Strawberry Pie!

Last Christmas my cousin brought over a cherry/berry pie which was KILLER. Which there is something to be said about this since I am not a big cherry person, unless they come from the Slurpee machine at 7eleven. So instead of recreated this recipe with strawberries, making this my first ever pie!! I was plenty nervous considering that I am not a good baker and I typically mess these things up by not having enough this or that. Which I kinda did, however it worked out. For this blog I only have a picture of my finished products.

The Dough

I made the dough from scratch. It is a Martha Stewart Recipe that my cousin used and I used as well. This recipe calls for a blender or food processor, I used my mixer instead. It was pretty straight forward and easy to do.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling dough
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 tablespoons ice water, plus 2 more, if needed

Directions

1. In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar several times to combine. Add butter. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces remaining.
2. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if needed, add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not over process.
3. Turn dough out onto a work surface; form dough into a 3/4-inch-thick disk. Wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
4. Before baking, unwrap dough; place on a large piece of floured waxed paper. Roll dough to a 14-inch round. Using paper, lift and wrap dough around rolling pin (discarding paper); carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently fit into bottom and up sides of plate.
5. Trim overhang to 1 inch; fold overhang under itself. Pinch between thumb and forefinger to make a uniform edge around the rim. Crimp edge; refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

The Filling

For the filling my cousin gave me a Allrecipes.com recipe. Like I said before this is for a cherry pie, but I used strawberries instead. Also this recipe calls for almond extract which I substituted for cinnamon (1-2 tsp, taste the filling after 1 and see if you want more). I did not add the food coloring because strawberries are already red, no need for any of that! Side Note I didn't add enough filling to the pies, so when you do this add a little extra and then when you fill the pie place them on a baking sheet instead of your oven rack; that way if they spill over it doesn't get on the bottom of your oven. I also added a little bit of lemon zest which put a little zing in the filling!

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 1 pie (6 to 8 servings)

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 1 (20 ounce) can pitted sour cherries (I used about 2 regular containers of fresh Strawberries)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)

1 egg yolk

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 C). Make pastry and refrigerate.
2. Drain cherries, reserving 1 cup liquid. In a saucepan combine sugar, flour and salt. Stir in cherry liquid and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Mixture will thicken.
3. When mixture is thickened, add butter, almond extract, food coloring and cherries. Cover and refrigerate.
4. On lightly covered surface, roll out half of the pastry into an 11 inch circle. Put into 9 inch pie dish. Roll other half of pastry into another 11 inch circle. With a knife or pastry wheel, cut eight 1/2 inch strips.
5. Pour cooled cherry filling into pie dish. Place pastry strips horizontally, then vertically, across the top of the pie and lightly brush with egg yolk. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, and cool before serving.

Final Product: What is your favorite type of pie?

 

 

Pass the Water Please



Theirs



So I stumbled upon this mixture on Pinterest and I thought I had to give it a shot. I have had this type of water at baby showers and weddings...it is SO refreshing and simple to make. The only thing is that you have to give yourself 24 hours or so to let it all soak in. I think you could even do this in a water bottle so you can take it on the go! I have also heard that this water is a "de-tox" water, but I have no idea and hey its taste good! So it can't be that bad for you right?

Here is the recipe for Cucumber Water





Mine



• 2L water,
• 1 medium cucumber
• 1 lemon
• 10-12 mint leaves's
• Steep overnight in fridge

This was so easy to make and definitely worth it. What is your favorite drink to make?

Happy cooking!

Stuffed Alfredo Shells and Garlic Bread

This is by far one my favorite recipes for stuffed shells. You know this recipe is good, because the stuffing is good on its own and doesn't need to add anything else to it. So why do it? Well it adds to the deliciousness of it, but I think if you put it on a soft shell or over rice it would be fantastic as well.

This recipe comes from food network, and I am sure if you make the homemade sauce it would be delightful. However, I didn't really have the time to make the sauce so I uses a ready made glass jar of four cheese Alfredo. Use the brand of your choice. I find that although following a recipe to the T is fun and adventurous, but when you know what you like...go with that. Now I am not saying not to try anything new...you can try it, but hey if you don't love it keep moving.

