Chicken Cordon Bleu w/ Green Beans & Mushrooms

Total Servings: 4
Serving Size: 3 oz piece of cooked chicken, 1 oz ham, 1 slice cheese, 3/4 cup veggies.
WW SP per serving: 4

Ingredients
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (4-4 oz breasts)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 (12 oz) package frozen cut green beans
1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped or sliced
4 oz deli ham (about 8 thin slices)
4 mozzarella cheese slices

Instructions
1.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
2.  Heat oil in a large skillet and add chicken. Cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until fully cooked.  Transfer chicken to a plate.
3.  Add the green beans and mushrooms to the skillet.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook 5-6 minutes.  Transfer the green bean and mushroom mixture to another bowl.
4.  Put chicken back in the pan and allow to heat up a little.  Flip each piece of chicken over and top with one oz. of sliced ham (2 slices) and top each with one slice of cheese.  Cook covered about 2-4 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
5.  Serve 1 chicken breast with 3/4 cup green beans and mushrooms.

Featuring: THRIVE LIFE cauliflower

Prep: Add 1/3 cup water to 1 cup cauliflower; let oak for 5-10 minutes or until tender.

Fresh Equivalent: 1 cup dry = about 1/3 head.

Tips and More:

• These come in small florets similar to our broccoli, perfect for tossing in soups.
• Make your mashed potatoes a little healthier without compromising taste--just add a cup of cauliflower for every pound of potatoes.

Try this delicious Cauliflower Cheese Soup.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

2 cups THRIVE cauliflower
1/4 cup THRIVE chopped onions
1/4 cup THRIVE carrot dices
1/4 cup THRIVE celery
4 cups chicken broth (or 4 cups water & 4 tsp. chicken bouillon)
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese

1.  Combine the cauliflower, onions, carrots, celery, & broth in a pot and boil until vegetables are soft and cooked through, about 15 minutes.  Fresh vegetables can be substituted for THRIVE.  Just reduce the water/broth to 3 to 3 1/2 cups.

2.  Puree the vegetables.  I used a wand blender.  Worked great.

3.  Add cream, Worcestershire sauce, cheese, & desired salt & pepper

*From the THRIVE LIFE cookbook

Food Dehydration

Drying is the oldest method of preserving food. The early American settlers dried foods such as corn, apple slices, currants, grapes, and meat. Compared with other methods, drying is quite simple. In fact, you may already have most of the equipment on hand. Dried foods keep well because the moisture content is so low that spoilage organisms cannot grow.

Drying will never replace canning and freezing because these methods do a better job of retaining the taste, appearance, and nutritive value of fresh food. But drying is an excellent way to preserve foods that can add variety to meals and provide delicious, nutritious snacks. One of the biggest advantages of dried foods is that they take much less storage space than canned or frozen foods.

Recommended methods for canning and freezing have been determined by research and widespread experience. Home drying, however, does not have firmly established procedures. Food can be dried several ways, for example, by the sun if the air is hot and dry enough, or in an oven or dryer if the climate is humid.

With the renewed interest in gardening and natural foods and because of the high cost of commercially dried products, drying foods at home is becoming popular again. Drying is not difficult, but it does take time and a lot of attention. Although there are different drying methods, the guidelines remain the same.

Although solar drying is a popular and very inexpensive method, some areas do not have a suitable climate for it. Dependable solar dehydration of foods requires 3 to 5 consecutive days when the temperature is 95 degrees F. and the humidity is very low.

Drying food in the oven of a kitchen range, on the other hand, can be very expensive. In an electric oven, drying food has been found to be nine to twelve times as costly as canning it. Food dehydrators are less expensive to operate but are only useful for a few months of the year. A convection oven can be the most economical investment if the proper model is chosen. A convection oven that has a controllable temperature starting at 120 degrees F. and a continuous operation feature rather than a timer-controlled one will function quite well as a dehydrator during the gardening months. For the rest of the year it can be used as a tabletop oven.

*From the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, Circular 1227.

Thrive Life Garden Fresh Salsa

3 cups diced tomatoes
1/2 cup green chili peppers
1/2 cup sweet corn
1/4 cup onions
1/4 cup red bell peppers
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 1/4 cup warm water
1 Tablespoon Cholula hot sauce
1 1/4 teaspoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cilantro

Mix well for 30 seconds.  Let sit in fridge for 2-3 hours before serving.

