Spinach Stuffed Chicken

I found this recipe in "Allrecipes.com Easy Everyday Favorites" cookbook - which I highly recommend!! (My changes are in parentheses)

10oz pkg fresh spinach leaves (I used frozen spinach)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded pepperjack cheese (I used monterey jack since I couldn't find pepperjack)
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness (i didn't pound them)
1 pinch ground black pepper
8 slices bacon (I only used 1 slice per chicken breast)

Preheat the oven to 375.
Place spinach in a large glass bowl, and heat in the microwave for 3 minutes, stirring every minute or so, or until wilted. (I did not do this)
Stir in sour cream, cheese and garlic.
Lay the chicken breasts out on a clean surface, and spoon some of the spinach mixture onto each one. Roll up chicken to enclose the spinach, then wrap each chicken breast with two slices of bacon. (I only used one slice)
Secure with toothpicks, and arrange in a shallow baking dish.



Bake uncovered for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, then increase heat to 500 or use the oven's broiler to cook for an additional 5-10 minutes to brown the bacon. (I cooked them for an add'l 8 minutes at 500)





I served this with Uncle Ben's Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil Long Grain and Wild Rice.
Enjoy!!!

This Week's Menu

I know I'm late posting this!

***Disclaimer: I didn't end up cooking last Friday or Saturday, so I made those meals this week. Also, we have a wedding and a party this weekend so I did super cheap and easy dinner!***

Monday: Grilled Honey Pork Chops with Scalloped Potatoes and Sugar Snap Peas

Tuesday: Stouffer's Chicken Lasagna (I told you it was cheap week!)

Wednesday: Spinach Stuffed Chicken with Wild Rice

Thursday: Stouffer's Chicken Alfredo

Friday: Rehearsal Dinner

Saturday: Wedding

Sunday: Party

I spent a total of $20 on food this week at Target.

Chicken Quesadillas

Super Easy Dinner!!!

1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1/2 white onion

packet of fajita seasoning

1/3 cup water

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

6-10" whole wheat tortillas

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large pan, add chicken and cook over medium heat. Once chicken starts to turn white, add peppers and onion. Saute until chicken is cooked through. Add fajita seasoning and water. Continue to cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Take tortilla and add a handful of cheddar, then some chicken, and then a handful of monterey jack. Fold in half and keep closed with a toothpick. Put on baking sheet. Repeat for the rest of the tortillas.

Bake for 10 minutes.

I served these with Goya yellow rice and sour cream - very good!!!

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic & White Beans

When I usually make this, I'll roast the tomatoes and garlic in the oven, but I was short on time yesterday, so I made this into a quick recipe! Hope you like it!

1 box whole wheat penne
2-14oz cans diced tomatoes with garlic, oregano and parsley (or any italian variety)
1-15oz can cannellini beans
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
fresh basil, chopped

Cook pasta according to package directions.
In a large pan, add tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.
Drain beans in colander and rinse.
Drain cooked pasta over beans in colander.
Mix pasta, beans and tomato mixture and add basil to taste.
Enjoy!!!

***I've also added grilled chicken to this before and it's very good!***

This Week's Menu

Monday: Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic and White Beans

Tuesday: Chicken Quesadillas with Mexican Rice

Wednesday: Fried Rice with Ginger, Hoisin and Sesame

Thursday: Mac and Cheddar with Broccoli

Friday: Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Brown Rice

Saturday: Smoky Pork Chops with Spicy Applesauce and Garlicky Succotash

Sunday: Down the Shore (Out for Dinner)

Spent $12 at the Farmer's Market and $92 at Shoprite

Crispy Oven-Roasted Chicken with Roasted Garlic, Pancetta, and Rosemary

This is a Katie Lee Joel recipe. I changed it a little, as I didn't want to fry anything.
My changes are in bold.
6 boneless, skin-on chicken breast halves (I used 2 bone-in chicken breasts)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 pound pancetta, cut in 1/2 inch cubes (i cut mine into strips)
1tbs olive oil
15 garlic gloves (i used 2 tbs minced garlic)
canola oil (omitted)
1tbs chopped fresh rosemary, plus sprigs (i used 2 sprigs)

Her directions are:
Preheat oven to 400.
rinse the chicken and pat dry completely.
heavily salt and pepper each piece.
set aside.
in a medium ovenproof skillet over medium heat, cook the pancetta until crispy, about 6 minutes. remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
drain off all but 1tbs of the fat. add the olive oil and garlic cloves.
cook until the cloves are golden brown.
transfer to oven and bake until the cloves are soft, 5-7 minutes.
carefully remove the pan from the oven and set aside.
meanwhile, in a large ovenproof skillet, heat 1inch of canola oil over high heat until very hot but not smoking.
carefully place the chicken skin side down in the hot oil.
let cook 3-4 minutesto start crisping the skin.
do not turn.
carefully transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the chicken is cooked all the way through, 7-8 minutes.
carefully remove the pan from the oven.
transfer the chicken to a serving platter.
sprinkle the top with pancetta, garlic cloves and fresh rosemary.

