Chick'n Cordon Bleu

This took days of preparation, and was a huge challenge. But totally worth it! Had to marinate bacon strips in a mix of agave syrup, oil, and spices for a couple days. Then yesterday I took two bags of thawed Gardein Chik'n Scallopini and mushed two cutlets together to form one big one - making four big Gardein slabs in total. Then I marinated them overnight in white wine with bay leaves, garlic, pepper, and thyme. The filling is Daiya mozzarella-style shreds. These were -super- hard to work with and roll up; in no way like real chicken! Even being very careful, they almost fell apart on me. But once I did, I rolled them in a mix of bread crumbs, flour, and spices, and gently fried them. I created a very strong Agave-Wasabi dipping sauce - my version of honey mustard - and only needed a little to accentuate the dish. It is honestly the best "honey mustard" I've ever had, and there will soon be a large jar of it in my fridge. To showcase the dish, I just wanted very simple sides - asparagus sauteed in earth balance and couscous made with a little "Not Chicken" broth. A great well-rounded dinner! It definitely takes the place of the occasional fancy restaurant meals I used to enjoy!

This is one I tried with the 'bacon' strips on the outside, but even with a skewer it didn't seem to hold together that well.