evenly over entirety of meal.

Top cooking dish with aluminum foil, and bake in oven at 350, untill it smells really good. Check chicken for doneness. If chicken is not done, leave in oven for another 10-15 minutes. Don't worry about preheating, it's not needed and just wastes energy in this recipe. *smile*

Tastes almost exactly like the real thing!