Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Rolls

I really had no good blog topic in mind tonight, so I figured why not go through my chicken recipes. I mean, chicken is kind of an easy default. Even picky eaters usually don't have an issue with chicken. In fact, as an event planner, I've often joked about the "rubber chicken" dinners you get at most hotel functions. 9 times out of 10 the chicken is not in fact overcooked. It's more that because it's so user friendly that most big groups go with it.  In fact, I've tried some sauces and vegetables with chicken that are typically out of my comfort zone at events and found that I really like them! It's just sometimes tiring to have chicken at every meal.

Tonight's recipe is one of those out of my comfort zone instances, mostly because of the choice of veggie. Once I find I like something, I tend to beat it to death, so you get yet another asparagus recipe!

Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Rolls

Ingredients:
8 fresh asparagus spears            2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (abt. 5 oz. each)
1 tbsp. dijon mustard                   4 fresh sage leaves               2 slices provolone cheese
2 slices deli ham                          1/4 c. flour                             1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs               1/4 c. parmesan cheese       1 1/2 tsp. butter
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil                         1/4 c. white wine or chicken broth

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, bring 1/2 in. of water to a boil. 
2. Add asparagus and cover and boil for 3 minutes.
3. Drain and immediately place in ice water.
4. Drain and pat dry.
5. Flatten chicken to 1/4 in. thick.
6. Spread mustard over one side of each breast.
7. Down the center, place two sage leaves, a slice of cheese, a slice of ham and 4 asparagus spears.
8. Fold chicken over asparagus and secure with toothpick.
9. Place flour and egg in separate shallow bowls. 
10. In a third bowl, combine bread crumbs and parmesan.
11. Dip chicken in flour, egg then breadcrumb mixture.
12. In a large skillet, brown chicken on all sides in butter and oil.
13. Transfer to an 8 in. square baking dish coated with cooking spray.
14. Add wine to skillet, stirring to loosen brown bits from pan.
15. Pour over chicken.
16. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

As always, have fun!

Did You Know I Eat Broccoli

Well, some broccoli anyway. Like this recipe and one other. But that's a start right? In this case, I'd say the cheese probably helps a lot!

Hot Broccoli Cheese Dip

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter               2 onions, chopped                2 4 oz. cans of sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 c. + 2 tbsp. flour  5-6 oz. garlic cheese, cubed 2 cans of cream of celery soup
2 10 oz. pkgs. of broccoli spears, chopped            french bread cubes and bell pepper strips

Directions:

1. Melt butter in skillet.
2. Add onion and mushrooms and saute until translucent.
3. Stir in flour and cook 2-3 minutes.
4. Place mixture in crock pot.
5. Stir in soup, cheese and broccoli.
6. Cover and cook on high until cheese is melted, stirring frequently.
7. Turn to low and cook for 2-4 hours or until ready to serve.
8. Serve with french bread cubes and bell pepper strips.

As always, have fun!

Veggie Soup I Like

With my fear of all cooked vegetables growing up I didn't eat a lot of vegetable soups. In fact, most I wouldn't even try. I'm enjoy fresh produce in my soups now though - and the more unusual ingredients seem to win me over more! Usually, they are pretty quick to make too which is an added bonus.

Zucchini & Tomatillo Soup

Ingredients:

For the zucchini:    2 c. chopped zucchini       1 c. vegetable stock      2 garlic cloves, minced

                              4 sprigs fresh thyme

For the tomatillos:  1/2 lb tomatillos, husked and cleaned         1/2 small red onion, cut in half

                               2 tbsp. olive oil                                            salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. In a medium pot, combine the zucchini, stock, garlic, thyme.
3. Bring to a simmer and cook 20 minutes. R
4. Remove thyme and discard.
5. Place the tomatillos and onion on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
6. Toss with your hands to coat all sides.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Roast until golden but not charred, 20-24 minutes.
9. Put the tomatillos and onion along with any remaining oil in a blender.
10. Add a spoonful from the cooked zucchini mixture and blend until smooth.
11. Keep doing this until everything is blended.
12. Pour everything back into the pot and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.
13. Can be served warm or chilled.
14. Garnish with cilantro if you want.

I've only tried it warm. I haven't been too adventurous with cold soup but it seems like it would be a perfect summer dish. Fresh from the garden produce into a cool soup to stay cool in the hot summer sun. Win win!