Also instead of ricotta cheese I use 8 oz of Feta and 8 oz of Gorgonzola. When we first made this I couldn't find the ricotta cheese, such made me stumble upon this modification. The second time we made it per the recipe, we prefer the modification. No offense to food network, but the modification made it a smoother cheesy taste (which we enjoy). So play with it see what you prefer. FYI if you are looking for the ricotta cheese it is over by the sour cream in the grocery store.

Also some other shortcuts...we used canned chicken instead of frying it up in the pan and we sauteed about a small container full of button mushrooms. We also used spinach instead of arugula, both added a zesty taste to the pasta. The recipe calls for 6 jumbo shells,  we ended up using medium shells for a lack personal understanding of different types of pasta. However using the medium shells produced a lot more pasta. So if you are cooking for a large gallery of people, shoot for the medium shells instead of the large!

Accompany this pasta dish, I got a sourdough loaf of bread from the local grocery store and made garlic rosemary bread. I chopped up about 3 cloves of garlic really finely and place a dash in a frying pan. Got the pan nice and hot, added the finely chopped garlic. I cooked it until it was nice and cooked through but not browned or burnt. Than I used rosemary from the spice bottle and chopped about a hefty pinch worth to a smaller size and then added the rosemary to the garlic. Now once you do this, the rosemary will take up any liquid in the pan so add about 4 tbsp of butter and let it all simmer together. If you are making this for a large group add more butter. I let it simmer for about 5-7 minutes and the placed it in a bowl and then into the freezer ( I put it in the freezer because this was the last thing I made, and i wanted it to harden). You could make this ahead of time and just put it back in the fridge, either way. So I put the loaf into the oven, heated it up and then when everything was ready to go, took the bread out sliced it up and then add the butter. It was perfect!

What is your go to pasta recipe?

Stuffed Shells with Chicken and Arugula and Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients



Garlic Bread



6 jumbo pasta shells (conchiglioni)

Filling:

• 2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups arugula
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken works well)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

After Baking

Sauce:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1 cup grape tomato halved
• Italian parsley for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil add the pasta shells and cook for approximately 9 minutes until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water being careful not to break the shells. Set aside.

Meanwhile prepare the filling. In a large bowl mix together the ricotta and Parmesan. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, add the garlic, and cook 1 minute, being careful not to brown it. Stir in the arugula until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the chopped chicken and stir well. Remove from heat and let cool for about 10 minutes. Add chicken mixture to cheese mixture and stir carefully. Stuff each shell with approximately 1/2 cup of the cheese filling and place in prepared baking dish.

For sauce, heat the butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant but not brown. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Gradually add the cream and milk and whisk until mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Remove from heat and add the chives, 1 cup Parmesan, cherry tomatoes and stir gently. Pour sauce over shells and sprinkle with remaining 3 tablespoons of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and cheese is golden brown. Sprinkle with parsley.

FNK notes: recipe makes too much filling

YUM!!

Happy Cooking! 

Pork Pork and more Pork!

Heelllooo internet world!!

I hope this finds you doing extremely well! Sorry for the delay in posting, I have some catching up to do! Today I am going to give you my pork tenderloin recipe. Let me tell you what, you don't like this... I am going to be shocked!

I have made this pork tenderloin a couple of times. The first time I made this "loin"( for short), I kinda botched it up, but it ended up tasting amazing! Also this recipe calls for some advanced cooking... not really my style. I love the delicious however easy to make! So I will share with you my short cuts, but I believe it to be just as delicious.

So the way I am going to construct this posting today is I am going to give you the recipe first and then tell you how I did it. That way you have a bit of understanding of what I am talking about. So keep reading!!

Also this recipe has a plum chutney, I did not make it.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary

• 4 teaspoons herbes de Provence

• 4 teaspoons olive oil

• 2 pork tenderloins (about 2 lb.)

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 16 thin slices pancetta (Italian bacon; about 8 oz.) or prosciutt

Ingredient Info

Herbes de Provence, a dried herb mixture, can be found at specialty foods stores and in the spice section of most supermarkets.

