Chicken Spinach Rollatini

I know this is the second "stuffed" chicken recipe I've posted so far, but man, is it delicious. It's like lasagna for someone on the Atkins diet. This recipe was adapted from yet another brilliant post from Skinny Eats.

What you will need:

Chicken breasts, thin sliced or thin chicken cutlets
Plain or Italian Breadcrumbs (if you have plain, you can jazz them up by mixing in some Italian seasoning)
Fresh baby spinach
1/2 lemon
1 egg, separated
shredded mozzarella
part skim ricotta cheese
minced garlic
ready-made pesto sauce (I use classico brand)
marinara or pasta sauce of your choice

Preheat your oven to 425.

If your chicken cutlets are not already thin sliced, then you need to prepare them to be rolled up. You can find detailed instructions on how to convert regular chicken breasts to thin breasts here.

For about a pound of chicken, put 4-5 ounces of the ricotta into a bowl. Add in one generous spoonful of pesto, and one generous spoonful of garlic. Also put in 1-2 ounces of shredded mozzarella. Throw in about 1/4 of a bag of spinach and mix it all together. Pour in the egg yolk to help it all stick together.

As a side note, if you need to separate an egg, you should definitely get one of these guys:

Spread a thin layer of your ricotta mixture on the chicken cutlets.

On a plate, pour out some breadcrumbs. I had to make Italian breadcrumbs since I only had plain. Very easy: regular breadcrumbs plus Italian seasoning mix from the spice aisle. To make things really exciting, throw in some grated parmesan.

Roll up your chicken cutlets, like so:

Dip the chicken roll-ups into the egg whites, which were reserved from the yolk, and then into the bread mixture, lightly coating them, then place them into a baking pan:

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes. Then remove from the oven, and spread a thin layer of pasta sauce over the top of the chicken rollatini, and then sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Put the chicken back in the oven for about five more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Then, put the broiler on "hi" and watch it very carefully. Seriously. Stand there like a hawk and watch the cheese as it crisps. Pull it out before it burns--there is no scientific method or measurement of time that this will occur in as it is very oven specific. 

Serve, and enjoy!

Steamed Artichoke with Lemon Dill Aioli

Artichokes in the summertime are one of my favorite side dishes to make. When I first started dating J, I made these artichokes, and he looked on dubiously, telling me that it seemed like "a lot of effort for not so much food." After tasting them the way they SHOULD be prepared, he was a believer. These are a very easy and convenient side dish that brings the South of France and the Mediterranean right into your dining room (or living room, in front of The Bachelorette, as it happens in my house).

Total time for these from start to finish is about 50 minutes. However, there is a lot of downtime after the first ten minutes, so you have plenty of time to make a main dish after you start these puppies. You can also make the aioli one night if you have some spare time and keep it in a tupperware in the fridge for a few days. 

What you will need:

2 artichokes, as pictured above (one per person served)
1/2 cup light mayo
1/3 cup light sour cream
1 tbsp dried dill
1/2 lemon
garlic powder
sea salt
black pepper

First things first, prep your artichokes. Some people go all the way and clip the tops of each leaf to get rid of the point. I just slice the stem so that it's short; about 1/2 of an inch from the base of the artichoke.

Put the 'chokes in a large pot and fill as high as possible with water. Put them on the stove and let them reach a low rolling boil.

Cover them with a lid and let them continue to boil slowly for about 30 minutes. Alternately, you could use a steamer and steam the artichokes; I'd love to do them this way but I don't own a steamer yet. They will first turn a bright green color as pictured above, and then turn a darker green and the water will become a bit green too. 

For the aioli, mix the mayo and the sour cream into a bowl together. It will be a lovely off-white color; taste this mixture first and make sure it suits your palate. There should be slightly less sour cream than mayo in the mix, but if you don't like the way it tastes, then fix it!

After mixing it together and making sure you like the base, squeeze in the juice of half of a lemon. Now, a trick on squeezing lemons to get maximum juice and minimum seeds. First thing you should do is roll the lemon on the counter, pushing down on it to loosen it up a bit, then slice it in half. And then, you should invest in the "lemon sock" (also known as stretch wraps). Behold:

A pack of these cost $2 or so, and they keep all seeds out as you squeeze your lemon. If you aren't using a citrus reamer, this is a great way to get your juice out.

