Mozzarella-stuffed chicken breasts with Sauteed Spinach and Shallots

I really had no idea what to make tonight, and headed to the store with no list. Whatever I made had to have an associated lunch application, as we were having a play date tomorrow after church that I wouldn't have time to really cook for, but had promised lunch to the other Mom.

Luckily for me, my inner cook woke up and created something lovely. That hasn't been happening a whole lot lately. The recipe may look verbose, but it's not difficult.

This serves 6 for dinner -- we only had 2 of the breasts tonight and I'll detail the lunch application below for the other 4 breasts.

3 large whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts -- about 2.5 pounds
1.5 ounces basil, washed and spun dry, large leaves separated out (I can't wait for my herb garden to be producing!)
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced thinly
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 medium tomato, diced
Olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F with a stoneware baking sheet (preferable) or a shallow glass or metal baking dish inside.


2. Slice the mozzarella, put in a small bowl and combine with the salt, pepper, lemon zest and lemon juice. Let marinate for a few minutes, while preparing the chicken breasts.


3. Separate the chicken breasts in the middle. Using a sharp knife, cut a pocket into each, starting at the thick end of the breast and cutting lengthwise.


4. For each breast, take a basil leaf and place one of the slices of marinated mozzarella in it and roll lengthwise, then stuff into the pocket. Repeat, so that each breast has two basil/mozzarella rolls. Make sure you have a fork to retrieve the mozzarella slices from the bowl so you don't have to use your fingers and contaminate the mozzarella with raw chicken juices.


5. When the oven is ready, spray or coat the baking sheet lightly with olive oil. Spray the breasts as well. Add the breasts shiny side up to the dish (it should sizzle) and return the sheet to the oven. Set a timer for 10 minutes.


6. Add the diced tomato to the remaining marinated mozzarella and mix thoroughly. Put this mixture on the table to be used to top the breasts.


7. When the timer goes off, use tongs to turn the chicken breasts over. Turn off the oven and turn on the broiler on high. Broil the breasts 5 minutes one side, then turn and broil a further 5 minutes on the other side.


8. While the breasts are broiling, prepare the spinach.


9. When they are done, the cheese should be melted. Remove from the sheet and pour the juices from the pan over the top.

Sauteed Spinach and Shallots

1 large shallot, peeled and sliced thinly crosswise
pinch or 2 of kosher salt
9 oz fresh spinach
1 Tbs olive oil
splash of balsamic vinegar

1. Heat a large pot, preferably something like a Le Crueset on medium heat.


2. Add the olive oil and the shallots. Sauté the shallots, adding the salt, until lightly brown.


3. Add the spinach in handfuls, sautéing and wilting.


4. Splash with the vinegar, serve.

For lunch tomorrow, I intend to slice the remaining chicken breasts crosswise and serve them atop a tossed mixed greens salad with the remaining marinated mozzarella mixture.

Kota Soupa Avgolemono

Mom had surgery on Thursday, which went very well. As a consequence, both of my siblings plus Sis's Beau came in last night. Sis had called me last week to relate my recipe for Avgolemono soup like Mom makes it, and I had been wanting it all week.

It's bizarrely warm here right now, which meant we could eat on the porch. We had soup, Greek salad and crusty organic wheat bread for dipping. It was a lovely evening, and I think Bro, Sis and I are all feeling very fortunate and blessed that Mom was there with us, looking and feeling so well.

3 large chicken breasts, bone in but skinless (Mom uses a whole chicken, but that takes longer, is more hassle and the soup ends up a bit too greasy unless you skim, skim, skim -- so this is my change)
8 cups chicken broth, or 8 cups water plus 4 boullion cubes
1-2 onions, chopped finely
3 carrots, chopped finely
kosher salt (if using unsalted or low-sodium broth -- for regular broth, there's already more than enough salt)
fresh ground pepper
2 lemons, juiced
1 cup long-grain rice
3 eggs

• In a stockpot, bring chicken, broth, vegetables and fresh ground pepper to taste to a simmer, and simmer for 30-45 minutes, just until the chicken is done.