Preparation

Stir rosemary, herbes de Provence, and oil in a small bowl. Rub all over pork; season with salt and pepper. Wrap pancetta slices around pork and tie at 2" intervals with kitchen twine to hold together. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.If using a charcoal grill, build a medium-hot fire; push coals over to 1 side of grill. If using a gas grill, heat all but 1 burner to high. Grill tenderloins over hot part of grill, turning frequently, until a crisp brown crust forms on all sides, 8—10 minutes. Move tenderloins to cooler part of grill to gently cook through; cover and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of each loin registers 145°, 15—20 minutes longer.
Transfer tenderloins to a cutting board. Let rest for 10 minutes. Slice thinly and serve with plum chutney alongside.

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/08/pork-tenderloin-with-plum-chutney#ixzz2E3MARzd4

Alright so here is what I did differently! The first time I made this, I tried to follow the recipe exactly minus the grilling because it was way to cold to grill. Also instead of the pancetta, I used good ol'bacon! Can't go wrong. I used fresh rosemary from my rosemary bush and Ms. Dash salt free garlic and herb mix. Herbes de Provence is hard to find in the states, and when you do its expensive for what you get. Ms. Dash does the job great! I also used the salt free because the bacon add a lot of salt already to the pork so I didn't find it necessary to add any more. So the first time I did this, I tried to pan sear the bacon around it and then put it in the oven. Well what actually happened was all the bacon fell off and I had to wait for it to cool to re-wrap the pork! The second time I cooked it, I went ahead and put it all in the oven to bake and then broiled the bacon on top and on bottom by rotating it. 

So the second time I made this I let it sit in the fridge all ready to go for about 2 hours, there wasn't much of a difference in taste. So you can if you want to or don't! Choice is yours! Here is how I did it along with pictures! 

Step one: rub down the loins with Ms. Dash, rosemary and olive oil and wrap with bacon. As you wrap I used halved toothpicks to keep the bacon in place (I used colored ones, therefore I can see them after its all been cooked)

 Step two: Place in the oven for 30-45 minutes until the pork has reached 145 degrees. Than set your oven to broil, and CAREFULLY watch the loins. Once the bacon on top has been crisped up, flip the loins to crisp the bottom layer of bacon!

Step three: take the loins out and let the rest for about 5-10 minutes than cut to serve. **I have noticed both times that the pork ends up being pink- this is because of the bacon. Make sure that your pork is at the correct temperature before pulling it out of the oven.**

Bon Appetite!

Original Recipe

My pork

Let me know what you think! I would love to hear! 

Happy Cooking! 

Double Doozies

So as the holiday’s approach us it is time for tons of food and sweets! Currently in the US we are celebrating Thanksgiving.  Wait around for my next post for the awesome pork that I cooked for my families Thanksgiving. This is all about the sweetness of life…the double sweetness of life that is!! These cookies are Steve’s favorite!

I didn’t make the cookies as “homemade” as a true cook would do…however I took a bag of instant cookie mix (just add oil, eggs etc). Rolled them up, placed them on the pan and then in the oven. I would just follow the directions. However, in the recipe below there are also directions on how to make them homemade. We were on a time crunch and hey Betty Crocker can taste like the real deal!

Side note~ I am sure that these cookies could be made with any kind of flavor cookie! We decided for chocolate chip cookies, however the recipe calls for chocolate cookies. 

While the cookies cooked, we started to make the cream filling. Once the cookies finished, I always place the cookies on paper towels while they cool. I followed this cream recipe to the T. This blog is short and sweet just like these cookies!!

What is your favorite holiday desert? 

Happy Cooking and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

        1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (recommended: Dutch-processed)

       1 teaspoon baking soda

     1/4 teaspoon baking powder

      1/4 teaspoon salt

       1 1/2 cups sugar

       10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

       1 large egg

 

Vanilla-Cream Filling:

    4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature   

     1/4 cup vegetable shortening

      2 cups confectioners' sugar

     2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Set 2 racks in the middle and upper third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. In a food processor or the bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. While pulsing or on low speed, add the butter, then the egg. Process or beat until the dough is thoroughly blended and massed together. Drop rounded teaspoons of batter onto nonstick or parchment-lined cookie sheets at 2-inch intervals. With moistened fingers, round out the cookies and flatten them a little. Bake for 9 minutes, turning the pans once for even baking, until the cookies are set. Set the cookie sheets on a rack to cool.

