It's All Going Swimmingly

Yep, swimming lessons have started again. We had a break from swimming last term - it was too cold and I was running out of steam with racing up and down the hill umpteen times a week. And, as it turned out, Offspring #2 suffered from cold after cold after cold so her lessons would have been a complete waste of time and money anyway. After a little break both kids were eager to get back to swimming - or 'fwimming' as #2 insists it's called, she'll even sound out 'sss, sss, ssssss.... ffffwimming. It drives her big brother crazy. Which makes us laugh. A lot.

Anyway... I worked most of the school holidays and kept putting off organising their lessons which is why, having finally made the phone call on the last day of the holidays, we've ended up with the lessons on different days and at not especially fabulous times. #1's lessons are late in the afternoon and I'll be needing to get super organised as I'll be arriving home with two tired, starving children smack on dinner time each and every Monday. My plan is to dig through my slow-cooker recipe books and try out some of the different recipes. We're heading towards Summer so my regular slow-cooker standby's, like Beef Hot Pot, Lamb Shanks and other casserole-y type dishes, aren't going to be all that popular.

I put the plan into action and came up with something a little different for Monday night's dinner. I guess my head was stuck in the "slow-cookers are only for casserole-type dishes" so, while I've made Chicken Cordon Bleu many times, I was pleasantly surprised by how well this turned out when I used the slow-cooker. And I was even more pleased to arrive home with tired, grumpy kids and have dinner ready to go. A dinner that everyone polished off and even had the boys in the house asking for seconds. It's a winner for me.

Slow Cooker Cordon Bleu

from The Easy Slow Cooker Cookbook by Barbara C Jones

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

4 slices cooked ham

4 slices Swiss cheese, softened (I used what was in the fridge - regular Cheddar)

1 (300g, 10 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup milk

Place chicken breasts on cutting board and pound until breast halves are thin

Place ham and cheese slices on chicken breasts, roll up and secure with toothpick.

Arrange chicken rolls in 4 litre (4 quart) slow cooker. Thin soup with the milk and pour over chicken rolls.

Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. (I messed up the starting time so did 3 hours on high and it worked a treat).

Serve over hot cooked noodles and cover with sauce from soup. (I gave the noodles a miss and served it with a salad).