• Remove the chicken and vegetables, add 8 cups of hot water, and bring to a boil uncovered


• Add the rice, reduce heat to simmer, put on the lid and simmer until rice is done, about 20 minutes


• Meanwhile, remove the bones from the chicken and cut it into cubes, and season the chicken and vegetables with kosher salt (if you used unsalted or low-sodium broth) and fresh ground pepper


• When the rice is done, seperate the eggs into two bowls (I usually put the yolks into the bowl I have the lemon juice in)


• Beat the egg whites until frothy, then add the yolks and lemon juice. While still beating, add a couple of ladlefuls of hot soup.


• Continually beating (I use a big whisk at this point), add the avgolemono sauce into the stockpot. Then add the chicken and vegetables. It should be the right temperature to serve at once, or you can warm it gently. Keep stirring to avoid curdling the avgolemono sauce...but honestly, if you did the beating and slow addition of the broth properly, curdling is not likely to happen.

Grilled stuffed chicken breasts

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted...this getting back to work outside the house thing is really cutting into my cooking and entertaining and blogging time. It's not that I'm not doing any of it, it's just hard to remember to blog about it.

• 1.5 lb chicken breasts, skinless, boneless (3 halves)
• 2 oz fresh goat cheese (chevre) - if you can find it with lemon zest flavoring already, that will save you a step
• zest of one lemon stirred into the cheese, if the goat cheese was not already flavored
• 6 large leaves of Basil
• 3 oz Prosciutto
• 1/2 teas. salt
• 1/2 teas. fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup orzo
• 1 Tblsp. olive oil
• 1 oz fresh grated parmesan

1. Light a grill, spray the grill rack with non-stick spray, put water on to boil for the orzo
2. Using a meat mallet or a rolling pin, pound the chicken breasts under a sheet of plastic wrap to a fairly even depth.
3. Use a thin, sharp knife to slice pockets into the sides of the breasts
4. For each breast, lay out one basil leaf, cover with 1/3 of the cheese, 1 or 2 slices of prosciutto and the 2nd leaf. Stuff the basil "sandwich" into the center of the chicken breast.
5. Salt and pepper the breasts on each side, and put on the grill
6. Grill for about 10 minutes a side, or until done. One reason to enclose the filling in the basil leaves is to insulate the inside of the chicken from the prosciutto - if you put the prosciutto on the outside of the "sandwich" it can make it difficult to see if the chicken is done, as the pink color can throw you off.
7. Cook the orzo according to package directions, toss with olive oil and parmesan.

Easy Turkey Chili

I had forgotten how exhausting working in an office can be. The commute...the conversations with extremely talkative people...the politics...the commute again. The deciding each and every day what to wear. The attempt to put dinner on the table after said commute.

That being said, I'm really, really enjoying it! The pro's are far outweighing the cons. And, while I haven't cooked that much this week (mostly due to outside circumstances, or the fact that Hub decided he was going to cook) it wasn't because I couldn't due to lack of time or energy. The one night that I did, it was this super-easy, fast and very mild chili...mild enough for Kiddo to enjoy. I'm almost embarrassed to bother to write it down, but perhaps others have not used the "use every can in the pantry" method of cooking chili before...or if you have, now you don't need to be ashamed anymore. You are not alone!

1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 can kidney beans, 15 oz
1 can black beans, 15 oz
2 cans flavored diced tomatoes, 28 oz total (I used one with mild green chilis and one called chili recipe)
1 tsp salt
1/2 t coriander

1. In a large pot, heat the cooking oil. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Add the turkey and the salt, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, and cook until all the pink is gone.
2. Add all the contents of the cans and the coriander. At this point, you might want to up the heat with chili powder or pepper or something.
   
