0054. Stuffed chicken

My husband hates chicken. Hates. I hate pork. He won't eat a meal without meat. So that leaves us with few options when it comes to dinner. However, there are times when I make chicken anyway because it's delicious and healthy and... well, cheap. As a mother and wife who's in charge of the bookkeeping, I'm definitely okay with cheap. Especially when it's so tasty.

This recipe is one that he actually loves when I make There's two variations that I use - one with spinach and one with jalapeno. He loves spicy food, so when I make the jalapeno version, I make some less spicy versions for Monkey and myself on a different pan.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 ounces cream cheese 

½ cup packed fresh baby spinach, chopped

2 scallions, thinly sliced

3 cloves (1 tablespoon) fresh garlic, minced

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon basil

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

OPTIONAL: bacon, cooked, cooled, and crumbled

1. Place a rack near the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat in a baking sheet and set aside. If you don't have those, then lightly grease the baking sheet with Pam spray (I use the olive oil version).
2. Butterfly the chicken breast and using a meat mallet or rolling pin, flatten each chicken breast to about a ½ inch. Combine cream cheese, spinach, scallions, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, Parmesan cheese and the optional bacon. Spread a quarter of the mixture onto each chicken breast; carefully roll up the chicken and secure with toothpicks. Place chicken on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake 40-45 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center and the outside is golden brown. Serve warm.

VARIATION: Skip the spinach and use thin slivers of jalapeno. If you're sensitive to heat, make sure you get all the seeds and membrane out before you mix it. But make sure to use the bacon because jalapeno and bacon is the most amazing combination of flavors ever. SO GOOD.

I like to serve this dish with scalloped potatoes and asparagus. The scalloped potatoes don't exactly equal healthy dish, but it's delicious and my favorite way to have potatoes. Noms.

0046. Buffalo Chicken Stromboli

What You'll Need

2 cups cubed or shredded cooked chicken 

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese 
3 tablespoons Frank's® RedHot® Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce 
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed 

How to Make It

• 1
  Heat the oven to 400°F.  Stir the chicken, cheese and hot sauce in a medium bowl.
• 2
  Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.  Roll the pastry sheet into a 10x14-inch rectangle.
• 3
  With the short side facing you, spoon the chicken mixture down the center of the pastry.  Fold 2 opposite sides of the pastry to the center over the filling and press to seal.  Place the pastry, seam-side down, onto a baking sheet.  Tuck the ends under to seal.
• 4
  Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.  Cut the pastry in quarters to serve.
  
  
  Serving Suggestion: Serve with carrot and celery sticks, additional hot sauce and blue cheese dressing for dipping.
  
  
  Recipe originally posted at: CampbellsKitchen.com

0037. Chicken Jalfrezi

 I asked Facebook what I should make for dinner, since PK wanted something spicy and my friend Nancy McGregor suggested that I make Chicken Jalfrezi. I googled it and found a recipe on AllRecipes.com (which is my go-to website for new recipes). Even though PK hates chicken, it's been so long since I've made it that I figured it'd be safe to make some - especially if it was spicy. Since this is a "curry" dish (no curry in it, but there's chili -which you can use powdered or fresh) I decided it sounded great. 

Ultimately, PK hated it, and not because it's chicken. I didn't care for it much either although Monkey loved it. I'll go ahead and post the recipe, but the next time I try to make this one, I'm going to have to double the spices since it tasted very tomato-y and kind of bland.

• PREP20 mins
• COOK55 mins
• READY IN1 hr15 mins

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 6 servings

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut in half
• 3 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
  
  

  Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken, and season with turmeric, chili powder and salt. Fry gently, scraping the bottom of the pan frequently and turning the chicken.
  2. Pour in the tomatoes with their juice, cover the pan, and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes. Uncover, and simmer for another 10 minutes to let the excess liquid evaporate.
  3. Add the ghee, cumin, ground coriander, ginger and cilantro, and simmer for another 5 to 7 minutes. Serve the chicken pieces with sauce spooned over the top.

0035. Jambalaya

Cook Time:

30 minutes

Prep Time:

5 minutes

Servings:

6

Wait Time:

0 minutes

Ready Time:

35m

Rating:

• 1 (pound) fully cooked kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 (pound) boneless skinless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 (cup) chopped celery
• 1/2 (cup) chopped green pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (tablespoon) butter
• 1 (14.5 ounce can) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (6.0 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/2 (teaspoon) hot pepper sauce (I like Louisiana Hot Sauce, PK prefers Tobasco)
• 1/4 (teaspoon) cayenne pepper
• 1/8 (teaspoon) garlic powder
• 1/8 (teaspoon) white pepper
• 1/8 (teaspoon) ground black pepper
• 1/2 (pound) uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Hot cooked rice

1. In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, saute the sausage, chicken, onion, celery, green pepper and garlic in butter until chicken is browned. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
2. Stir in shrimp; cover and simmer for 4 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Serve over rice if desired; or cool, cover and freeze for up to 2 months.

0020. bacon wrapped jalapeno chicken bites

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 16 bite-sizes

Chicken spread with cream cheese and jalapenos, rolled and wrapped with bacon, then grilled.

