This weekend, Vrghr decided to introduce some friends to the joys of cooking via Sous Vide (water immersion cooking method).

For this, wuff created a meal of Chicken Cordon Bleu with a very simple "bachelor" mushroom-cheese sauce and Maple Honey Ginger glazed carrots. The chicken was served on a bed of chicken-flavored Jasmine Rice.

Total cook's involvement time for this was about 15 minutes. Actual unattended cook time was a bit over 4 hours. So we had a lovely time chatting, walking about their garden, and watching movies while supper basically made itself.

The carrots were fork-tender, but still with enough body not to be at all mushy. The rice was fragrant and paired wonderfully with the chicken and cheese sauce on top.

The chicken was definitely the star of the show! Tender, juicy, not the least bit dry. Exploding with flavor, cheesy, with savory Prosciutto and ham. The sauce with a bit 'basic', but wuff's friends and guests finished up every drop! And it couldn't be simpler to create!

Vrghr's friends were amazed at how much flavor the chicken was packed with, how juicy it was, and how simple it was to create. Vrghr made enough to feed 8-10 folks, and we just popped the remaining pouches into the 'fridge to enjoy for quick meals in the days to come. And it took no more time to create food for 10, than it did to create a meal for 4. They really loved that idea too; creating extra food for meals throughout the week, and having it already packed in quick-make pouches for later re-heating.

Also, that gentle heating won't dry it out or alter the flavors or textures. Future meals will taste as good as what we made that day.

Wuff thinks he may have sold another Sous Vide! *laughs*

The one thing Vrghr DIDN'T do this time, to highlight just how simple the method is, was to broil or grill the chicken when it came out of the water. Instead, Vrghr "disguised" the poached chicken appearance with the lovely bright cheese sauce. Folks loved it all the same!

This really is a tasty dish, and won't heat up the house at all - so it's really good for those hot, muggy days.

Wuff's friends also participate on the Weight Watchers program, and we computed "smart points" for this meal. Our (admittedly in-expert) results were 6-7 Smart points. Most of which came from the rice. So serving this with Cauliflower Rice would reduce this to a 4-5 point meal! WOOT! Packed with flavor and only that many points? What a winner!

Give this simple, healthy, tasty dish a try!

Honey Maple Ginger Carrots
Ingredients:
~8 oz “Baby” Carrots
1/3 C Maple Syrup
1/3 C Water
3 TBS Honey
1 TBS Ginger Paste
1 TBS Butter

Instructions:
Set the Sous Vide to 185 degrees for tender with a bit of body (Vrghr’s preferred style), 190 degrees for very soft carrots

Place the carrots in one or two zip-top or food sealing bags. Spread them out so they’re mostly flat

In a small pot or microwave-safe bowl, combine the sauce ingredients and warm until the butter melts. Stir everything together

Split the sauce equally between pouches of carrots. Remove air through vacuum or water immersion and seal

Massage the pouches a bit to distribute the sauce. Cook in Sous Vide for 1 hour

(If making chicken next, reduce Sous Vide to 140-145 degrees. You may want to dip some of the hot water out and replace it with cold tap water to speed the cooling down to the desired temperature.)


Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ingredients:
For the Chicken:
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 slices Black Forest Ham, cut in half
~4 slices Prosciutto
4 slices Swiss Cheese
~ 4 oz Jarlsberg Cheese
Penzey’s “Mural Of Flavor” seasoning (or substitute Italian seasoning)
Salt & Pepper to taste

For the Sauce:
1 Can Cheddar Cheese soup
1 small (4 oz) Can “Stems and Pieces” mushrooms, with juices
1 TBS Better than Bullion Chicken Base
Juices from the Sous Vide Chicken Pouches
1/2 tsp Penzey’s Mural Of Flavor seasoning
1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper

Instructions:
(Note: create the carrots first. They cook at higher temperature. They can be returned to the Sous Vide in the last 1/2 hour of cooking the chicken to warm back up for serving, without them cooking further.)

Set the Sous Vide from 140 to 145 degrees F. 145 will be a bit closer to baked chicken texture, but nice and juicy. 140 will be even silkier texture and juicier (Vrghr prefers around 141 for chicken breasts)

Slice the Ham slices in half lengthwise

Carefully “butterfly” the chicken breasts by cutting them through the middle almost but not quite in half and opening them up like a book

Lay a strip or two of Prosciutto on top of one half of the chicken. Place the half-slice of Ham on the other side. Set a slice of Swiss Cheese on one side and a couple thin slices of Jarlsberg Cheese on the other half

Close the chicken up like closing a book. Season the top and bottom with a sprinkle of Mural Of Flavor (or Italian seasoning) and salt and pepper

Place the chicken in a zip-top or food keeper bag and remove the air with vacuum or immersion in water, and seal

Place sealed bags of chicken into Sous Vide and cook for 2-4 hours. Cook at least 2 hours to ensure the heat gets all the way to the middle and melts the cheese, infusing all the chicken with cheese and ham/Prosciutto flavor. The chicken will not get dryer or tougher if cooked longer. It will get softer instead. Cooking for more than 4 hours could result in unpleasantly mushy texture

Make the sauce:

Drain the accumulated juices from the bags of chicken into a small sauce pot

Add the can of mushrooms with their juices, the condensed Cheddar soup, butter, Chicken Base, Mural of Flavor seasoning, and Pepper. Heat gently over medium low heat, stirring, until it comes to a light simmer and the butter melts and combines

Place in a warmed serving bowl or gravy boat

To Plate:

Place of bed of rice, quinoa, bulgur wheat, cauliflower rice, etc. on a warmed plate. Slice the chicken breast in half and place half on each bed of rice, etc. Pour a little of the cheese sauce over the chicken and rice. Side with selected veggie and serve immediately

!DEVOUR!