My take was:
preheat oven to 350
place chicken in a glass dish and season with salt and pepper.
drizzle olive oil over chicken.
sprinkle garlic over chicken.
lay strips of pancetta across chicken.
pierce the top of each breast and insert a sprig of rosemary.



bake for 35-40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
i served with mashed potatoes and green beans and it was delish!!!



Enjoy!!!

Turkey Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

i just threw this all together and it was really good!

1lb turkey breasts or tenderloins
10oz frozen broccoli cuts
2 cans Campbell's cheddar cheese soup
1 can Campbell's cream of mushroom soup
6oz turkey stuffing mix
2tbs butter, melted
2tbs water

Preheat oven to 350.
Boil turkey and shred with fork.
Cook broccoli to package directions.
Combine turkey, broccoli, and all 3 cans of soup in a medium bowl and stir.
In a small bowl, combine stuffing mix, butter and water.
In a 13x9 dish, pour turkey mixture and top with stuffing mixture.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Serve over rice.

Enjoy!!!

(Sorry no pics, my camera died!)

Logan County Hamburgers

This is a Katie Lee Joel recipe from her cookbook, "The Comfort Table."
These were soooo good, kinda like grilled cheese with a burger in the middle.
I will definitely be making these again!!!

1lb ground beef (85% lean)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 medium yellow onion, half grated, the other half thinly sliced
1/4tsp garlic powder
1tsp kosher salt
1tsp freshly ground black pepper
12 slices white bread
2tbs unsalted butter, softened
12 slices american cheese.

in a medium bowl, combine the beef, egg, grated onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper. mix until combined. form into thin patties.
spread butter on one side of each slice of bread.
heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. cook the burgers about 3 minutes on each side. drain on paper towels. drain the grease from the skillet.
in the same skillet, place six slices of bread, butter side down. top each with a slice of cheese, some onions (i omitted), and a burger, then another slice of cheese and bread, butter side up.
cook each sandwich until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.

enjoy!!!

This Week's Menu

I bought Katie Lee Joel's cookbook, "The Comfort Table," so I'm trying out a few of her recipes this week. I'll do reviews for each of them.

Monday: Logan County Hamburgers with Waffle Fries (KLJ recipe)

Tuesday: Turkey, Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

Wednesday: Oven Roasted Chicken Breasts with Roasted Garlic, Pancetta and Rosemary with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans (KLJ recipe)

Thursday: BBQ Beef Cups

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Chicken and Dumplings (KLJ recipe)

Sunday: Picnic

Grocery Shopping for this week:
$10 at the Farmers Market
$67 at Shoprite

Pork with Pear Compote

I found this recipe in a magazine, but changed a few things.

4 thin-cut pork chops
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 asian pear, diced
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
dash of cinnamon
1 tbs sugar

Preheat oven to 350.
Soak cranberries in hot water for 5 minutes and then drain.
In a medium bowl, combine cranberries, pear, walnuts, cinnamon and sugar.
Place pork chops in 13x9 glass dish and sprinkle pear mixture over chops.
Bake 30-40 minutes, until cooked to your preference.
Serve over rice.

Enjoy!!!

Angel Chicken Pasta

This recipe was recommended to me and it's really good!!!

here's the link:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Angel-Chicken-Pasta/Detail.aspx

Rigatoni alla Siciliano

I found this recipe in a magazine and it was really good!!!

1 box rigatoni pasta
1 small eggplant
28oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup fresh mozzarella, cubed
italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and salt to taste

Saute eggplant and garlic in oil over medium high heat for about 7 minutes.
Add tomatoes and spices. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes.
While sauce is simmering, cook pasta according to box directions.
Drain pasta and reserve some of the pasta water.
Add pasta to sauce and a little bit of the pasta water to bring to desired consistency.
Add mozzarella and stir to melt cheese.

Enjoy!!!

This Week's Menu

Monday: Rigatoni all Siciliano

Tuesday: Angel Chicken Pasta

Wednesday: Carne Asada Tacos

Thursday: Cheeseburger Casserole

Friday: Pork with Pear Compote over Rice

Saturday: Chicken with Potatoes and Asparagus

Sunday: Dinner at Mom's

***This week's shopping was a little expensive, $130, but I bought a lot of meats!***