Bundled Chicken with Goat Cheese and Fresh Thyme

This recipe was sent to me by one of my readers and closest friends, Adelina.  Adelina is the type of friend who seems like she was born in the kitchen and has long been the culinary go-to in our group of friends.  When we were in college, Adelina would be whipping up scrumptious eggplant parmesean while the rest of us would pat ourselves on the back for making a box of mac and cheese.  I once had the privilege of eating Thanksgiving dinner with her Italian family - it was an incredible foodie experience. She and her family simply know how to cook.  So when she sent me a message saying you gotta try this recipe, I knew immediately it would be good!  And, in her own words, it is absolutely AMAZING!

This is an excellent meal to serve to guests or when you really want to wow someone.  Little bundles of chicken are tied up with kitchen twine and stuffed with a fresh herb and savory goat cheese mixture.   The combination of shallots and vidalia onions add a hint of sweetness while a reduced white wine sauce finishes the dish.  As Adelina has taught me, fresh herbs are a must.  No dried substitutions, you won't get the same result.  Tip:  There is a trick to getting thyme leaves easily off the stem.  Hold the top of the stems and run your fingers down the stem to the base.  The leaves will come off easily in your fingers!

Ingredients
Serves 4

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/3 cups thinly sliced shallots and vidalia onions (About 4 large shallots and 1/2 vidalia onion)
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces crumbled goat cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon fat-free milk
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (Cut them in half lengthwise and pound them out to make 4 pieces)
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooking spray
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

Method

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to pan; cook 12 minutes, stirring frequently. Cover, reduce heat, and cook another 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook 5 minutes or until golden. Cool slightly. Combine onion mixture, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cheese, parsley, milk, and thyme in a small bowl, stirring with a fork.

Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise, and pound out until thin.  Place a spoonful of goat cheese mixture in the middle of each chicken piece.  Roll up and secure with kitchen twine.  (I use twine a lot in the kitchen, but it definitely takes some practice!!!) Sprinkle chicken bundles evenly with salt and pepper.

Return pan to medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan and sauté for 5 minutes. Turn chicken and cover.  Reduce heat, and cook 10 minutes or until chicken is done.

Remove chicken from pan and let stand 10 minutes.  Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until reduced by half (about 2 minutes). Add broth, and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 9 minutes). Serve with chicken.  Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite recipe you want to share?  Let me know!

Spaghetti Squash with Chicken, Lemon & Basil

It had been raining non-stop for several days in Charlotte, and I think I was wishing for sunshine the other day as this recipe uses a lot of yellow ingredients.  I think it worked, because after I started cooking, the sun came out!  (I swear).   Anyways, I hadn't made spaghetti squash in long time, and was craving it after picking up a pretty little yellow thing at the farmers market for under a dollar.  I wanted to pair it with something other than marinara sauce though.  So after surveying the kitchen and thinking sunny thoughts, I came up with this!

Spaghetti Squash can be a fun and healthy alternative to eating pasta.  In this dish chicken breast is thinly pounded out, breaded and then baked with lemon slices as the squash roasts.  The "spaghetti" and breaded chicken breast are tossed together and finished off with a zested lemon cream sauce topped with basil.  The cream sauce is made healthy by using chicken broth and a just two tablespoons of light cream.  Simple fresh chopped basil compliment the bright lemon flavor.

Ingredients
serves 4

1 medium squash
1 lb of chicken breast, evenly pounded out
1 cup of whole wheat bread crumbs
1 lemon
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp light cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 bunch of basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.  With a fork, poke a few holes into the squash and bake for 1 hour.  (Be careful not to overcook squash since it will become too soft and soggy.)  While the squash in baking, pound out each chicken breast to about 3/4" thick.  Dip each chicken breast into an egg white and cover with bread crumbs.  Cover each piece of chicken breast with slice of lemon and place in glass baking dish.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until cooked through.  Discard the lemons and slice into smaller pieces. 

Transfer the baked squash to a large plate and set aside until cool enough to handle.  Cut the squash in half lengthwise.  Remove seeds, and then using a fork, scrape squash out of rinds and transfer to a large bowl.

To make the sauce:  In 1 teaspoon of butter, saute 1/2 a teaspoon of garlic and lemon zest over medium heat.  Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock, the juice of half of  a lemon and cook for 2-3 minutes and then lower heat.  Add the light cream and parmesan cheese.  Let simmer for 5 minutes until sauce is blended and slightly thickened.

Serve chicken over the spaghetti squash and top with the lemon cream sauce.  Season with salt and pepper and top with fresh basil.  Enjoy!

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Simmered Italian Sausage & Meatballs

This past week I made the long drive up to Maryland and surprised my Mom for her 60th birthday.  It was really exciting to have the whole family in on it and totally catch her off guard!  She totally burst into tears when she opened the door and unexpectedly found me and one excited puppy.  I just love a good surprise!

During my visit I made sure to incorporate my favorite hometown classics into each meal.  I enjoyed Maryland crab soup, crab cakes, crab stuffed rockfish and my favorite, classic steamed Maryland crabs.  But despite all the different crab dishes, the one that stuck out the most my Mom's Simmered Italian Sausage and Meatballs.  Soooo good!!!  Her sauce is kept light with the addition of crushed tomatoes and seasoned by the rich flavor of the Italian sausage.  The homemade meatballs are inspired from a favorite meatloaf recipe which uses a combination of ground beef and ground pork... delicious.

My Mom has been making versions of this meal for as long as I can remember.  As a kid she would start preparing this on an early Sunday morning and by the afternoon we would all be digging in.  This meal is perfect for when you want to stay in your pajamas past an acceptable hour, where a formal dinner is out of the question, and when multiple mini meals are savored throughout the day.  Enjoy!

Note: A lot of people may not have time/attention span to commit to making a pot of sauce from scratch.  A perfectly acceptable and easy alternative is to use a good quality pasta sauce and add the various ingredients below like we did last Sunday.  

Ingredients

For the sauce:

1 lb mild Italian sausage, halved
3 24 oz jars DeCecco pasta sauce (or your favorite high quality marinara)
1 28 oz can of Roma style crushed tomatoes
1 small yellow onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the meatballs:
Makes about 30 2" meatballs

1 lb ground beef (85% lean)
1 lb ground pork
1/2 cup of sauce (from this recipe)
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesean
2 eggs lightly beaten
A couple of fresh basil leaves for garnish

Method

For the sauce:  Saute onion in 1 tbsp of olive oil.  Add the crushed tomatoes and 3 cans of marinara sauce.  Heat on medium-low heat till you get a slight simmer.  While simmering, add the uncooked Italian sausage into the sauce. 

For the meatballs:  Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together.  Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil.  Using a cookie scoop or your hands, form meat into 2" balls.   Bake for 10 minutes until the outside is browned.

 
To put it all together, add the meatballs into sauce and let simmer on low for at least one hour, but up to three hours.  Serve alone with crusty Italian bread, or over al dente penne pasta... or both!

Lastly thanks to my Mom for spending some time in the kitchen with me and passing down this yummy Italian recipe....... it doesn't get better than this!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @CheesePlease531