Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast Stuffed With Tomato And Mozzarella

Sometimes, I have a basic idea in my mind, and just go into the kitchen and play, tonight was one of those nights. I knew I wanted to stuff chicken breast, and wrap them in bacon. I opened my fridge, and pulled out things I thought would go good together, and this is what I came up with, it was quite tasty! First I made the stuffing with, approximately, because I never measure, 2-3 cups of stale bread, 3 green onions sliced, 1/2 cup of diced mozzarella, 10 grape tomatoes sliced, 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley, a handful of grated cheese, a little squirt of balsamic gaze, salt and pepper to taste, and enough water, or chicken stock, to moisten. Let it sit a bit to break down the bread, and distribute the liquid. Next, I butterflied the chicken breast, try to use small breast, that are not too thick. Season the inside and put about 2 tablespoons of stuffing inside. roll, and wrap them in bacon. This takes patience, take your time!

Now I placed them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. I then put a lot of fresh cracked black pepper on top, a nice drizzle of balsamic glaze, and sprinkled with a little more chopped parsley. I baked them at 400, for about 30-40 minutes, or until the bacon was crispy. I served them with garlic and cheese stuffed acorn squash, and tomato and mozzarella flat breads. 
*you can stuff and wrap the chicken breast up to a day ahead of time for an easy company dinner
**any side dishes would go well with this dinner, or just a nice side salad
***Chardonnay, or Rose would pair nice
****the hardest part of preparing this dish is butterflying the chicken, a very sharp knife is a must

Egg Roll In A Bowl Plus

I have been making some low carb meals for my husband, this turned out delicious. Most recipes call for ground pork, but I had some left over pork roast, so I used that. I chopped it up into a small dice, about 2-3 cups worth, then I sauteed it in a tiny bit of oil until brown and crispy. Next I added 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauces, and cooked it for another 3 minutes of so. Next I added 1/4 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, and 1/2 inch fresh ginger, finely chopped, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and a few drops of sesame oil I cooked it another 5 minutes. Next I added 2 cups of finely shredded cabbage, and 1 cup of grated carrots, stirred to combine, cooked it another 3 minutes, and garnished with sliced green onion, and sesame seeds. 

I realized I had some phyllo dough in the fridge, so I decided to make some of the mixture into actual egg rolls. I cut the log of phyllo in half, made six layers, brushing with lard in between, but you can use oil if you like. Then I simply stuffed, rolled, brushed the top with more lard, and sprinkled them with sesame seeds. I baked them in a 350 degree oven for 5-8 minutes just until lightly brown and crispy. They were so light and crispy, I served them with some pineapple chutney and my husband loved them.

*this is a quick easy meal to put together on a week night
**you can make the egg rolls smaller for a nice party snack

Gypsy Chicken Carla's Way

Tonight, I decided to put a twist on my favorite pork chops with hot cherry peppers recipe, and used chicken instead. I diced up some skinless, boneless chicken thighs, dredges them in some flour seasoned with salt and pepper, and then browned them nicely in batches, in very shallow oil. I remove all the chicken from the pan, and set it aside. I added a nice chunk of butter and a sliced shallot to the pan and cooked them about 2 minutes. Then I added 4 hot cherry peppers in vinegar that I seeded and sliced, one small jar of red roasted peppers that I sliced, 12 green olives, the ones I used where in a jar stuffed with citrus, I sliced those also, and about 1/4 cup of the hot pepper juice from the jar, making sure to scrape up all the flavorful bits up off the bottom of the pan. I let that cook about 5 minutes or so and added the chicken back to the pan. I tossed it around a bit and then I added about 1/4 cup of white wine, I used a sparkling cava. I lowered the heat and let it simmer until a little of the liquid evaporated, and the flavors married. I served the hot chicken over an escarole salad, simply dressed with grated garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, mixed well with my hands squeezing a bit. I garnish the plate with sliced grape tomatoes and chopped parsley. The only salt and pepper I used was in the seasoned flour, when I tasted it at the end it didn't need any more seasoning.