After you squeeze in your juice, put your dill in (again, this is to taste; I've only given a baseline for what I like), and also put in just a pinch of garlic powder, salt, and pepper (all to taste). 

Mix it all together, and then toss it in the fridge to chill while you cook the rest of your meal.

After about 30 minutes at a low boil, your artichokes should be about ready. Stick a fork in the base of the artichoke; if it goes in pretty easily, then they are done. If you're fighting to get it in the base of the artichoke, not done yet; let it keep boiling. 

Once they are done, drain them and let them cool a bit, turned upside down so residual water comes out. Then serve whole with the aioli, and enjoy!

Salami "Squishes"

Easiest party appetizer of all time. Guests rave about them and they are literally comprised of TWO INGREDIENTS. I stole the recipe from Daisy JD as she extolled their virtues and promised that guests would be impressed. She was not wrong.

What you will need:

thinly sliced Genoa salami (for a crowd of about 30-40 people I did a full pound, but if you are just having a dinner party, I would say you would be fine with 1/4 pound)
Philadelphia Whipped Onion & Chive Cream Cheese (a large container works for about 1/2 a pound)

Place a small dollop of cream cheese in the center of a piece of salami.

The amount of cream cheese will also depend on your palate. I recommend making a few "experimental" appetizers to see what your personal ratio is.

"Squish" the sides of the salami up to make a pouch for the cream cheese. Serve and enjoy (or enjoy as you make them!)

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This dish is basically a jalapeno popper chopped up and stuffed inside a chicken breast. I stole the idea from Skinnytaste but modified it a bit; primarily because I forgot to buy a few of the ingredients. Oh well, you live and you learn. This dish takes about an hour start to finish (it took me a little bit longer because I was taking pictures the entire time), with about 20-25 minutes of that time involving cooking; so during the time the food is in the oven, you can do other things to help maximize post-work enjoyment time.

You will need:

one package chicken breasts (if you can find the kind that are thin sliced cutlets that will definitely cut down on your prep time but my grocery store was out of them when I went shopping)

One large container of whipped cream cheese (reduced fat would be preferable but I had this one left over from another recipe I made for a party and I don't believe in bringing reduced fat anything to celebratory occasions)

Reduced fat shredded colby & monterey jack cheese

Two limes

3 Jalapenos (note: I only put two jalapenos in my recipe because I am a bit of a wuss, and it was barely spicy at all)

Olive oil

Sea salt

Garlic Powder

Panko bread crumbs, italian style (I know it's not in the picture; I forgot I had them in my cupboard until halfway through when all the other ingredients were scattered)

Tooth picks are going to be very helpful, also.

Preheat your oven to 425.

For those of you who have the thin sliced cutlets, you can ignore this part of the prep. For those of you who do not, slice your chicken breasts in half horizontally so that you are basically making them thinner (skinnier) versions of themselves. If only I could do this to my thighs.

The next step is really therapeutic if you've had a bad day at work. Take a piece of wax paper (parchment paper works too) and put it over the chicken. Using the blunt side of a mallet, pound the chicken until it's thin. Make sure you move the mallet all over the chicken as you're pounding, otherwise you'll tear right through the chicken.

Now, we turn our attention to the filling. Take your jalapenos and dice them, removing the seeds and membranes as you go. NOTE ABOUT CHOPPING JALAPENOS: They sting. If you are a nail biter or otherwise have hidden tiny little cuts on your hands, they will HURT FOREVER. Also, they release juices and aromas that will make your nose and mouth burn. 

This is why I made J (my fiance) chop the jalapenos. 

I don't really have any advice on how to get through it if you must do it yourself, except perhaps wear gloves and just chop quickly. 

With regards to how much jalapeno to put in, like I said before, I put two of them in with no seeds, and although it was spicy on my hands, it was not spicy in my mouth at all, but imparted a good southwestern flavor. I think I will move it up to three of them next time, with no seeds, but if you really like that heat then definitely throw some of the seeds in there. I would not recommend putting in any less than two jalapenos, because I think you'd lose the actual flavor of the dish at that point, but again, it's up to you.

