Stuffed Chicken

I cannot believe I haven’t posted about this recipe before. That’s just nuts!!! I’ve made it thrice now. My apprehension has a good foothold: Every time I make this recipe, I’m worried it won’t turn out well or I’ll mess something up. Also, there’s a lot of hands on time. And I get really excited when I make it.

This recipe is incredibly versatile, which means I narrowed down the options to share with you. To just one! Aren’t you proud?? It goes like this:

Single Serving Stuffed Chicken
Inspired by Cooking Light, June 2010

1 T olive oil
1 chicken breast
4 kalamata olives, roughly diced
1/4 c spinach, chopped
1 T feta
1/2 oz mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil in an oven-safe pan over medium-high. Combine filling: olives, spinach, and cheeses.

Slice a one-inch slit into the side of the breast, move the knife around so you don’t puncture any other side but so that you give yourself room for the fillings. Fill. Place onto heated pan. Saute for 4 minutes. Turn the chicken over and put into the preheated oven for 12 minutes or until a slice into the thickest part reveals a thoroughly cooked chicken with no pink or translucency. Let stand for 3 minutes.

Enjoy. The melted cheese! The melded flavors. Oh. Man. I’m so happy for you that you might get to eat this. And, for that matter, I’m really happy for me, too.

Ehh. I couldn’t do it! Most of you probably want more than one serving, more than one option. Right? Here’s another, closer to the original and four servings.

Stuffed Chicken with Hummus, Feta, Tomato, and Olives
Inspired by Cooking Light, June 2010

4 chicken breasts (about 2 lbs., maybe a bit less)
1/4 c hummus
1/4 c feta
3 T diced tomato
2 T chopped kalamata olives
1 T olive oil

Follow same instructions. Enjoy.

White Bean & Dark Green Stew

What can I say? I’m smitten. That Deb over at SmittenKitchen.com (right here) is brilliant and fun and funny and a great, wonderful inspiration to an aspiring homecook extraordinaire.

Don’t over do a serving on this stew. It is hearty. Don’t, for example, try to test its temperature by serving yourself a bowl, thinking you’ll heat it up in the microwave, forget to heat it up in the microwave, then be forced to serve yourself another bowl and top it up correctly.

Here’s my first bowl::

I didn’t even give myself time to take a picture of it before I had mostly devoured it. Please take the time to savor your stew.

White Bean & Dark Green Stew
Inspired by Smitten Kitchen

1 lb turnip greens, stems chopped off and leaves cleaned
2 c spinach
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 c carrots, chopped
1 c celery, chopped
1 large shallot (Use your judgement here. You can definitely use more. I just had one on hand.)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 c white wine, dry
4 c white beans (If using canned, use about 2 15-oz cans. Drain and rinse them.)
2 1/2 c vegetable broth
1 28-oz can tomatoes, crushed
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Thyme
Bay leaf

If you’re using dried white beans, pour beans into a crock pot. Pour 2 and a half inches of water over the beans. Cook on low over night.

In a medium pot, boil salted water.

Once the water boils, add turnips and let boil for one minute.

Drain and squeeze precooked turnips. Coarsely chop. Set aside.

Drain.

Then, chop.

Meanwhile, pour out the water, wipe dry, and add 3 T extra virgin olive oil to the pot.

Peel the carrots.

Then, chop them.

Add to the olive oil.

Chop the celery. Add to the olive oil and carrot.

Peel the shallot(s).

Chop the shallots.

Smash the garlic.

!!

Peel the skins off the cloves then chop nicely. Then add to stove.

 

Scrape down those sides!!

After fifteen minutes, add 1/2 c white wine and 1/2 c vegetable broth. Cook that down until it’s reduced by three-fourths.

Add beans, tomatoes, the rest of the vegetable broth, a few pinches of salt, freshly ground black pepper, thyme, and bay leaf and bring to boil.

Crushed tomatoes, added. Next…

…The beans.

Then the vegetable broth. Reduce heat to medium-low for 20 minutes. Add turnip greens and spinach and cook for 5 minutes longer. Make sure you give spinach and turnips a proper introduction. Spinach, this is Turnips. Turnips, Spinach.

Turn heat off. Put  a lid on the dutch oven. Go get your haircut. Come back. Enjoy!!! Okay, the haircut part isn’t completely necessary. That’s just what happened for me.

Serve with toasted bread and monter (heh humm, Muenster) cheese.

 

Turkey Black Bean Chili

Rain, rain, rain, rain. Oh, then thunder, more rain. Peaceful rain and pellety rain. All day. And when it’s raining in Georgia, it’s raining all over the world. So, I’ve made chili. In my life, I’ve had beef, chicken, venison, and meatless chili. Tonight I made turkey chili. Now, it might seem strange to you for me to have gone for the turkey rendition. But please give me a little slack as it was JUST Thanksgiving and maybe turkey is infused to my subconscious.