 *you can also use diced chicken breast or skin on, bone in thighs.
**I left the potatoes out to make it low carb, but I think it would taste delicious over pasta
***an easy one pot meal fit for company with maybe some garlic bread and a nice glass of wine
****use less hot cherry peppers if you don't like your food too spicy

Organic Vegetable and Barley Soup

I recently joined a produce delivery service called Misfits Market. They join organic farmers who would have to throw away perfectly good produce that is too "ugly" for the supermarket shelves, and offer them in a box, delivered directly to your door for a discounted price, brilliant!! I got the small box, including shipping, for $23.50, 10-12 pounds worth. I was so excited when I opened this box and after pondering for a day I decided to make soup. I chopped up and sauteed in a little bit of oil and butter, the smaller onion, the leek, the green beans, and 5 ribs of celery with the leaves and a nice size parsnip from my fridge. I cooked it for about 5 minutes and added a small can of diced tomatoes, a box of chicken stock and then filled the pot up with water. I seasoned it with salt, pepper and Goya Adobo. I simmered it until the veggies were soft, but not mushy, and added 1 cup of pearled barley. When the barley was soft I sliced up the rainbow chard, including the ribs and beautiful stems, added them to the pot.

Look at beautiful colors of these fantastic, organic veggies that were going to get thrown away, I am happy to receive them!! I cooked the soup for another 2 minutes, tasted it, and re seasoned it if it needed. This was one of the most delicious soups I have ever made!!

*you can really taste the difference between mass produced vs. organic fruits and vegetables

**you could probably add any kind of protein to make this heartier

***leave out the chicken stock and butter, add tofu and it's vegan

****https://www.misfitsmarket.com/ 

Easy Dry Rubbed Country Style Pork Ribs

 I found some beautiful country style pork ribs at my local grocery store, and I wanted to do something a little different than wet BBQ sauce, so I decided to dry rub and roast them low and slow. It couldn't have been easier! I made a dry rub with Adobo, Sazon con Achote, smoked paprika, dark chili powder, cayenne pepper, Tajin, brown sugar, salt and pepper. I didn't really measure, it was about 2 tablespoons of the adobo and brown sugar, and a teaspoon each of the rest. I lined a baking sheet with foil for easy clean up, placed the ribs on the sheet and rubbed generously on all sides with the dry rub, make sure there is space in between the ribs. I tossed them into a 325 degree oven and roasted them for 3 hours. They were so moist and delicious, and the color from the rub was amazing!! I served it with a jalapeno and cheddar corn bread, and a green bean, tomato and shallot salad, simply dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper.

This was such an easy dinner to prepare for a weeknight dinner, I hope you give it a try!!
*This would be a great dinner for a football party, or company, paired with some nice local craft beers
**You can even throw the sheet pan right on the grill for a more smokey flavor, or not to heat the kitchen up for a nice summer deck party.
***My oven is on the low side so you might want to adjust the temperature.

Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes

I love crab cakes, but I never order them at a restaurant because it's all filler and they use cheap canned crab meat, yuck! I always use jumbo lump crab meat from my local fish market, it's always fresh and delicious. Yes it's expensive at $45 a pound, but well worth the splurge every once in a while when I have some extra money. I keep it real simple so the flavor of the crab meat shines. In a large bowl I mix 3/4 cup of Hellmann's mayonnaise, juice of 1/2 a lemon, a couple of shakes of Worcestershire sauce, a teaspoon of Old bay seasoning, salt and pepper to taste and whisk it together well. Next I add 12 saltine crackers crushed up well and the crab meat, mix it together very gently so you don't break up the nice lumps of crab meat too much. Form them into any size cakes you like and chill them in the fridge for about an hour. Next I sauteed them off in plenty of butter until golden on both sides and finish them in a 425 degree oven until heated through. I made a light lemon tarter sauce to serve with them, but sometimes I make a chipotle mayo or a roasted red pepper mayo. 

*sometimes I make them patty size and serve them on a bun like a burger

**make these once and I promise you will never order one out again

***I served them last night on a bed of baby arugula dressed simply with olive oil, salt and pepper, two of us ate the entire platter

****please try this recipe it's easy and you will love it

Roasted Cod With Summer Veggies

I was looking to make a light summer dish on a very humid evening and I came up with this from some veggies I got from my local farm. I made a one bowl salsa with tomatoes, black olives, capers, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, fresh parsley, salt and pepper. I placed the cod loins on a parchment lined sheet pan, seasoned them with salt and pepper, topped with the salsa and roasted it in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile I made a simple salad with baby spinach, sliced raw zucchini and grated carrot. I tossed the salad with olive oil, salt and pepper and arranged it on a platter. After the cod was cooked I placed it on the salad and dinner was served in less than an hour. 

I didn't really measure anything, I just winged it for the 2 pounds of cod I got at the fish market. It was so light, refreshing and delicious enough to serve to company. I looked beautiful too!!
*garlic bread and a nice white wine makes a perfect summer deck meal
**don't forget a nice fruit salad for dessert