Stuffed Chicken Breast

Today I'm bringing you another of my Mom's favorite recipes: "Stuffed Chicken Breast", I hope you like it as much as I do!

Serves 4
Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
2 sausage links (hot dog links or 1 cup of smoke ham chopped in small pieces)
3 slices of bacon
1 onion finely chopped
1 bell pepper finely chopped, any color you want.
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1/2 cup of minced black olives
1/3 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese(more if you like cheesy fillings)
1/2 cup of flour
2 cups of fresh breadcrumbs...
2 eggs
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Cooking spray

To make the fresh breadcrumbs:
4-6 slices of bread (stale bread, any kind you want)
1/2 tablespoon of fresh rosemary
1/2 tablespoon of fresh thyme
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Chop the sausage and bacon into small pieces. Set aside.

Beat the eggs together, season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Beat well and set aside.

Chop the bread in big chunks, (remove crust if you want to). Place in a Food Processor or Blender

blend together with the fresh rosemary and fresh thyme. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Blend until you get the desire texture.

Chicken: Grab a very sharp knife and start making a pocket on the thickest side of each breast, cut almost through the other side of the breast, but not all the way through. Start the pocket about 1/4 inch from the top and end it about 1/4 inch from the end.

Place the chicken and the eggs back in the refrigerator while we cook the filling.

In a large skillet heat up 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, stir in the chopped sausage and bacon, cook until brown, for about 5 minutes on medium high.
Stir in the bell pepper, onion and garlic, season with half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of ground black pepper. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes or until the onion and pepper become tender.

Turn off the heat, and stir in the chopped black olives and
shredded mozzarella. Let it cool for a bit.

Stuff the chicken pockets with the filling, add as much or as little as you want and secure the opening with a toothpick. Repeat this process until you are done.

Coat the chicken with the flour on both sides.
Dip in the egg wash, make sure the chicken is completely soak with the egg and finally coat the chicken breasts with the breadcrumbs.

Spray with cooking spray on both sides and bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked.

I served it with baby greens and white rice
and garnish with fresh parsley...and that's it enjoy!!


To  watch this video recipe click HERE!

Barbecue Sauce

This is the BEST barbecue sauce- I used it for this salad recipe. But, I also used it for a sauce on barbecue potatoes- you know the ones we all love from Cafe Pig (minus the pork). And it was AMAZING. I know Jenn was just saying that she was looking for a great BBQ sauce recipe and this one is by far my favorite.

courtesy Mel's Kitchen Cafe

The Best Barbecue Sauce

Recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

2 cups ketchup

2 cups tomato sauce

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar

1/2 cup unsulphured molasses

2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

4 teaspoons hickory flavored liquid smoke

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper



In a large saucepan, over medium heat, mix together all the wet ingredients and then add the seasonings. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken as it simmers (and then as it cools). I try to plan ahead and simmer for at least an hour. Use the sauce to brush onto meats the last ten minutes of grilling or for any other recipe where barbecue sauce is used.

Once cooled, the sauce can be frozen. Thaw in the refrigerator and use as needed.

The Best Lasagna Ever

Photo from pioneerwoman.com

I would go so far as to use the word "succulent" on this lasagna.  It is manly.  It is meaty.  It is good.  And it is meaty, again!

The Best Lasagna Ever  

Recipe from Pioneer Woman Blog

Ingredients

• 1-½ pound Ground Beef


• 1 pound Hot Breakfast Sausage


• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced


• 2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes


• 2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste


• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley


• 2 Tablespoons Dried Basil


• 1 teaspoon Salt


• 3 cups Lowfat Cottage Cheese


• 2 whole Beaten Eggs


• ½ cups Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese


• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley


• 1 teaspoon Salt


• 1 pound Sliced Mozzarella Cheese


• 1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagna Noodles


• (add 1/2 Teaspoon Salt And 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil To Pasta Water)

Preparation Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the fat; less if you’re feeling naughty. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes while you are working on the other steps.
In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons parsley, and 1 more teaspoon salt. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked).
To assemble:
Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Spoon a little less than half the meat/sauce mixture over the top.
Repeat, ending with meat/sauce mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan.
Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately: 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.

Spicy Orange Granita

Here you have a perfect and refreshing snack to enjoy this summer!

Serves 6
Ingredients:

4 large oranges
1 lemon
2 cups of water
2/3 of a cup of sugar
a pinch of cinnamon
1/2 a teaspoon of chili powder
1/4 of teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Remove the skin from 2 oranges avoiding the white part. Set aside.
Zest the remaining 2 oranges and set aside.

In a small sauce pan combine 2 cups of water with the sugar, cinnamon and the orange skin, bring to a boil. Remove the orange skin and continue to boil for about 5 more minutes or until the water has reduce to half, creating a simple syrup. Set aside.
and bring to a boil...

Juice the orange and the lemon.

Combine the orange juice, lemon juice and the simple syrup, add the orange zest, and season with 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, mix everything together and refrigerate for about 4-6 hours. (Add some vodka if you want to.)




After 4-6 six hours in the freezer,the mixture will be frozen. Break the ice with a fork and serve. Garnish with an orange slice or a lemon slice and sprinkle with some cayenne pepper.

That's it! Enjoy!

To watch this Video Recipe click HERE!

Broccoli, Grape & Pasta Salad

picture from Southern Living



I got this recipe from the September 2011 Southern Living magazine. It is a good recipe to have on hand when you are looking for something easy and good to take to a BBQ, party, pot luck, etc.



Broccoli, Grape & Pasta Salad

Southern Living



1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 package farfalle pasta (bow-tie)

1 lb fresh broccoli

1 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup diced red onions

1/3 red wine vinegar

1 tsp salt

2 cups seedless red grapes, halved

8 cooked bacon slices, crumbled



Preheat oven to 350. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pas 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted & fragrant.

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, cut broccoli florets from stems and separate florets into small pieces. Peel away tough outer layer of stems. Whisk together mayonnaise and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; add broccoli, hot pasta and grapes and stir to coat. Cover and chill 3 hours. Stir bacon and pecans into salad just before serving.



* I didn't have grapes on hand when I made this recipe and it was still really good. I also didn't use all the mayo mixture.