Black Bean Turkey Chili
Inspired by National Turkey Federation

1 pound ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded, de-ribbed, minced
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 t ground cumin
1 1/2 t McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t dried marjoram
1/4 t red pepper flakes, optional (I forgot, and it turned out fine. Oops; oh, well.)
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1 can (26 oz) whole tomatoes, undrained, coarsely chopped
16 oz black beans, rinsed, drained
1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped
Cheddar cheese, grated

If you use dried black beans, put them in a slow cooker on high with about 3 inches of water for about 3 hours.

In a dutch oven, combine onion, bell pepper, garlic, jalapeño, chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, marjoram, red pepper flakes (if you remember), and cinnamon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cook mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until turkey is cooked thoroughly.

Stir in tomatoes (don’t try to squash them with your hand; you’ll make a mess).

Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Stir in beans (Make sure you drain the beans really well.) and cilantro. Keep cooking for 15 more minutes.

Serve with cheddar cheese and McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning.

Happy October. Here’s a meal.

I love cooking. Even more than cooking, I love cooking with loved ones. If I’ve ever cooked with you, well, thank you. (I was attempting to be pompous. I almost wrote “You’re welcome.” However, I really appreciate it in a way I probably didn’t express enough when we were doing the cooking and the cleaning up and the enjoying.)

The other night, I had the honor and pleasure of donning my apron alongside my most favorite cooking partner. That’s him up there in that picture. Well, that’s our shadow. His particular part of the shadow is the left; mine is the right. You probably figured that out. And back to point:: We used to make food together all the time. All the time. But then, that sort of pittered to an all but stop. I really enjoy cooking (I think I’ve mentioned that.), and so he, in all his wondrous kindness, lets me enjoy it. I put on music; I get in the zone; I experiment. The other night, we cooked together– shared and bounced ideas, prepped ingredients for each other, and chatted. Oh, what joy! What fun! What a gloriously delicious meal.

It was pretty simple. However, that’s some of the best food. Right?

The meal::

Linguini
Sockarooni sauce by Newman’s Own
1 (12 oz) can diced tomatoes
Mozzarella shredded cheese

Focaccia
Minced garlic
Mozzarella shredded cheese

Pasta:: Cook linguini (or any pasta you have on hand). While the pasta is boiling away, prepare the sauce. Mix sauce and diced tomatoes together. Allow to lightly bubble. Low-medium heat works well.

Bread:: Mince garlic. Spread onto sliced focaccia. Add cheese atop. Put into a 350 degree F oven. Cook until cheese is melted and bread is slightly toasty.

Back to pasta:: Once pasta is al dente, drain. Put back into pot to serve– pasta, sauce, lots of cheese. Hold hands in celebration with your favorite partner chef, and enjoy!!!

Optional additional ideas:: capers, bell peppers, spinach, meatballs, parmesan cheese, black olives, broccoli, and I’m sure you can think of plenty more that would be equally delicious.

Gazpacho

It’s summer time. Everybody needs a gazpacho recipe; I believe.

I didn’t know I needed gazpacho in my life until this summer, then, bam, delicious. It was as though someone handed me a spoon and said, “Why, yes, you CAN eat salsa from a spoon. Oh, but did I mention this is even more delectable than house salsa??”

Ah, gazpacho.

There are many ways to adjust this recipe, and the one I’m sharing with you isn’t exactly the one I used for the photos, but it’s a good one. I like recipes that adjust to what you have on hand or what you’re craving, and I encourage you to add or take away amounts (and some ingredients, but the more, the better) as you please.

Gazpacho

inspired by The Grit Restaurant Cookbook

1 sm or 1/2 large red onion, finely minced
6 large ripe tomatoes seeded and finely chopped
1 scant t minced fresh garlic
1/2 medium green bell pepper, seeded and coarsely
1/4 medium jalapeno chile, finely chopped
2 c spring or filtered water
1 (12 oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 small or 1/2 large seedless cucumber, finely shredded
Freshly squeezed juice of 2 lemons
3 T cider vinegar
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 t hotsauce, or more to taste
2 T chopped fresh basil or 2 t dried
2 T chopped fresh parsley or 2 t dried
2 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
3 pieces bread (country white, baguette, or whatever is on hand)
1/4 t cumin powder
1/4 t chipotle powder

Place 1/2 of prepared onion, 1/2 of prepared fresh tomato, garlic, green pepper, and chile in a food processor and puree until liquified, adding water if necessary. Add bread toward the end and pulse until the bread is incorporated into mixture. Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a large, non-metal bowl. Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Serve very cold in chilled bowls.