As always, have fun!

Quick and Easy Salmon

Remember the other night when I talked about tomatoes, mozzarella and balsamic vinaigrette? It made me think of another recipe that uses balsamic vinegar that would be a great fit for this week's theme. What's funny is that the two main ingredients in this one are yet another pair that I didn't eat for most of my life. The first time I tried salmon, I thought it was dry and fishy.  I was fairly disappointed as I had just started liking fish and sadly assumed they all fell in that mild whitefish category. I'm not sure if I just had a bad piece of fish or not, but I finally retried it a few years later and now have salmon recipes coming out of my ears. This is why you should always retry things as you get older, since your taste buds apparently change with age too!

Asparagus Balsamic Salmon

Ingredients:
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar               1 tbsp. honey            3 tbsp. olive oil             1 tbsp. butter
4 salmon fillets                            1 lb. asparagus, trimmed

Directions:

1. In saucepan, bring honey and vinegar to boil, whisking occasionally.
2. Cook until reduced by half (app. 3 minutes).
3. Remove from heat.
4. Whisk in butter and cover to keep warm.
5. Toss asparagus with 1 1/2 tbsp. oil.
6. Cook until tender.
7. Put salmon in parchment paper.
8. Cover with sauce.
9. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

You could also easily convert this to a grill recipe. I would marinate both the asparagus and salmon in the sauce. However, with the asparagus, I would do it briefly so that you don't make it mushy. 

As always, have fun!

Food Phobia

How many of you out there have stories about the one food you just can't stand? Or perhaps the time some tricked you into trying something you thought you hated, only to find out it was really yummy? Or maybe you just have a list of "no way" foods because they just sound, look or smell gross to you? Yes, you guessed it; you have food phobia!

My food phobias come from all sorts of places. I don't do Cheez-Its just because of the story of me eating too many of them when I was little and getting sick. All I have to do is smell them and it grosses me out. I also have a ton of foods I don't like because they are creamy. I truly believe having to eat oatmeal after it making me gag and my mom not believing that I wasn't faking it has helped contribute to that one. It's not all creamy foods - but oatmeal and mashed potatoes are still on my "no way" list.

One area where I've slowly come around is cooked vegetables. I used to be all about salad and carrot sticks and even raw string beans and peas. Nice and crunchy and tasty too! Now mind you, there's still some vegetables I won't eat but all in all, I've discovered I need to retry them now to know for sure. I think it all started with a tasting at the downtown Marriott with our incoming President Pat Williams. I wish I could remember exactly what soup they served but it was totally delish! It has some sort of bean in it and I'm pretty sure it was cream of asparagus or artichoke or something equally weird. I loved it...she loved it...we served it at her Inaugural to rave reviews. My mom was stunned I ate it.

So here we are at tonight's recipe. I'll have plenty more that involve stuff no one ever thought I'd like, but I thought I'd start with a pizza. For my friends who are picky eaters or have kids who are picky eaters, a pizza is a great way to throw some toppings on that you want to try but you don't want to "ruin" your meal if you don't like them. You cut your vegetables or meats in small pieces that can be easily picked off if absolutely necessary, but I bet you won't!

White Pizza with Artichoke Hearts

Ingredients:
1 c. mozzarella         1/4 c. chopped onion       1 tsp. minced garlic        1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. oregano       1/2 tsp. cumin                   1/4 tsp. paprika              1/8 tsp. black pepper
8 cherry tomatoes    14.75 oz. marinated artichoke hearts, drained        1 c. feta cheese
3/4 c. swiss                2 oz. sliced havarti          1 tbsp. basil                    1 pizza crust

Directions:

1. Prepare and measure all ingredients.
2. Oil a large cookie sheet or pizza pan and dust with cornmeal.
3. Spread prepared crust evenly.
4. Sprinkle mozzarella. 
5. Saute onion and garlic in oil about 3 minutes.
6. Stir in seasonings and then sprinkle over cheese.
7. Quarter the tomatoes and spread both them and the artichoke hearts next.
8. Layer with feta, swiss and havarti.
9. Sprinkle basil all over.
10. Bake at 400 for 8 - 10 minutes until crust is lightly brown and cheeses are all melted.

