Spinach & Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken

I've been working to lose the baby weight with no avail since a week after baby duck and I came home from the hospital. When I stepped on the scale the other week, my eyes all but rolled out of my head. I gained weight...how in the world did I gain weight?

Ok so I'm not consistent with working out, where do I have the time? Between cooking, cleaning, mommy duties, wife duties, school, house, errands, etc....not to mention baby duck is still not sleeping through the night....yeah, I know, excuses.

And of course, some nights are better than others with baby duck sleeping. B could sleep through world war three so he isn't much help unless I force him up and by that point I'm just asking myself what the point in that would be since I could have already had it done. Those bad days usually end up in take out....needless to say, my diet hasn't been fantastic either.

Anyway, last week I made a commitment to change all of that. Starting with our diet. We are big red meat and potato eaters, which unfortunately isn't very health conscious in a diet. So for the next two weeks we chose to cut out red meat and starchy foods every night. Instead we are sticking with chicken and turkey and only adding starches once or twice a week. We're also keeping our calorie count between 1200 and 1400. To try and keep food from being the same boring thing every night, I've been playing with different spices and flavors to add some diversity.

Last night I made a Spinach and Mozzarella stuffed chicken breast with a single serve caprese tomato and a side salad. Delicious!

So on to our recipe.

(Serves 2)

INGREDIENTS

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbs fresh minced Garlic
2 Tbs EVOO
2 Tbs butter
Thick sliced fresh mozzarella
10oz frozen spinach, thawed
1/4 C Dry white wine
1 tsp thyme (fresh)
1 tsp chives (fresh)
2 tsp italian dressing mix (just the mix, not the dressing)
salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS

1) The first thing you will want to do is butterfly your chicken breast and flatten them so they are 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick and as even as possible

2) In a small saute pan, melt your butter and add your EVOO. Heat the minced garlic for about a minute. Just enough to warm it but do not brown it. Remove the pan from the heat. Mince the Thyme and Chives and add them to the pan with the white wine. Place back on the heat for another minute, just to heat the mixture. When warm, add 2-3 liberal spoonfulls (I used a kitchen tablespoon) to the inside of the chicken and spread evenly.

3) Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the spinach. Spread half the spinach on each breast. Top with sliced fresh mozzarella. Then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4) Roll the chicken jelly roll style then tie closed with kitchen twine. Coat the outside of the chicken with more salt and pepper and the Italian Seasoning.

5) **OPTIONAL (I didn't do this)** If you would like a darker, crispier outside, you can sear the chicken in a hot pan before placing it in the oven.

6)  Pour the rest of your marinade mixture into the bottom of your baking dish. Place the chicken in the dish and put it in a 400 degree (204 degrees for those who use Celsius) oven.

Continue cooking until your chicken reaches an internal temp of 165 degrees (74 C). Make sure you are temping the chicken and not the filling or else you could end up with very undercooked chicken. I didn't even temp mine until it had a good 30 minutes to cook.

Enjoy with your favorite sides!

If you want the single serve caprese recipe, you can find that here. I found it as a pin on pinterest.

Recipe Set: Southern Fried Chicken, MacNCheese, and Buttered Soy Green Beans

This set is one of my favorite recipe sets to post today. Not only is fried chicken one of my favorite meals, but on this day I had the chance to spend my time in the kitchen with my husband.

Brandon is a fantastic cook, but because of his work schedule, he usually doesn't have the chance to help me with dinner. Before we got married, kitchen time was a date night every week. Ladies and Gents, if you have a significant other that enjoys being in the kitchen, this is a fun and inexpensive way to have a great date night. On occasion B and I would even get a babysitter for tiny tot, just to come home and cook and enjoy a meal together. It's been months since we have had a chance to be in the kitchen together.

Anyway I decided to make this meal on a Saturday, which meant he could spend some time in the kitchen helping me out. It brought back many great memories.

So this recipe was my date night recipe, it's pretty simple to make on your own, and fun to make as a couple or a family. It has three parts to it, the main part is the fried chicken of course, I also made homemade mac'n'cheese and buttered soy green beans.

SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

This recipe is made for 6-8 chicken pieces. You can use any type of chicken you want, just remember cooking times will vary based on size and bone-in/bone-out.

INGREDIENTS

• 6-8 Chicken Legs
• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 1/2 TBS Seasoned Salt
• 1 1/2 TBS Pepper
• 2 Tsp Paprika
• 1 TBS Garlic Powder
• 1 Brown Paper Bag
• 3/4 C Salt
• 3 Quarts Cold Water
• 6 Egg Yolks
• 2 Cups Crisco

(ignore my special K, that is not one of the ingredients lol)

DIRECTIONS

Brine chicken for 2 hours in 3 quarts of water mixed with 3/4 cup salt. Leaving it in for longer than 2 hours can result in salty chicken. (You can also set chicken in buttermilk overnight, both will result in juicy chicken!) Remove the chicken from the brine, dry with paper towels, let sit covered under a paper towel for 30 minutes until completely dry and at room temperature. (I added 2 TBS of minced garlic to my brine as well because my family loves garlic chicken, you can add this if you would like)

In a brown paper bag combine Flour, Seasoned Salt, Pepper, Paprika, and Garlic powder until well mixed. Roll chicken in the flour mixture, shake off any excess flour, then dip in the egg yolk. Place chicken back in the bag and shake the bag until chicken pieces are evenly coated. Depending on the size of the bag you may have to mix 2-3 at a time, or you can add them all at once.

In a cast iron skillet **cast iron is the best skillet to use for fried chicken, it keeps the chicken juicy and prevents it from sticking** add 2 cups of Crisco and heat skillet until it is melted but not smoking.

Shake the excess flour from the chicken and put the pieces in the pan. Do not overfill your pan, 4 legs at a time should be plenty for a 10" cast iron skillet.

Fry the pieces on med-high heat until lightly browned on both sides. Cover and cook on med-low for 20-25 minutes. Uncover and turn the heat back up to med-high. Do not be concerned if it starts bubbling, it's normal. Cook until golden brown on all sides.

Using a meat thermometer, insert as close to the center as possible without touching the bone. Internal temperature should be 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

TRIPLE CHEDDAR MAC'N'CHEESE

I love this recipe. It is one of my absolute favorite foods to make. And it's so unbelievably simple.

INGREDIENTS

• 1LB Elbow Macaroni
• 2 TBS Butter
• 3 TBS Flour
• 1 TBS Olive Oil
• 1 1/2 Cups Milk
• 3 Cups Shredded Triple Cheddar Blend (Sharp, Mild, and White)
• 1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
• 1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
• Salt

DIRECTIONS

Cook the noodles until Al Dente. Then strain and set aside.

In a deep skillet, add melt 2 TBS Butter with 1 TBS Olive Oil.

Combine flour and gently whisk with butter until smooth and flour has cooked. About 3 minutes. Slowly add milk while continuing to whisk, gently bringing milk to a bubble.

Add 2 cups of cheese a handful at a time and whisk until melted. Season with Nutmeg and Cayenne. Taste sauce and add salt to your liking.

Add cooked pasta to the sauce and toss until completely coated.

Transfer the noodles to a baking dish and top with the last cup of cheese (you can add extra if you like, I do)

Place the baking dish in the oven at 475 Degrees Farenheit or under a broiler and brown the cheese on top.

BUTTERED SOY GREEN BEANS

• 1/2 LB Fresh Green Beans, washed with ends removed.
• 3 TBS Butter
• 1 Clove Chopped Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Splash of soy sauce
• 1 Tbs cornstarch
• 1/4 C water

DIRECTIONS

Melt the butter in a pan and saute garlic until golden and releasing an aroma. Add green beans, splash of soy sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss and coat green beans, and cook covered on low for about five minutes. Beans should still be crisp. Mix cornstarch into 1/4 C cold water and add to beans to thicken sauce.

Dinner was fantastic that night and it was even more wonderful to be able to prepare it with my husband and I hope that you enjoy your meal as much as I did mine!