Chicken Cordon Bleu & Bubbles the Fish

Our nice neighbors down the road a bit gave us several kinds of irises last summer. This purple one has a light candy smell.
We had Chicken Cordon Bleu for supper Saturday, and oh, it was good. Goodman had to work all day even though he doesn't like to work on weekends, so this being one of his favorite meals helped a little bit. ;)
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Serves 4
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 slices Swiss cheese
4 slices ham, thinly sliced
1/2 stick butter, melted slightly
2 small or 1 lg. garlic clove, minced
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
dash black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F
Pound chicken breast flat with a smooth object. ( I use a Corelle coffee cup, flattening the chicken with the bottom of it. One helpful thing here, it keeps flying chicken debris off the counter, your clothes & your face if you cover the chicken with plastic wrap before pounding...learned that the hard way. ;)
Lay each chicken breast skin side down & top with one slice ham & 1 slice of cheese each.
Mix 1 tablespoon of the slightly melted butter with bread crumbs, sage and black pepper. Place an even amount of crumbs over each chicken breast.
Roll up from narrow end and secure with toothpicks; leave them visible for removing before serving.
Place chicken fold side down in baking dish.
Combine the rest of the butter with minced garlic, stir and pour over chicken.
Place in preheated oven & bake for 40-50 minutes or till done. (Place a tent of aluminum foil over chicken halfway through baking to prevent over browning. Baste with juices about 2 times while baking to prevent drying.
Remove from oven, take out the toothpicks & place on serving dish.
This dish is great served with whole green beans cooked with 1TBLS. bacon drippin's & baked sweet potatoes smothered with butter & brown sugar. (Oh, yayuh ;)

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I'm havin' a little battle with tennis elbow, so my knitting is at an all-time low. I just couldn't resist doing up this little guy though. Isn't he a cutie. Bubbles the Fish by Susan Mrenna can be found here. There's a Bubbles with Fins. And the basic pattern is, also, available in French. Cool, even you don't know a lick of French like me. I used Susan's basic pattern & just added a little ol' eye for him to see with. (Checkout her site as she has several patterns, free & for sale.) I think it'll make a cute washcloth for a baby or small child. I used P&C Pink Lemonade for this one.
Happy Bluebird family peeps are gettin' bigger fast. This little guy heard me tap on the box & nearly leaped out..I'm sure he thought Mama had arrived with a big, juicy worm. Ah well; thanks for the great shot, Junior. I won't bother you again till you start tryin' out your wings. Another of the irises Neighbors gave us. Iris you a happy week, Y'all!