Vanilla-Cream Filling: Put the butter and shortening in a mixing bowl and, at low speed, gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla, until blended. Turn the mixer up to high and beat for 2 or 3 minutes more, until fluffy.

With a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch tip, pipe teaspoon size blobs of filling onto the tops of half the cookies. Keeping the smooth bottoms of the cookies facing up, flip the remaining cookies on top of the filling and lightly press to form sandwiches.

What a turnover???

Everyone in my family will tell you that I am not the best baker. I have got numerous stories of my epic failures when it comes to baking. From rock hard Cinnamon rolls to icing on a cake that just drips right off. They make for good stories though. Since I am in a giving mood I will share one with you before I give you this awesome turnover recipe.

I think I was in my freshmen year of college, still very kitchen illiterate, and my grandmother always made this pound cake with what we call penucci icing. As I have found out, its really only caramel icing. We never understood where she got that name from, until I was thumbing through an old cook book and found the recipe labeled just that. Anyways so if you have ever made any kind of icing in your life you know that the proportions of the different ingredients is pretty important. Little ol 19 year old me didn't know the difference and I had my mind set on making this cake just like grandmother did. I was out picking things up from the grocery store and I asked my mom how many sticks of butter do I need to make this icing, she replied (or in my mind this is what I heard) we need 4 sticks. So picked everything, went home, started cooking the cake. Cake finished, it was beautiful!!

I was as high as a kite because now I am just one step away from beating this! So I start making the icing, I would like to say that I looked at the recipe but....I didn't  and mom said that we needed 4 sticks of butter. So into the pot when 4 sticks of butter, sugar etc. bubbles up bubbles down ready to pour onto the cake. Now normally when you pour this icing down onto the cake it should stick and firm up. Caramel icing isn't one to really continue to run. Well I started to pour the icing and that sucker just ran,  I would have to scrape around the sides to re-ice the cake... I was so defeated! So everyone came in cause they want a piece of memory that this cake serves, and people are like why is the icing so runny? I didn't have a clue. It tasted delicious! As you feel your arteries clog up. But hey, doesn't anything with that amount of butter??

We chalked it up that I didn't let it boil long enough, until later that night. My mom went in to cook dinner and she asked me where the butter was. I replied its in the icing...from then on when ever I make this cake or bake anything for the matter this story comes up. Lessons learned... always read the recipe and if there is any need for 4 sticks of butter check again!

I found this recipe on food network. It is an Alton Brown recipe, and he totally geeks me out to the core in his shows. So I knew this should be good. This is a salmon turnover. I followed the recipe to the T and then made a dill dipping sauce from Paula Dean.

These two recipes are so easy!!! You definitely have to try these out!! Steven and I also thought about trying it with black beans instead of rice. You can pretty much put anything in this!! Be careful not to overfill them... but they are still good if you do!

Salmon  Turnover

Ingredients

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• Flour, for dusting
• 1 can boneless, skinless, salmon
• 1/2 cup Sauteed mushrooms
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sour pickle relish
• 1 cup cooked white, brown or fried rice
• 2 to 3 chopped scallions
• 1 tablespoon parsley leaves, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Lightly flour the counter top. Roll puff pastry so there are no seams. Cut into 4 squares.
In a bowl, combine salmon, mushrooms, pickle relish, rice, scallions, parsley, salt, and pepper. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of each square. Brush inside edges of puff pastry with egg wash and fold over to make a triangle. Using a fork, seal the edges. Poke a slit or two in the top of each turnover. Brush tops with egg wash. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

For the dill sauce we made a little modifications. I didn't use the cucumber and the dill we used was from a spice jar and we just tasted it as we added it. So add these things to your liking!

Dill Sauce

Ingredients

1 English cucumber, peeled, grated, and drained for 1 hour

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup fresh dill, finely chopped

Directions

Mix in a bowl until all ingredients are combined

What is your favorite cooking mishap? I would love to hear!