In a glass bowl, scoop 2/3 of the container of cream cheese into the bowl. Then add about 4 ounces of the shredded cheese (1/2 a cup). To save on time and dishes, one of those packages of cheese is typically 7 or 8 ounces; so I usually dump in about half of a bag of cheese. Dump the jalapenos in, and season it with a tiny bit of garlic powder. If you have it, you could add a couple of pieces of crumbled up bacon, but J doesn't eat pork, so I don't include it. Mix it all up with a spoon.

Now, let's turn our attention back to the chicken breasts. In a smaller bowl, mix together 1 tbsp of olive oil and the juice of 1 1/2 limes. Throw in some sea salt and garlic power in that mixture. On a plate, pour out some of your panko bread crumbs (not a lot, but you're going to be coating chicken).

Dip each chicken piece in the oil/juice mixture then lightly in the bread crumbs, giving it a light coating on each side. I typically do this step and the next one chicken breast at a time, but you could do all of the chicken then all of the cream cheese, whatever you'd prefer.

Spread some of the cream cheese mixture onto the chicken breast.

Roll the chicken breasts up and stick tooth picks in them to make them stay put. Put them all in a non-stick spray coated glass baking dish.

Pop those bad boys in the oven, enjoy a glass of wine for 20-25 minutes or until the bread crumbs start to brown and the cheese is bubbling nicely, then pull them out, serve, and enjoy!

Black Bean & Corn Salad

Sometimes I like to make this salad on Sunday afternoon and then nosh on it through the week. It's good to take to work in lunches, and you can also make it a bit heartier if you add in some cubed avocado, or if you are so inclined, some crab meat. It's also a good side dish for mexican or southwestern themed dinners.

What you will need:

One can of black beans
One can of "fiesta corn" (you can also use regular corn kernels you cook yourself or get from another type of can and then chop up some red/green bell peppers, but since I'm trying to teach you to cook gourmet-ish in less time)
One lime
Cilantro, fresh
Chili Powder
Garlic Powder
Sea Salt (not pictured, I know)

First thing's first, drain the corn and dump it into a mixing bowl. To save on time and dishes, I typically make this in a big tupperware container so I can just snap the lid on when I'm done.

Then, drain the black beans, put them in a colander, and rinse them to get the rest of the black residue off. Dump them in with the corn.

Cut the lime in half and squeeze all juice from the lime into the bowl. I find it easiest to get all of the juice out of the lime with a citrus reamer (they are pretty cheap at any kitchen goods store), and they are very fun to use.

Typically I chop about 1/3 of the bunch of cilantro up finely and throw it in. You can put more or less in if you'd like; this is really all to taste.

Sprinkle it with sea salt (more than you think you'll need because a lot of it will be absorbed into the juices), and 1/2 of a tbsp of garlic powder. Sprinkle to taste with chili powder, and start with less until you reach your desired heat level.

Mix all together, taste to make sure you like your spice levels, and then chill in the refrigerator. If I am making it as a side dish, I make it first and then cook the rest; it's usually sufficiently chilled by the time dinner rolls around.

Then, serve and enjoy!

Tomato, Avocado & Feta Salad

This is a super quick, easy and very fresh salad/side dish to throw together. It requires absolutely no cooking skills, only some moderate knife skills, but is very impressive looking. I learned this recipe from my friend Jenny, who learned it from her ex-boyfriend, Mike. So thanks Mike, for teaching this recipe to me indirectly.

What you will need:

1 Hass avocado (you want it to be pretty ripe; not guacamole-ripe, but maybe one day before that)
1 large tomato (beefsteak or vine ripe work the best)
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
Paprika
Reduced fat crumbled feta cheese
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

Start out by slicing your avocado in half lengthwise. This should be accomplished using a sharp, smooth knife like a paring knife or a fruit knife with a smooth (non-serrated) blade. Then, holding an avocado half in your hand, cut between the skin and the flesh around the perimeter of the avocado half. This will loosen the avocado from its skin. Next, cut lengthwise slices in the avocado, making sure you go all the way down to the skin (you'll feel the resistance through the knife change). 

Repeat with the other half. Then use the knife to pull the slices out of the skin--it should surrender pretty easily. If you feel like the slice won't come out of the skin without breaking, don't push it too hard; just run the knife back around and if possible, try and wedge it underneath the skin to loosen it. 

