Spicy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ok, first of all: THIS !!!!!!!

Second of all: If I could take a picture of my camera, I would. (Ok, I understand how mirrors work people, but c'mon it wouldn't be the same.) I can't stop being obsessed with it. This came to mind yesterday: I actually can't wait until it snows, so I can take awesome pictures in the snow. Of Jagger. And of course other things...

This will have to do for now .. breasts.

Third of all: It has come to my attention that I need to buy some stamps. I haven't bought stamps in maybe 3 years. And I just realized I have literally no idea how much they might cost anymore. Also, do I have to go to the post office? Because their hours are extremely inconvenient! And honestly, my own lack of knowledge/ apparent lack of usage of the good ol' USPS just makes me feel badly for the poor postal system and now I want to buy extra stamps and mail tons of useless stuff. 

Anyone down for a chain letter? Speaking of chain letters, are there people out there right now mailing 10 friends copies of a letter that claims to get them into the Guinness Book of World Records? Or was a phenomenon that died in the '90's with parachute pants? (Dear Lord, please bring back parachute pants.) (Please follow that link and enjoy the epicness that is parachutepants.com. Although, I could just be paranoid, but I wouldn't recommend that anyone actually buy any parachute pants from that site I just linked you too. Seems a tad shady.)

Ahh yumm!

And now that I've gotten us all reminiscing about parachute pants and chain letters, nothing seems more appropriate than this video:

Break it down!

Whooaaaaaaa whoooaaaaaa whoa.

Soundtrack: Hmm.. The new Black Keys album is pretty seriously awesome. Please find a way to download this... legally ;)

Spicy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Serves 3 (for 4, add an extra breast and 1/3 more of everything, obviously)

3 medium sized chicken breasts, pounded down to about 1/4 inch (the most important thing is uniformity in the thickness)

salt & pepper

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 c Italian-style breadcrumbs

1/4 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp chipotle seasoning (use more or less according to taste)

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1-1 1/2 c. fresh arugula

1/4 c grated Pecorino Romano cheese

cooking twine

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season chicken breasts with pepper and salt. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

In a shallow or large bowl, whisk together the breadcrumbs, rosemary, chipotle, and oregano.

One at time, dip the chicken breasts into the egg and coat with breadcrumb mixture. Press the chicken hard into the bread crumbs to make sure they stick. Transfer the breaded chicken breasts to a greased baking dish and arrange side by side.

Top each chicken breast with 1/3 of the Pecorino cheese and 1/3 of the arugula. Working with each breast, one at time, slip a 12" piece of twine under the breast. Gather the arugula together and wrap the chicken around the greens until the ends meet. Wrap the string around the chicken and tie together. Repeat for each chicken breast.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Check for done-ness before serving.

This looks so real you could eat it! But don't... it's raw.

White Chicken Chili

How ironic that I am posting a white chili the day after watching one of my best-est friends try on wedding dresses...

And being the first to cry (go me!), I have to say, the dress shopping thing was a little overwhelming. Maybe it's because I can't even fathom the fact that this is where we are in life now and I'm just not ready to grow up. Or maybe it's just because my purse was full of mashed pear and I spilled coffee all over myself, but being so close to things so white and delicate and expensive totally freaked me out at first.

So hard to imagine that just a few short years ago we were bowling
in our prom dresses... and now we are shopping for wedding dresses...

(PS Being overwhelmed always reminds me of one particular Hollywood moment from 10 Things I Hate About You. PPS I have no idea what the second part of that youtube vid even is, but it's all I could find..)

But omgosh, watching her face light up when she found the right dress was a moment that I'm really glad I was able to share. And I finally met her fiance (so now that doesn't have to be an awkward pre-wedding moment). And now I'm really excited for her.

Eek!

I also got to see three of my other favorite people in the world this weekend! Two of which told me they've never even read my blog, so I'm definitely crossing them off the list soon. Losers. Jessica on the other hand, I can't wait to walk down the aisle with you, boo.

But yea, totally worth eight hours of driving in two days. Poughkeepsie, I love you. You have my heart forevs.

Our "21st" Birthday

Anyway... chili...

Soundtrack: Some interesting Christmas music that I found.... Carol of the BELLZ, yo.


 

White Chicken Chili

Serves 4-5


1 medium onion, chopped (I like to chop half and leave the other half in bigger pieces, because I like big pieces of onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 chicken breasts, cleaned and cut into strips
2 medium red peppers, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (optional)
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp chipotle powder
20 oz chicken broth (this is about most of a 32 oz container, you can eye it out if you don't have a scale)
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
Juice of 1 lime
Muenster cheese, shredded
EVOO, salt & pepper




In a medium stockpot, heat a small drizzle of EVOO over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions just begin to soften; about 3-4 minutes.


Add chicken, red peppers, jalapeno, chili powder, and chipotle to the pot. Saute over medium heat until chicken is cooked through; about 5-10 minutes. Once chicken is fully cooked, remove chicken strips from stock pot to a cutting board. Add broth, kidney beans, chickpeas and corn to the pot. Stir in remaining seasonings (oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, mustard and coriander). Raise the heat to high.


Meanwhile, using two forks, shred the chicken strips to bite-sized pieces. Once shredded, return to stockpot.


Once chili begins to boil, reduce the heat and cover the pot. Allow the chili to simmer at least 20-25 minutes. Can be simmered longer to thicken. Before serving, add lime juice to pot.


Serve hot and garnish with cheese.

See? Some small onions, some large onions.. I have issues

Chickpeas. Love.

Imagine you were a giant, and used a giant spoon?

Bahaha. I took a whole bunch of pics of the chili,
then noticed something a bit off...

