Italian Stuffed Chicken Breast

Italian Stuffed Chicken Breast

An ad on TV sparked the idea for this recipe, and its become a family favorite. I usually serve with fettuccini and Italian bread. It makes a very filling and delicious meal. It also is elegant enough to serve for company.

Ingredients

- 1 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend 

- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 

- 1 teaspoon dried basil 

- 1 teaspoon dried oregano 

- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs 

- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 

- 1 egg, well beaten 1 cup spaghetti sauce 

- 1/4 cup shredded Italian cheese blend, or to taste (optional)

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

- Combine 1 1/2 cup Italian cheese blend, garlic, basil, and oregano in a bowl. Combine Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs in a separate bowl.

- Cut one side of each chicken breast through the middle horizontally to within one-half inch of the other side. Open the two sides and spread them out like an open book. Lightly pound chicken to flatten. Fill each chicken breast with Italian cheese blend mixture and close like a book over the filling. Coat the outside of each chicken breast with egg; press bread crumb mixture over egg layer to coat each chicken breast. Arrange chicken breasts in a 9x13-inch baking dish

- Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Pour spaghetti sauce over cooked chicken; top with 1/4 cup Italian cheese blend. Bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted, about 5 more minutes

Slurpy Soup May Lower Your Grocery Bills

Slurpy Soup May Lower Your Grocery Bills

Soup doesn't get the attention it deserves. In fact, many of us hardly think of soup at all. But serving slurpy soup before the main course helps to fill you up. Over time, this can reduce your grocery bills because family members eat less. If you serve a big bowl of tomato soup, for example, you can serve a smaller hamburger.

Notice I said "slurpy soup." This doesn't include pricey cream soup like lobster bisque. Grocery stores carry hundreds of kinds of soup, but they tend to be high in salt. They may also contain additives you won't want to eat. When you make homemade soup you can control the salt and other ingredients.

The Weight Watchers "Fast and Fabulous Cookbook" contains a large section on soup. "Clear Soups can also form the basis of a hearty soup," it explains. "To make a filling and delicious soup, simply add barley, meat or poultry, pasta, or rice to plain boullion."

According to Weight Watchers, high quality ingredients are the key to delicious soup. While leftovers add flavor to soup, a soup based entirely on leftovers won't be as flavorful. Soup is one of those foods that tastes better the next day. But you need to be cautious about freezing soup thickened with flour, Weight Watchers cautions, because the ingredients may separate when you heat it.

The US Government recommends seven servings of fruits/vegetables a day. I am trying to meet this recommendation with soup. I have made spinach, artichoke, broccoli-cheese, fresh tomato, and mushroom soups. All of them are delicious and filling. For me, making soup is a way to experiment and some of the best soups I have made come from ingredients on hand.

"The Healthy Cook," published by "Prevention" magazine, contains many variations for tomato soup: cream of tomato with low-fat milk and non-fat sour cream, spicy tomato with chili, cumin, tumeric and cardamom, tomato-rice, and tomato-pasta. Instead of adding cream for a thicker consistency, "Prevention" says you may puree some vegetables (not all) in a food processor and add this creamy mixture to the soup.

There are three basic kinds of soups, clear, cream and chowder. Clear soup is made with meat., fish or vegetable broth. Cream soups contain milk, cream and butter. Chowder is actually a cream soup, with chunks of fish, meat or vegetables. Cold soups are in a separate category.

I live in Minnesota and when the thermometer drops below zero, the house gets drafty and food cools off quickly. Before I serve hot soup, I warm the bowls in the oven on the lowest setting. I also warm dinner plates. If family members don't come to the table right away, I cover food with aluminum foil. These tips will help you make slurpy, delicious, filling soup.

Use the freshest ingredients you can find.

Make your own broth or use salt-free commercial broth

Contrast hot soup with something cold--a cold sandwich or salad.

Refrigerate soup for a day to allow the flavors to marry.

Experiment with soup recipes.

Flavor soup with herbs instead of salt.

Turn soup into a meal by adding bread and a salad.

Source

Baked Buffalo Wings

Baked Buffalo Wings

These easy to make hot wings are crispy without being fried. Always yummy to snack on. They only take 10 minutes for prep, but need to be refrigerated for about an hour so the flour coating is firm. You can add more cayenne or use a higher hot sauce to butter ratio if you like them spicier! Enjoy.