 

Happy Cooking!

Noodling Around

Let me tell you what, there are three types of food that I could eat everyday all day and never get sick of it!! That is Mexican, Chinese and Pasta!!! I love pasta, it is totally my go to food. Need a quick meal? Don’t have much in the cabinet, cook up some pasta and some butter and you are good to go! So I am sure you have guessed what today’s recipe is… PASTA!! I am sure I will post other ones as well, because I am a pasta junkie. If there was a support group in be there.

Any who, I got these two recipes off of pinterest. It was well worth it and fast to cook! It’s a spicy Romano Cheese pasta. Things I did differently to this recipe, is instead of using the Romano and the Parmesan cheese, I used shredded Italian blend. At the grocery, I couldn’t seem to find any Romano. I guess it was meant to be. I also added onions and thought about adding spinach, but then decided that there was enough flavors going on already to be good.

I didn’t do a lot of spiciness, because that doesn’t always agree with stomachs. I also didn’t have anymore cayenne pepper, so I just did a shake of red pepper flakes. But you should do it to your liking. Other than that, this was an easy delicious dinner and I highly suggest giving it a shot!

The second recipe was a bit more complicated. It was a frozen berry yoghurt. I didn’t do the fresh berries in the recipe, but it was still good. Although disclaimer- you use honey in this I suggest if you are making a smaller serving, than to use less honey! I definitely made that mistake. I am not a huge fan of honey and I added to much so it was very prevalent in this batch.

Also, you are going to have to freeze this before you serve it, because otherwise it is just like a smoothie, not like ice cream.. The recipe made it seem like you just mix it all together and your good to go. I didn’t find that to be the case. So once I made it I put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes and it harden right up and was good to go!

Overall a very good meal… we were full to our stomach and enjoying the good feeling  that you get after eating a ton of good food!

Enjoy the Recipes!!

Romano Spicy Pasta

The Sauce:

• 1 pint heavy cream
• 4 T butter
• 2 tsp  salt
• 1 – 2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup romano cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper  *EDITED*  My husband and I like a lot of KICK to ours.  IF you or your family doesn’t, please read comments first.  If you aren’t sure how much cayenne you will like, add a tiny amt and taste as you add until it’s to your liking!

The Rest:

• 10 ounce package of bowtie pasta cooked and drained according to package directions – al dente.
• 1 1/2 T melted butter
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 small jar artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 7-8 ounce precooked sliced grilled chicken (we also add equal amounts of sausage to ours…although shrimp, beef, and crab would be great too!)
• 1/8 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 oz heavy cream

How To Make It:

Sauce:

• Melt butter in saute pan or skillet. Add cream, salt and pepper, heat to a boil. Remove from heat and fold in cheeses and cayenne pepper. Set aside.

The Rest:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter, then add mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes. Stir for one minute. Next add artichokes and chicken (and cooked sausage or other meat). Stir. Stir in 1 ounce heavy cream and 1/2 of the sauce. Add bowtie pasta followed by rest of the sauce. Stir gently. Serve.

Mine



Theirs







 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Website of orgin: http://www.bosssanders.com/2012/03/03/spicyromanochicke/

 

 

One Minute berry icecream

Ingredients

• . 1 x 500g pack of mixed frozen berries
• . 150g fresh blueberries
• . 3–4 tablespoons runny honey
• . 1 x 500g tub of natural yoghurt
• . a few sprigs of fresh mint
• . optional: 4 small ice cream cornets

Method

In advance: Put 4 small glasses in the freezer, or you can serve straight into ice cream cornets, if you prefer.

When you're all set up and ready to go, get the glasses (if using) and the frozen berries out of the freezer. Divide the fresh blueberries between the glasses or cornets. Put the honey and yoghurt and leaves from the sprigs of mint into the food processor and whiz, then add the frozen berries and whiz again until combined. Spoon the frozen yoghurt over the fresh berries and serve. Yum.

Mine

Their

http://m.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/1-minute-berry-ice-cream

Happy Cooking!

