Rice Pilaf

We serve this with our Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe on Valentine's Day.

1/4 cup margarine
1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, grated
1 cup raw rice
3/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup broccoli, chopped

Cook until golden brown, then add:
1 envelope Lipton Chicken Noodle soup
2 3/4 cups cold water
1 dash sage and poultry seasoning

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes on top of stove.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is a meal that we traditionally eat for a special Valentine's Day dinner.

4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts flattened to 1/8 inch thick
4 thin slices ham
Monterey Jack cheese, grated
season to taste
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup cornflake crumbs

Place each chicken breast between sheets of plastic with skinned side down and pound with mallet to flatten.  Place ham on each piece of meaty side of chicken.  Add a pinch of grated cheese and roll up while tucking in sides.  Secure with a toothpick.  Dip each roll into melted butter, then roll in cornflake crumbs making sure to coat thoroughly.  Place in baking dish and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.   Top with Cordon Bleu Sauce and serve.  Makes 4 servings.

Cordon Bleu Sauce:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup lemon juice

Blend ingredients and heat.  Serve over chicken rolls.

Baby Cakes

These are a Valentine's Day treat for me.  Maybe it's the kiss on top or the fact that I found this recipe in a February issue of Seventeen magazine years ago.

6 chocolate sandwich cookies
1 pkg. cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1/8 tsp almond extract

Topping:
3/4 cup sour cream
12 chocolate kisses

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a 12 section muffin pan with paper liners.  Separate cookies into 12 halves.  Remove cream filling and place one cookie half flat side up in each liner.  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Add eggs one at a time beating well after each one.  Beat in sour cream and almond extract.  Spoon about 1/4 cup batter into each paper liner.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.  (Leave oven on.)  To make topping, stir sour cream to thin.  Spread 1 tablespoon sour cream on each cake.  Return cakes to oven and immediately turn off.  After 10 minutes, place chocolate kisses on each cake.  Keep in open oven 30 minutes, then chill.