I have to confess. This is my version of the recipe. There are some of my food phobias I'm not quite ready to give up. The author recommends a 4.75 oz can of black olives too. I just can't do olives!

What foods do you hate? What do you love? What do you think you might want to give another chance?

As always, have fun!

“Face it girls. I'm older and I have more insurance.”

Can anyone name the movie that gem is from? I sure can and so can one of my best friends in the whole world - Kerin. She thought I was crazy for asking what the most memorable line from the movie as but didn't question me too much. I guess that's 20+ years of friendship for you!

What could this possibly have to do with my food blog you ask? Also, a great question. Fried Green Tomatoes is one of my all time favorite movies and it always makes me think of Kerin as I know she loves it as much as I do...we certainly have watched it enough. By extension, when I first found a recipe for fried green tomatoes, I knew I had to try it. I had always wondered what the novelty was about green tomatoes and how anyone would want to eat a cooked tomato (remember my cooked veggie issues!). Now, when I make them, I not only think of the movie, but also Kerin! I'm big on associations like that whether it's food, or music or a movie.  I think I remember things a lot better when I associate them with positive memories.

Now, on to the important part:

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:
1 egg                   1/2 c. buttermilk           1/2 c. flour          1/2 c. cornmeal        1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper     3 good sized green tomatoes                 vegetable oil          

Directions:

1. Combine egg and buttermilk.
2. Combine 1/4 c. flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper in a different bowl.
3. Dredge tomatoes in 1/4 c. flour then egg then cornmeal mixture.
4. Heat oil  in skillet to 375. 
5. Cook tomatoes for 2 minutes on each side.
6. Lay on paper towel to absorb excess oil before serving.

“It's funny, most people can be around someone and they gradually begin to love them and never know exactly when it happened; but Ruth knew the very second it happened to her. When Idgie had grinned at her and tried to hand her that jar of honey, all these feelings that she had been trying to hold back came flooding through her, and it was at that second in time that she knew she loved Idgie with all her heart.”  Over 20 years later and a simple tomato recipe can bring me right back to that moment. Go Egg Team!

As always, have fun!

Go New England!

Sorry to my Hoosier friends, but I am a New England girl at heart. Don't hate me too much. After a week of munchies: pizzas, dips and bite sized appetizers, I wanted to bring this blog around to something distinctly New England in honor of the Patriots. Honestly, I struggled. I don't like clam chowder. I am too cheap to have a good lobster recipe. I even checked for something Boston Cream pie related to no avail. 

So, I decided to go with flounder as it's a fish that I don't find as common out here in Indiana and, besides, seafood is always a New England thing!

Flounder with Shrimp Stuffing

Ingredients:

Fish:  1 1/2 lb. flounder fillets     5 tbsp. butter     2 tbsp. lemon juice     1 tsp. parsley
          1/2 tsp. paprika

Stuffing:  1 lb. uncooked shrimp, chopped     1/4 c. beef broth     1 tsp. pimento        
               6 tbsp. butter, cubed            1 small onion, chopped     1/4 c. bell pepper, chopped
               1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce     1/2 tsp. minced chives     1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
               1 1/2 c. bread crumbs

Directions:

1. In a skillet, melt butter.
2. Add onion, and pepper - saute until tender.
3. Add shrimp and cook until pink.
4. Add broth, pimentos, worcestershire, chives and cayenne. Heat.
5. Take off the heat, add breadcrumbs.
6. Spoon about 1/2 c. stuffing on each fillet. Roll up.
7. Place seam side down in a greased 9x13 baking dish.
8. Drizzle with butter and lemon juice.
9. Sprinkle with parsley and paprika.
10. Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 20-25 minutes, until fish flakes easily.

I always struggle with what the "right vegetable" to pair with different things. I'm certainly no gourmet chef but, for some reason especially with seafood, I just love a nice fresh vegetable on the side, not a starch like potatoes or rice.  And, of course, it can't be too mushy! If you time things right, you can cook this next recipe while your fish is in the oven so everything's fresh and ready to go.

Apple Green Bean Saute

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh green beans     1 apple, chopped     1/2 c. walnuts     1/2 c. honey

1 tbsp. oil                           sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Saute green bean and apple in oil.
2. Add walnuts - cook until vegetables are crisp tender.
3. Stir in honey.
4. Top with sesame seeds.

Patriots to win today and ....

As always, have fun!!