3. Bring to a boil, and boil for about 5 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for as long as you like (within reason), it will only get better...but really, it's good to eat right now.

We had it over brown rice. The rice took longer to cook than the chili did, so did require a modicum of forethought. Otherwise, the whole thing took about 25 minutes, if that. And Kiddo liked it, which is always a shock. Plus, there were lots of leftovers to pack for my lunches.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Parmesan Orzo and Lemony Broccoli

Well, even though I started a new job today, I still cooked. My fabulous Hub seemed to sense that it would calm and center me after my first commute/cubicle/commute day in over three years. He reminded me of something I usually like to do in the summer -- grill chicken breasts stuffed with ham and cheese. Except this time we both came up with some twists that made it fantastic. He did the shopping with Kiddo after picking him up from daycare, and also bought a very nice bottle of French wine (going over our usual $14/bottle top limit) as a celebration.

This amount will only serve 3 as opposed to my usual 4 -- but it's very easy to expand.

And for once, this is an entire menu. The sides are super-easy and can be used with almost any entree.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 oz chevre -- Hub found some already flavored with lemon zest, but if its not pre-flavored you can add the zest of one lemon or the juice from 1/2 lemon to a similar effect
6 large leaves of Basil
3-6 slices Prosciutto (depending on the size of the slices)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup orzo
1 tblsp. olive oil
1 oz grated fresh parmesan
2 small heads broccoli, flowers only
juice from 1/2 lemon

1. Light the grill
2. Put 2 quarts of water on to boil for the pasta
3. In a small bowl, combine the chevre, salt, pepper and lemon zest or juice (if using) with a fork
4. Pound the chicken breasts out to a relatively even thickness
5. With a sharp knife, butterfly the breasts, making sure to leave a solid "seam" on one side, and open them up.
6. On each breast, place 1 basil leaf (or several smaller ones to cover the side), 1/3 of the cheese mixture, 1 or 2 slices of prosciutto and then cover with another basil leaf. Close the chicken breast.
7. Grill the breast over medium/low heat for about seven minutes a side. Don't overcook.
8. Put the orzo into the boiling water, cook according to package directions
9. Squeeze the juice of the 1/2 lemon over the broccoli in a microwave-proof dish, and use the vegetable setting on your microwave. If you don't have a vegetable setting, cook on med heat for only about 3 minutes.
10. When the orzo is done, drain and combine with the olive oil and parmesan.

Enjoy!

Turkey roulades

I didn't write down the measurements for this one, because as I was just trying to get Kiddo to allow me to cook, Mr. M and Ms. C and their boys came over to play. I was so happy! There's no better distraction. So here it is from memory...and by the way, Hub and I ate it all up, so it's a recipe for 2.

0.8 lb turkey cutlets
~ 1 T fresh mint
1 bunch parsley (I just shave the main bunch of leaves from the stems with a sharp knife)
1 small wedge goat cheese (4 oz? not sure)
pepper
3-4 slices country-style bacon
red wine

1. Put the mint, parsley, cheese and pepper into a food processor, pulse
2. Pound the turkey cutlets out, then spread the parsley mixture on them, fold, and wrap with bacon. Use toothpicks to secure.
3. Heat oven to 350º
   
4. Heat a frying pan that you can transfer to the oven (ie, metal handles). Put the turkey roulades on the pan and sear on as many sides and you can, about 2 minutes a surface.
   
5. Splash about 1/4 cup of red wine into the pan, and transfer to the oven
6. Cook for about 10 minutes, then turn roulades over and cook another 5 minutes.

Tortellini with Lemon Chicken

On Sunday, we went to the local Greek Festival. Then on Monday, my parents returned from a 3-week trip to Greece. One might think I would have cooked some Greek food last night for dinner welcoming them back? One would be wrong.