Fruits and Veggies

Some things to keep in mind:

• When looking at food storage calculators, you may notice fruits and vegetables are often left off. This is because you can sustain life with the ingredients on those calculators (you can sprout a number of those ingredients to get fresh vegetable sources). HOWEVER, it is HIGHLY recommend storing fruits and vegetables for the health benefits, variety, and to help you save money on your day to day grocery shopping.
• There are three different options for obtaining your preserved produce:
  • Grow your own and dehydrate/can/freeze it yourself
  • Purchase it in bulk and dehydrate/can/freeze it yourself
  • Purchase commercially preserved fruits and vegetables --like Thrive :) 
  
  Growing Your Own Fruits and Vegetables
  
  
  • It is HIGHLY recommend learning to grow your own foods. This can range from just planting a peach tree and growing some tomatoes in a container, to a full-fledged farm-type situation.
  • Our favorite method to use for growing vegetables is square foot gardening which allows you to grow a LOT of veggies in a small space.
  • If you have space and don’t mind the mess fruit trees and vines can be a great cost-savings. You can also try to ask neighbors with fruit trees if you can pick their excess fruit.
  
  Dehydrated or Freeze-Dried 
  
  
  • Dehydrated fruit makes a great snack with things like banana chips, craisins, dried apples, etc.
  • Dehydrated vegetables are wonderful additions to soups/stews. Items such as dehydrated onions can save you time and hassle in your everyday cooking.
  • You can purchase a food dehydrator like the Excaliber, or learn to make your own.
  • If you don’t want to go through the hassle of dehydrating foods on your own, you can purchase a lot of the items at stores like Emergency Essentials or Thrive Life. Don't forget I am a Thrive Life consultant.  I'll get your the best prices!  thrivelife.com/katherinebronson
  
  Canned/Bottled
  
  
  • You can bottle a wide variety of things such as salsa, pie fillings, applesauce, juice, spaghetti sauce, almost any fruit or vegetable, pickles, all sorts of jams and jellies, etc.
  • If you can get fresh fruits/vegetables for free or at a significant discount, then canning them yourself can save you a LOT of money over cans from the store.
  • Home-bottled foods have less preservatives, taste better, and you can adjust the amounts of sugar you use to fit your family’s preferences. So I feel like it is worth it to can them on your own even if you have to purchase the produce.
  • Bottling can be a fun bonding experience with friends/family and also it is a great way to build up your whole year supply of items all at one time.
  • If you choose to purchase cans of fruits and vegetables, you can either purchase a extra few cans each time you shop until you have built up your year supply or stock up when there are good sales.
  
  Frozen
  
  
  • If you have an extra freezer then frozen fruits and vegetables are another great option. If there is a water shortage then you don’t want to have all your foods be dehydrated.
  • Freezing produce takes much less time and preparation than home bottling, and can often be done using less sugar or other preservatives.
  • If you don’t have home-grown foods, you can purchase fresh produce in bulk to freeze, or simply buy bags of frozen fruits and vegetables and try to use sales and coupons.
  
  

Food Storage Checklist #13 (Fruits and Vegetables and Powdered Milk)

To do:

• Learn how to use fruits and vegetables in your food storage.
• Try making a smoothie using powdered milk and/or dried or frozen food.
• Try substituting powdered milk in a few recipes of your own.
• Update your 3-month supply.

To purchase:

• 12 lbs of non-instant dry milk (double this amount if you can only find instant dry milk).
• 6 lbs of fruit flavored drink.
• 3-4 bags of frozen fruit or dried fruit. *
• Something for your 3-month supply.

*Last month, I decided to become a Thrive Life consultant.  I mean, heck, I was already using the product, I already had a goal of using a certain amount of my food budget  to buy food storage.  It just made sense.  When I thought about it, I couldn't understand why I hadn't done it yet!  There are few things I'm more passionate about than food storage!

So, if you want to purchase Thrive Life, just let me know!!  I'll make sure you get the best deals!

Browse thrivelife.com/katherinebronson  You would pay the Q price, plus I will keep you updated on the specials!

Food Storage Checklist #12 (fruits and vegetables)

To Do:

• Learn more about using fruits and vegetables in your food storage.  
• Try substituting powdered milk in place of regular milk in 2 of your recipes this week.
• Update your 3-month supply inventory.

To Purchase:

• 12 lbs of non-instant dry milk
• 6 lbs of fruit flavored drink
• 3-4 bags of frozen fruit or buy fresh and freeze it.
• something from your 3-month supply list.