Ingredients

- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 

- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 20 chicken wings 

- 1/2 cup melted butter 

- 1/2 cup hot pepper sauce 

Directions

- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly grease with cooking spray. Place the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt into a resealable plastic bag, and shake to mix. Add the chicken wings, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour mixture. Place the wings onto the prepared baking sheet, and place into the refrigerator. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

- Whisk together the melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl. Dip the wings into the butter mixture, and place back on the baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and crispy on the outside, about 45 minutes. Turn the wings over halfway during cooking so they cook evenly.

Grilled Tilapia with Tomato-Olive Tapenade

Grilled Tilapia with Tomato-Olive Tapenade

A quick and easy way to prepare tilapia.

Ingredients

- 4 (6 ounce) tilapia fillets 

- 1 tablespoon olive oil 

- 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes 

- 5 pitted Kalamata olives, chopped

- 1 tablespoon chopped onion 

- 1 tablespoon capers 

- salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

- Place tilapia fillets on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil.

- Bake tilapia in the preheated oven until opaque and easily flaked with a fork, 10 to 15 minutes

- Combine chopped tomatoes, olives, onion, and capers in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes begin to break down and tapenade flavors are combined, 5 to 10 minutes. Spoon tapenade over baked fillets.

Salmon with Brown Sugar Glaze

Salmon with Brown Sugar Glaze

This is my favorite recipe! I make this way too often. It's quick and easy! I serve this with rice and broccoli.

Ingredients

- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 

- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

- 4 (6 ounce) boneless salmon fillets 

- salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

- Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack at about 6 inches from the heat source; prepare the rack of a broiler pan with cooking spray.

- Season the salmon with salt and pepper and arrange onto the prepared broiler pan. Whisk together the brown sugar and Dijon mustard in a small bowl; spoon mixture evenly onto top of salmon fillets.

- Cook under the preheated broiler until the fish flakes easily with a fork, 10 to 15 minutes.

Baked Shrimp Scampi

Baked Shrimp Scampi

I've probably been making this recipe since I got it from my Mom in about 1985. I have no idea where she got the recipe from. I've been changing it over the years, and now I call it my own. When we started dating back in 1997, 

my husband would every now and then order shrimp scampi at a restaurant and always regret it afterwards, 

saying none of them competed with mine. You can vary the amounts of some of the ingredients, like the cayenne and garlic, 

to suit your taste. That's what I've done here because we like spicy and garlicky. 

Yum! Serve over angel hair pasta or any pasta of your choosing.

Ingredients

- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined 

- 1 cup unsalted butter 

- 1/4 cup white wine 

- 2 tablespoons lemon juice

- 2 tablespoons dried parsley 

- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

- 2 tablespoons minced garlic 

- 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs

Directions

- Place shrimp into a saucepan, cover with water to a depth of 2 inches over shrimp, and bring to a boil. Cover pan and cook until shrimp are pink, 2 to 3 minutes; drain.

- Combine butter, white wine, lemon juice, parsley, cayenne pepper, and garlic in a 2-quart casserole dish.

- Place casserole dish in oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

- When butter is melted, lightly toss shrimp in butter mixture until coated. Sprinkle bread crumbs over shrimp.

- Bake in the preheated oven until bread crumbs are lightly golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Cheesiest Potato Soup

Cheesiest Potato Soup

Cream and sharp Cheddar are added to pureed potatoes and the soup is seasoned with dill and cayenne for a creamy, thick meal

Ingredients

- 2 tablespoons butter 

- 1 cup diced onion 2 

- 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes 

- 3 cups chicken broth 1 cup heavy cream

- 1 3/4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese 

- 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed 

- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 

- 1/4 teaspoon salt 

- 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Directions

- In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion in butter until softened. Stir in potatoes and broth, bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

- Puree potato mixture in a blender or food processor or using an immersion blender; return to pot over medium heat. Stir in cream, cheese, dill, pepper, salt and cayenne. Bring to a low boil and cook, stirring, until thickened, 5 minutes.