20 oz fresh, filled tortellini (filling is pretty much your choice)
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts
8 oz cremini (baby bella) mushrooms
3-4 medium tomatoes
2 zucchini
5 cloves garlic
.75 oz fresh sage
2 lemons
olive oil
salt & pepper

I find the order of preperation for this dish important, so here it is explicitly. I use "mise bowls" - little glass bowls to put all the prepared ingredients into so that they are all ready to dump into the saute pan.

1. Put on a pot of water to boil
2. Chop the tomatoes and put them in the serving bowl.
   
3. Slice the garlic very thinly. This may seem laborious, but it's worth it
4. Slice the sage thinly lengthwise
5. Brush and quarter the mushrooms. Did you know you shouldn't wash mushrooms with water? They soak it up. Instead, use a mushroom brush.
6. Dice the zucchini into small cubes
7. Heat 5 T olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and saute briefly, about 1 minute, just until turning golden. Then add the sage and saute about one minute more until garlic and sage are crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove the garlic and sage from the oil and set aside in a mise bowl. By the way, this crispy garlic & sage trick is one I absolutely love, you can apply it to so many dishes.
8. You probably want to put the pasta in to cook right about now.
   
9. Add the mushrooms and zucchini to the oil, and saute until the mushrooms start to express some of their liquid. Transfer all the contents of the pan to your serving bowl.
10. Add 2 T olive oil to the pan and heat.
11. While that is heating, slice the chicken breasts lengthwise in approximately 1/2 inch wide strips.
12. Add the chicken to the pan and saute, just until pinkness disappears. Salt and pepper to taste.
    
13. Using a reamer (preferably), juice the 2 lemons directly into the pan. Who cares about seeds?
14. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 2 minutes
15. The pasta should finish up right about now, so drain it and add to serving bowl. You may want to add a ladle-full of the pasta water as well.
16. Add the chicken and it's sauce to the bowl, toss. Top with the crispy sage and garlic and serve.
    

Cornish Hens with Herb Butter

We went shopping at BJ's yesterday. I know, the name sounds like a bad joke, but it's our version of Sam's Club/Costco. One thing they tend to have is fresh Cornish Hens, which we picked up in addition to things like fruit snacks, toilet paper, and _Nanny McPhee_.

This is what we did with them tonight - it's a variation on a very generic theme, taking advantage of whatever herbs/seasonings you have in the fridge or in the garden. Me, I have a black thumb, you know whatever I'm using came from the store.

2 Cornish Hens
4 T butter (I used goat butter tonight, because I had some - wow, that was nice) OR olive oil
Handful of dill, chopped, or parsley, or oregano, or mint, or rosemary, really whatever strikes your fancy here. I've used them all, they're all nice. You can even go dried, but fresh is nicest.
Fresh-ground pepper
1 lemon OR 1 lime
If you like heat, add 1 seeded jalapeno, chopped, or some paprika

1. Preheat oven to 450°
2. Split hens lengthwise, removing breastbone with a sharp knife or kitchen shears
3. Arrange hens in a baking dish, not too shallow (probably not a rimmed baking sheet)
4. Use a zester to get the zest from the citrus. I love the Oxo one. Then, chop the zest up.
5. Juice the fruit. If you don't have a wooden reamer, get one. They are hands-down the best way to juice a citrus fruit. And I just like the fact that I own a reamer. Cue Beavis & Butthead laugh.
   
6. In a small dish, combine the herbs, butter (if you are using butter), pepper, zest and juice. Mash it up as well as you can.
7. If you decided to use olive oil, drizzle some on the hens
8. Smear the mixture over the hens, then pour whatever wasn't incorporated over.
9. Put the hens in the oven on the top rack, and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the juices are basically boiling under the skin. You probably want to turn the pan around a few times to account for uneven oven temps.
   

We usually have this with a salad and some nice bread. The bread is used to mop up all the gorgeous crusty bits in the pan. This is not a first-date dish, it is messy and decadent and greasy and GOOOOOOOD.

I now resolve to go running in the morning. Believe me, I need to.