Stuffed With A Bit Of Heaven

 

So this recipe comes from a pintrest board. Yea, I know… pintrest the new crack for online DIY and just pure awesome randomness! This dinner was made with two different recipes, one for the stuffed chicken and the other for the zucchini chips. There are a lot of modifications to tonight’s dinner, because I thought that we had ricotta cheese, however it had gone bad. I didn’t want to fork out the money for panko crumbs, so I used good ol’American Wal-Mart branded bread crumbs.

For the stuffing I used a hand full of Monterrey Jack cheese (shredded), about two tbsp of cream cheese, spinach, and cherry tomatoes, small clove of garlic and rosemary. These changes were made not because the recipe was bad… it was just the circumstances stated above!! I can only attest to my modifications; however I believe that this recipe would be good as is. Also, just a side note, I think it would be good if it was stuffed with feta, spinach, etc, although not everyone is a fan of feta cheese.

Here is the recipe for the stuffed baked chicken- at the bottom of the recipe I have the picture that the website posted and what mine actually turned out like. When it is just you and your family at home, what difference does it make to make a beautiful presentation? I prefer tastiness over presentation any day!!

Panko Crusted Chicken Stuffed with Ricotta, Spinach, Tomatoes, and Basil:

Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net

• 1 cup of low fat ricotta cheese
• Small handful of baby spinach, chopped
• Small handful of grape tomatoes, diced (remove the seeds if possible)
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• Dash of oregano
• 2 chicken breasts
• Italian seasoned panko crumbs
• 2 tsp olive oil

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the ricotta, spinach, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, basil, garlic, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Rinse the chicken breasts then cut a long horizontal slit along the center of the thin long edge of the chicken breast, nearly through to the other side. Fill the cavity of the chicken breast with the ricotta mixture. Season each side of the chicken with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Carefully dip the chicken breasts in the panko crumbs until both sides are evenly covered. Close the slit together with toothpicks (or if you are like me and realize that you don’t have toothpicks, simply break some kebab sticks in half and use them).

Heat the olive oil in an OVEN PROOF skillet on the stove over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, place the chicken in the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown, flip the chicken over and place the skillet into the oven. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Let the meat rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy.

Recipe retrieve from pintrest, but also this site : http://www.fortheloveofcooking.net/2011/06/panko-crusted-chicken-stuffed-with.html

Their Chicken

My chicken

The other part of dinner tonight was a zucchini chip. Basically thinly sliced zucchini, with a type of breading baked in the oven. Steve liked the zucchini chips, but they weren’t my favorite thing that I have made before. I think it would be good just to place slices on a pan and throw a little olive oil and a little bit of seasoning would be better instead of breading them like this. But I gave it a shot and now we know. I had to modify this recipe because I can’t use apple cider vinegar (allergy to apples… I know I’m weird!) , which could’ve been the very reason these didn’t taste like I thought they would have.  I could have also sliced the zucchini two thinly as well. But I couldn’t get the slice to crisp up like a chip; instead they got a little soggy, even after I tried to broil them to get them a little crispy. Any way’s if one of you figures out where I went wrong in the process let me know and I will definitely retry to make them!

Zucchini Chips                              

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Homemade Breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• heaping 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup cold milk (I used oat milk)
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups sliced zucchini (about 2 small zucchinis)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium bowl combine breadcrumbs, cheese (if using) and black pepper.

In separate bowl add flour, milk and vinegar.  Gently stir until combined but do not over stir.

Dip zucchini slices in flour mixture and then dredge in breadcrumb mixture.

Place coated zucchini slices on a baking sheet (I line mine with non stick foil for easy clean up!) and bake for 30 minutes, flipping the slices over once halfway through cooking, or until browned and crisp.

Nutritional Info:

Makes 2 servings.

Nutrients per serving:  Calories: 224.5, Cal. from Fat: 33.5, Total Fat: 3.5g, Sat. Fat: 0g, Carbs: 41.5g, Fiber: 6.5g, Sugars: 12g, Protein: 9g, Sodium: 459mg, Chol: 0mg

Recipe found at http://www.thenakedkitchen.com/zucchini-chips/

That’s all I got for now Internet world!!

Happy Cooking!