Next, cut your tomato into wedge slices. For anyone who is apprehensive about cutting a tomato because you have had the unfortunate experience of having the tomato squirt out its seeds at you, try using a serrated knife. I use a steak knife, and it's changed my entire perspective on tomato slicing.

Your tomato slices should look something like this:

Take a round dinner plate or serving plate and arrange the tomato and avocado slices in an alternating circular pattern.

Then comes the easy part. Just sprinkle some feta over the plate (as much as you want), then drizzle olive oil (be very careful as you don't want to completely douse the food in oil--I use a bottle that has a pour spout with a small opening on it and just re-fill from my big bottle of olive oil), and sprinkle the plate with paprika, salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve and enjoy!!!!

Lemon, Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Leg of Lamb

For some reason, guests are always impressed that I can cook a large piece of meat. Be it a standing rib roast, a turkey, a chicken, a duck, people are always all "oh, wow, you can cook that entire thing? All together at the same time? Wow you are a super awesome cook." If only they knew how EASY it is to do. In fact, I think it's easier to roast a larger piece of meat than try to cook smaller individual pieces--bigger cuts of meat are more forgiving of error. 

A leg of lamb is an excellent "weekend lunch" type meal to make in the Spring and early Summer months. Grocery stores sometimes have specials, and I typically pick it up if I see it on sale. Some people find lamb to be a bit gamey, but if it's cooked well, and done with complimentary flavors, then I think it's quite delicious and of course, a special treat. Buy bone in or boneless, whichever fits your style.

Disclaimer: Roasting meat always works out much better if you have a roasting pan; it's typically just a non-stick baking pan that has a rack set into it about 1 inch high; this allows all of the juices which drip during cooking to collect below and leave the meat with its nice crust on it.

To make this recipe, you will need:

Lamb roast (mine was about 3.5 lbs with a bone, and we have some leftover after feeding two people)
One head of fresh garlic
One lemon
Rosemary
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

First thing's first: Rinse the lamb and pat it dry with paper towels. It's important to get as much of the excess water/juice off of it as possible due to the fact that when you're roasting, you want your piece of meat as dry as possible.

Next, trim the lamb of excess fat. You want to keep a tiny bit of fat on it to keep it juicy and moist in the oven. The best way to trim the fat is to use a chef's knife to cut a tiny slit in one area of the fat, grab the fat with one hand, and slice horizontally through the fat with the knife. A good, sharp knife will cut easily through the fat. After you're done, it should look something like this:

After trimming the leg of lamb, use the chef's knife to cut several slits into it in varying locations. To do so, push the tip of the chef's knife into the lamb and push it in maybe 1-2 inches. The slits do not need to be too big. 

Then, take the head of garlic and extract 5-6 cloves of garlic from the peel. For those of you who think this is a difficult task, learn the magical way of extracting garlic cloves from their peels without smushing them: press the flat part of the chef's knife blade against the garlic and push down with the heel of your hand until you hear the "crunchy" sound of the peel giving way. Usually the garlic escapes  unscathed.

Take one clove of garlic and a small sprig of rosemary and put some in each of the slits you cut into the lamb. Stuff them deep down into the lamb; this will infuse the flavor as it cooks. 

Season the rest of the meat with salt and pepper, then sprinkle some extra sprigs of rosemary on it. Then lay some lemon wheels on the meat, and squeeze whatever lemon you haven't laid out over it to get the juice on the lamb. Place the lamb on your roasting pan.

Put in your oven on a center rack at 325. Some people advise cooking at about 20 minutes per pound; I find though, that when I have a bone-in roast, it takes a bit more time. I'd start out with about 15-20 minutes per pound on the kitchen timer, then check it with a meat thermometer. You want the meat thermometer, when stuck in the thickest part of the lamb (without touching the bone, if it's a bone-in roast) to read about 150-155 degrees.

A note about temperature: 145 is rare; 160 is medium. I like to slightly "undercook" from medium, because it will also continue to cook when it comes out of the oven and rests a bit. Also, it always possible to cook a piece of meat further if you find it is too rare for your liking; it is impossible to "uncook" something that is too overdone, and that's just the most disappointing thing; to realize you've messed up at that last step.

My roast was done after about an hour and fifteen minutes:

Let it rest for about ten to fifteen minutes before you fully cut it; then slice, serve, and enjoy! Impress your guests, your significant other, or your own belly!