Jalapeno & Mango Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese reminds me of two times in my life. 1) Being a little kid and 2) being a drunk college freshman at 3 AM. Not that those two things are really all that different: poorly thought out decisions and sloppy eating at their finest.


Regardless, I'm sure we can all agree that mac and cheese is an amazing food. Some might call it a super food. Not to be confused with superfoods. (Add ketchup. Enjoy!)

Just add mango

But now I've graduated. My tastes are more refined. Sophistication has won the day. No more boxed mac for me. It's actually really crazy how easy homemade mac n cheese can be to make once you get it out of your head that it's hard. No need for Easy Mac. Seriously, there is NO NEED for Easy Mac (I'm talking the just add water stuff here, not the boxed stuff in general. I love boxed mac and cheese.) Because it's NOT really that much easier to just add water to dehydrated cheese than it is to add milk and butter. Unless of course you don't have a refrigerator and your only means of cooking is in the microwave, then sure, get your Easy Mac on (HELLLOOO college memories...).


AND, I hope you aren't totally repulsed by the idea of cheddar cheese and mangoes. I know, it's weird. But if you are skeptical (as SOME people that I live with were...), you are dead wrong. The sharpness of the cheese. The sweetness of the mangoes. Match made in heaven. Those are not complete sentences. All balanced out perfectly by the hint of spiciness from chipotle and jalapenos. Baking the dish is key to fusing all these flavors together.


The responsible, healthy eater that I am, I went ahead and served this mac and cheese with a nice healthy salad. It was full of carrots, bell peppers, yellow (!) cherry tomatoes, and green beans. The more colors the better! And I slept better at night, know that I got my veggies in for the day.


Soundtrack: ALO

Jalapeno & Mango Macaroni and Cheese
(Serves 4 as a main course)


3 tbsp butter
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 c 2% milk
1 tsp chipotle seasoning
1/2 tsp paprika
2 c sharp cheddar cheese (white)
About 1/2 box of elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
1 small jalapeno, chopped very finely
1 medium mango, chopped
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
salt & pepper


Preheat oven to 350.


Create a roux by melting the butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the flour, stirring until completely combined. Remove from heat.


Begin to whisk in the milk, adding a little at a time and whisking quickly to avoid lumps. Turn the heat back on to medium. Heat, stirring constantly and making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan until it begins to boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the mixture thickens (about 3-5 minutes). Season with salt, pepper, chipotle, and paprika and simmer on low for another 10 minutes, continuing to stir often.


Remove from heat and stir in cheddar cheese until melted. Add macaroni noodles, mango and jalapeno. Transfer mixture to a grease baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and bread crumbs are toasted.

Thickened white sauce.. hmmm

Little mango flowers!

Skillzz

Look! It's the leaning tower of Cheese-a!

Delicious...

Baked Cheese. Yum.
What else can you really say?

Chipotle Mango & Zucchini Bread

That's right. I said chipotle. Just a little, don't get any crazy ideas here. Just a tang.

Looks so innocent and sweet, but don't let that fool you!

Long weekends are aaaa-mazing aren't they? It's Sunday today, but no Monday blues tomorrow! The thing about Philadelphia 4th of July weekend, is that it's deserted. Not desserted, that would be awesome, but deserted. Everyone's gone "down the shore." It's sort of nice, the peace and quiet. Until Monday when the hoards will come in from the suburbs and descend upon the Art Museum area for the fireworks and live music (Just reminded myself of this movie trailer, 1:00 minute in lol). But for now, I feel like I'm alone in the big city! Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration; there are certainly people around, but you catch my drift. This has been one much needed long weekend of relaxation. And I'm certainly going to need it considering my plans for next weekend. (No sleep 'til Brooklyn, people.)

Btw, I'm still thinking about a desserted Philadelphia and wishing I was better at Photoshop. I would put donuts around the sky scrapers, a giant Franklin Fountain ice cream sundae atop the state building, William Penn on city hall would be holding a birthday cake (for America obvs)... etc.etc.etc. All in good ole' red, white and blue. It's the thought that counts sometimes.

Anyway, this bread is NOT one of those "thought that counts" instances. It's delic. It's a great summer bread; Florida mangoes are in season (making them cheaper!) and zucchini is coming out of the garden (or you can definitely find some locally grown very easily!). The bread is moist and flavorful; the chipotle adds just a tiny zip to make things interesting.

The recipe was derived from the basic Sweet Zucchini Bread from The Joy of Cooking. Subbed half the oil for some yogurt to cut the fat (I also just think it makes for a moister bread), subbed in some wheat flour, and added some cut up mango and chipotle seasoning.

Soundtrack: Old Crow Medicine Show (ROCK ME MAMMA LIKE A WAGON WHEEELL. No question, it's going to be stuck in my head all day.)

Chipotle Mango & Zucchini Bread 

Makes 1-9x5 loaf

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground chipotle seasoning

2 large eggs

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. vegetable oil

2 tbs plain yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups finely chopped zucchini, squeezed of excess water (interesting process)

1 large mango, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x5 loaf pan; set aside. Combine in a medium sized bowl the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and chipotle with a whisk; set aside.

In a larger bowl, beat the eggs. Add in the sugar, oil, yogurt, vanilla and salt. Continue to beat until blended. Add dry ingredients and stir until combined.

Add zucchini and mango, and using as few strokes as possible, stir these into the mixture.

Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes. The bread will pull away from the sides when done. Don't try the toothpick trick, you might still get some stuff on it, as it's a very moist bread!

Chopping, using my immersion blender attachment

Cutting mangoes is really very pretty, huh?

The dry stuff

GOD I LOVE THIS THING! hehehe

Mixin' it together

Stir in chopped zucchini