In French, “cordon bleu” means “of the highest class”, so let’s make some classy chicken!  This Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe was inspired by how good it tastes when you order it in a restaurant. The cheese just marries so well with the taste of the pork and chicken, all wrapped in a crispy coating of goodness.

Egan craved it and dove into making it for lunch using some free-range chicken breast fillets I carved out of a whole chicken the day before.

It doesn’t mean that if you are short on budget, you can’t eat really good food. It just takes a bit of patience and a sense of adventure to try making a dish.

Homemade Chicken Codon Bleu recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1/8 kg pork steak (sliced very thinly)
-
chicken breasts fillets (from one Magnolia free-range whole chicken)
salt
pepper
25g cheddar (about 1/8 bar of Kraft brand)
-
1/4 cup cornstarch (Cream brannd)
bread crumbs (Good Life brand)
egg
1/2 cup oil (Marca Leon canola)

PROCEDURE:
1. Slice the porksteak into 1/4 centimeter thick slices.
2. Boil the pork slices in a pan with enough water that covers the slices and leave it for 3-5 minutes.
3. Set aside the pork.
4. Lay the chicken breast flat on a surface (optional: sandwich it between cling wrap).
5. Using a glass with a flat bottom, pound it until it ends with a uniformed thickness of 1/4 centimeters.
6. Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper.
7. Slice the cheese into sticks.
8. Here comes the assembly. On the flattened chicken breast fillets, put the pork steak slices on top. Do not let the pork go beyond the area of the chicken. It is possible that you will need less that the pork you prepared.
9. On top of the pork slices, place the cheese sticks across the longer side or the chicken.
10. Just like a sushi, roll all of the ingredients into one big log. Shape it and chill it.
11. Heat up the oil in a medium sized skillet.
12. Prepare the cornstarch and breadcrumbs in separate plates.
13. Beat the egg.
14. You know when the oil is ready if a breadcrumb that you drop in it sizzles and rises to the surface.
15. Get the log/roll. Coat it in cornstarch. Dip it in the beaten egg. Roll it on the breadcrumbs.
16. Fry the log in medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. Roll it every now and then to make sure it gets cooked on all sides.
17. When it has turned golden brown, take it out of the pan. Slice and serve.

By the way, we served this with a No-Mayonnaise Sweet Mustard Dip. It was kind of like a no-egg or vegan honey mustard dip substitute. If you are interested, here is the recipe.

I’m writing this as quick as I can for a friend who requested it (Hi, Kitty!).
Egan and I hope you, guys, love this recipe. For comments, suggestions, and questions, feel free to write them down below or send us a message.

On to the next munchtrip!

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Beach trips on a budget the Filipino way with 3 travel tips

For someone who loves to go to the beach on a regular basis (and thank God for being programmed as such in a tropical country), doing beach trips on a budget has become easier.  My family have been doing cheap beach getaways at least three times a year since we were little.  So, these travel tips we will be sharing, are based on our experiences.

We are glad to be sharing them to you, but we can't say these Filipino traditions or Filipino ways of doing beach picnics, and travel tips work for everyone. That is just a little disclaimer. :)

If they do work for you on your budget beach trips and budget vacations on the beach, it would be wonderful if you tag #munchtrip in your social media posts. We would be glad to see you find our tips helpful.

Without further adieu, here are MunchTrip's travel tips on how to do a beach trip on a budget and to go on cheap beach getaways.


TRAVEL TIP #1: BE FLEXIBLE WITH TRANSPORTATION

Riding on Philippine buses can be cheap, but for bigger groups renting a van might be more economical.

Buses can be cheap for a group of four. But sometimes, if your group is already bigger (six and above), hiring a private van, or even a jeepney could be more economical.
I remember back when we were younger, hiring a jeepney for the barkada* is the Filipino way to go.


TRAVEL TIP #2: DRY OVER SAUCY. SOY SAUCE OVER TOMATO.
We love Filipino food cooked at home. We crave and favor our grandma's adobo, mama's pancit, and papa's kinilaw. So to have a beach trip on a budget, we tend to do potlucks.

"Dry over saucy" basically means pick dry or fried food over ones that have sauce. This, we got from a Quality Assurance for Food expert. Sauces can spoil faster because of the liquid content.

Filipino food is the best. But for trips, remember  DRY over SOY SAUCE over TOMATO SAUCE.

"Soy sauce over tomato."  If you must have sauces, avoid tomato-based and dairy-based sauces as well. The acid content might make your tummy react badly. When we travel, our stomach can produce more acid than normal.


TRAVEL TIP #3: BRING UTENSILS. DON'T BUY.
Although it may be easier to throw away disposable cups and utensils, it is cheaper to bring reusable ones that you may have already lying in your cabinet.  You could easily spend 150PHP (3 USD) which you could have spent to buy over a kilo of chicken pieces, and cornstarch to make Baked or Fried Chicken (like the one I made for the photo above).




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Well, that's it for now.

Do you have more Filipino traditions or Filipino ways of going on beach trips on a budget?

Do you want the recipe of the Fried Chicken I made and took a picture of for this blog post?

Do you have more unique ways of doing picnics and outings with your friends and family?

Share your comments below.

Philippine Beach trip on a budget (at DU Dy Medina with YKhurat! barkada)

*barkada - Filipino term for peers, friends, or troupe.

We found ourselves needing Honey Mustard Dip once for our Homemade Chicken Cordon Bleu, but we did not have any mayonnaise or honey. This was when I gave birth to this dip recipe.

This was much like an “improv that went great” kind of recipe. It was a sketch that ended up what it was intended to be. Remembering the taste profile of the dip was all I used to guide me. Nonetheless, it tasted great and so I share it here in the blog as well.

MunchTrip's Sweet Mustard Dip recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp mustard (McCormick mustard)
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar (BRAGGS brand)
1 tsp white sugar

PROCEDURE:
1. Mix everything in a dipping bowl or saucer.

Done!
Wasn’t that simple? Yet, it had the tang, and sweetness still that we like about the dip. It works for us, how did it work for you?

It was perfect for our Homemade Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe here.

For questions, comments, and suggestions, feel free to write them below or send us a message.

On to the next munchtrip!