Ingredients

§ 8 chicken tenders, flattened and cut in two

§ 3-ounce package softened cream cheese

§ 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

§ 8 slices bacon, cut in half

Instructions

1. Dab 1/2 teaspoon (more or less) of cream cheese on top of each chicken tender. Sprinkle a scant 1/4 teaspoon of peppers over cream cheese. Fold or roll chicken to enclose cream cheese mixture. Wrap each roll with one piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick.

2. Grill until bacon is brown and crispy on both sides.

Notes

Be sure to wear plastic gloves when handling fresh jalapenos. The oil will attach itself to your hands and is not easily washed away. An inadvertent swipe of the hand close to your eyes could be an unforgettable experience.

For reference, if you are substituting for the chicken tenders (i.e. dark meat, large pieces of chicken breast, game meat), the size of the tenders I used were 5-6 inches long and 2-3 inches wide before flattening and cutting in half.

Try flattening meat inside a zip-lock bag as pictured above. No flying pieces, no contamination on your cutting board from the chicken, and cleanup is super easy.

0019. bacon wrapped chicken

Chicken, and bacon, better yet, crispy bacon. They are two of my favorite foods both in one easy recipe. I had some extra boneless-skinless chicken breasts on hand and was looking for an easy dinner which brings us today’s recipe for Bacon Wrapped Chicken. What really surprised me was the amount of ingredients in this recipe, there are very few! I feel the chive and onion cream cheese is a huge ingredient in the flavor department and does most of the work for you. Try and pound the chicken breasts down with a mallet as thinly as possible because they will roll up a lot easier. If you want to do some outdoor grilling these can also be grilled as well. They go great with a side dish of pasta or flavored rice. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
12 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves
2 (8 oz) cartons chive and onion cream cheese
12 slices of bacon
salt (to taste)
2 tablespoons butter

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Between 2 sheets of wax paper with a mallet flatten chicken breasts to ½” thickness.
Step 2: Spread 3 tablespoons of cream cheese over each chicken breast. Then Dot with butter and season with salt. Wrap with bacon and stick a toothpick through the rolled chicken breast to hold it together. Roll up and stick a toothpick through to hold it together.
Step 3: Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes (or until juices run clear).
Step 4: Turn on the broiler and broil six inches from the heat for 5 minutes or until the bacon is crispy.

0014. Jerk Chicken and Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers

Jerk Chicken and Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers

Ingredients

• 1/3 (cup) 1/3 cup sliced green onions, divided
• 1/3 (cup) 1/3 cup chopped shallots, divided
• 1 (tablespoon) 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 (tablespoon) 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
• 2 (tablespoon) 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 (teaspoon) 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 4 4 garlic cloves
• 1 1 large serrano chile, stemmed
• 8 8 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
• 1/4 (teaspoon) 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Cooking spray
• 1/3 (cup) 1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 2 (tablespoon) 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 (tablespoon) 2 tablespoons light sour cream
• 8 8 mini bell peppers

Directions

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. After preheating, reduce one side to low.
2. Combine 1/4 cup green onions, 1/4 cup shallots, sugar, 2 tablespoons juice, oil, allspice, garlic, and serrano in a mini food processor; process until smooth. Combine half of onion mixture and chicken in a medium bowl; toss well. Sprinkle with salt.
3. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Cover and grill 5 minutes on each side. Move chicken over low heat. Cover and grill 5 minutes on each side or until done. Brush chicken with remaining onion mixture.
4. Combine remaining green onions, remaining shallots, remaining juice, cheese, cilantro, and sour cream. Halve bell peppers lengthwise; discard seeds. Divide cheese mixture evenly among pepper halves. Place peppers on grill rack coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Grill 7 minutes or until peppers are lightly charred

Check out this recipe at Food on the Tablehttp://foodonthetable.com/recipes/395882

0003. Recipe: Coconut Chicken Curry

There's a blog out there called Paleo Parents, talking about this "awesome" diet called the Paleo Diet (found it through a #twitloss tweet). I think their before & after story is pretty freaking awesome, but looking at some of the recipes in the Paleo Diet menu... I don't know that it's for me, despite their fantastic results. Still, I did find one recipe that looks really freaking good - probably because I'm so in love with curry right now. Seriously. I want it all the time. I crave it constantly. Poor PK & Monkey aren't huge fans of it, so I don't make it too often. But if I had it my way, I'd have either sushi or CURRY every. single. day.

I haven't made this one yet, but I plan to pretty soon. Though I'm not entirely sure where I'm going to find cauliflower rice...

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red chili pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 Tablespoons Curry Powder
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

Cooking Steps

Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces and brown in a pan with the olive oil. Set the chicken aside in a separate bowl.

Combine the chopped onion, chopped chili pepper and garlic to the pan that was used for the chicken, and let simmer until onion pieces are soft. Add coconut milk, broth, curry powder, red pepper flakes, and chicken, and mix well. Cover and let simmer on medium low for about 20 minutes.

Serve over cauliflower rice.