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By zach, July 6, 2008 11:25 am

Today we’re cooking stuffed chicken breasts. These stuffed chicken breasts are really great tasting and very versatile. By versatile I mean you can serve these chickens in a number of ways. They go great with salads or pasta but also tasty and hearty enough to stand alone as the main dish.

Chicken Salad

 Let’s get started with the ingredients:

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• Plastic wrap or wax paper.
• Butcher’s twine or other cooking twine — toothpicks would work too.
• Olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• garlic
• 1 cup frozen spinach – thawed and squeeze out excess water.
• 1 cup cashews – rough chopped
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese – grated

We are going to create our stuffed chicken by pounding the chicken flat, layering with the stuffing, rolling up and tyeing everything together with some butcher’s twine.

The first step is pounding the chicken flat. To prep the chicken cut off any excess fat. There should not be much but take a quick scan and trim it up if there is any excess fat. Now we should be ready to start flattening. Do this on you cutting board. Put a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper on the cutting board. Lay 1 chicken breast on the plastic wrap. Put another piece of plastic wrap over the top of the chicken. Using a rolling pin ( or other blunt object ) hit the chicken lightly – starting in the middle and working out — until the chicken is about 1/4 inch- 1/2 inch in thickness. Repeat this for all chicken breasts. Lightly coat each chicken breast with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Next up is to make the stuffing. With the frozen spinach make sure to let it thaw some and then just squeeze out the excess water with your hands. In a medium sized mixing bowl add the chopped cashews, grated Parmesan cheese and spinach. Mix with a spoon.

Lay 4 pieces of the butcher twine on your assembly surface. Next put one chicken breast flat on top of the twine and then spread 1/4 of the stuffing on the chicken breast. Now roll the chicken up and tie each piece of twine. There will most likely be stuffing coming out the top — that’s ok — check out the picture for what they look like.

Chicken Prep Work

That’s all the prep work — we’re 90% done with these. The final step is to cook on the grill. Cook on a medium heat (350% or so ) for 5-6 minutes per side. Careful not to burn the cashews !
Serve with pasta and a white sauce for a fancy dinner. If you want to go light and healthy serve on top of a green vegetable salad with a lemon vinaigrette.

Pasta Chicken

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By zach, May 18, 2008 5:27 pm

If I had to choose a favorte cuisine it would be southwestern and Mexican food. To date I haven’t released any recipes in that style. My first entry is going to be my bean, cheese and chicken burritos. These burritos are real simple to make and great tasting. I make a bunch of them in a casserole dish so I can save them for leftovers or for serving lots of people.

Bean, Cheese and Chicken Burrito

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 6 large tortillas
• 16 oz can tomato sauce
• 4 oz water
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp garlic
• 3 chipotle’s in adobo sauce
• 1 can refried beans
• 3/4 lb pepper jack cheese – grated
• 3/4 lb cheddar cheese

Roasting the chicken. For this recipe use 4 chicken breasts. To get started, roast the chicken breasts at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. When they are done the juices will run clear when poked with a knife or fork. A meat thermometer can also be used. The internal temperature should reach 170. When chicken is done roasting, remove from oven and let cool. When chicken is cooled enough to handle it can be shredded. I use 2 forks to shred and put into a bowl.

The sauce is what pulls everything together in this burrito. This red sauce can be used in many Mexican dishes. Combine tomato sauce, water, cumin, oregano, garlic and finely chopped chipotle’s in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cook 5 more minutes. This recipe will make enough sauce for the burritos. However, if you want to make more it will keep in the refrigerator just fine.

The burritos are now ready to be assembled.

• In the middle of a tortilla, evenly spread 1/6 of can refried beans from the top to bottom.
• Add 1/2 cup shredded chicken on top of beans
• Add 1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese on top of chicken
• Pour 2 tbsp red sauce on cheese
• Roll up burrito and place in 13×9 baking dish
• Repeat for 5 remaining burritos
• Top burritos with remaining red sauce

Cover baking dish and cook at 300 degrees in oven for 30 minutes.  Uncover, top with cheddar cheese, and cook 15 more minutes.

Each burrito is a single serving. Top with sour cream or other favorite Mexican condiments. Serves 6.

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By zach, March 23, 2008 4:59 pm

Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata is an ‘original goodie’ in my house. It’s really easy to make and super good tasting — not to mention — awesome leftovers.

 Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken Breasts
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Cups Chicken Broth
• 1 Egg
• 1 Lemon
• 2 Tablespoons Caper
• Splash white wine
• 1 Cup Flour
• 1 Cup Grated Parmesan
• 1/8th Bunch Fresh Parsley
• Salt, Pepper
• Garlic, Paprika, Tarragon (optional)

First off, the chicken needs to be prepared… Trim the fat off the chicken — there shouldn’t be much — but you still want to remove any excess areas of fat. Now we need to flatten the chicken. To do this use either wax paper or saran wrap. Put one square of your wax paper on the counter top or cutting board. Place one chicken breast in the middle and put the other piece of wax paper on top. I use a rolling pin to gently hit the chicken with. Pound the chicken all over until the thickness is even and the total thickness is between 1/4 – 1/2. Season the chicken with salt & pepper. At this point, I also like to season the chicken with garlic powder, paprika and tarragon. If you don’t have those spices laying around don’t sweat it. When chicken breast is done remove to a plate and start work on the next chicken breast.

After all chicken breasts are flattened, it is time to get the breading ready. Crack one egg into a bowl and whisk. Pour all flour except 2 tablespoons on a plate. With one chicken breast dip into egg, let egg drip off, and then dredge the chicken in the flour on both sides. If it seems like you are not getting a full coating of flour on the chicken — don’t worry — it will be ok.

Ok, chicken is now ready to cook. Heat fry pan to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. When butter is melted add 2 chicken breasts to the pan. Flip when browned. This usually takes 4-5 minutes on my gas stove. Remove when 2nd side is browned — should be another 4-5 minutes. Top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Repeat for remaining chicken breasts by adding 1 additional tablespoon of butter and cooking as described.

Sauce time — sauce is the icing on this dish. It should be light and refreshing. With the pan used for cooking the chicken pour off any extra liquid, if there are any chunks of breading or burnt items, remove those. Add 1 tablespoon butter and remaining flour (2 tablespoons). Cook and stir until butter has absorbed all flour and mixture is starting to turn brown. Now add the chicken broth, juice of 1 lemon and splash of white wine. Bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute and reduce heat to low. Add capers and chopped parsley. Stir.

Serve chicken with a couple spoonful’s of the lemon sauce poured on top. This dish goes well with a starch. We have used this mushroom and risotto recipe on foodnetwork.