Garlic-Lemon Double Cheesy Chicken

The downside to trying many new recipes in a week, and posting about them, are the copious amounts of leftovers in both our fridge and freezer. I say this is a downside because, I keep cooking and baking and wanting to post about it, which involves making more leftovers....more than we could possibly ever eat, just the two of us and so this creates a slight problem.

This also half explains my week-long posting hiatus. Geeky Dude and I had a lot of food to finish up in our fridge before I could make more (it was really delicious, we didn't mind!). Honestly I blame that matzo lasagna, because it was such a large dish that it took nearly a week for us to finish, but honestly, it was SO worth it. YUM!

You'll notice I said that it HALF explained my week-long hiatus. The other half of the explanation is sheer laziness. It's true, I was lazy and didn't -want- to cook all week. I was tired and cranky and just wanted to eat a pint of Ben and Jerry's. You can stop looking at me with those judgy (it's a word, I said so) faces. Sometimes people just have those sorts of weeks and mine was last week. 

For the most part Geeky Dude was complicit with my laziness, he even went out at 9:00 pm to buy me the aforementioned pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. He's a pretty good guy, and anyway, like I said we had so many leftovers. Towards the end of the week however, the leftovers were dwindling and we had ingredients to use up in our fridge. 

Now, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but Geeky Dude is a pretty fantastic cook. It's true, he's Geeky, romantic, thoughtful and can cook.He's pretty darn cute, too.  I know, I know...I'm a lucky lady! This recipe is the result of him going through MY Pinterest boards and cooking us dinner while I continued to be lazy and not cook.

It's a solid recipe, we paired it with steamed broccoli and enjoyed it quite a lot. It's not a light meal by any means. The combo of cream cheese and cheddar cheese stuffed into the chicken make it quite heavy and incredibly filling....but tasty. 

INGREDIENTS:

oil, for greasing pan 8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into 1/2 inch slices 1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2 inch slices 1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese 1 tablespoon minced garlic 3/4 cup butter, melted 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon paprika (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly coat a large, shallow baking dish with oil.
2.	Butterfly each breast by slicing in half horizontally through the center, cutting almost but not completely through. Place one slice each of Cheddar and cream cheese in the center of each breast. Close again as if placing between the pages of a book. Set aside.
3.	Pour milk into a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, combine breadcrumbs and Romano cheese. Carefully dip each breast first in milk, then in breadcrumb mixture, patting lightly to firmly coat. Place breasts side by side in a single layer in pre-oiled baking dish, tucking edges under to seal.
4.	Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in lemon juice and garlic, and drizzle evenly over chicken. Season breasts with garlic salt and paprika, if using.
5.	Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until no longer pink in center and juices run clear.

Changes/Alterations: We used Parmesan instead of Romano because that's what we had on hand. We also used Panko bread crumbs instead of Italian because we also had those on hand instead of Italian.  We modified this recipe down to the measurements needed for 3 chicken breasts instead of 8. This was -more- than enough food for us. It's VERY filling. Half a breast is enough for 1 person. 

Also the tucking the edges under part....super important!!! The cheddar oozes out if you don't do this step! 

I Just Love A Good Quinoa Recipe

Hello blogosphere!

I hear that once again the Vatican is setting records with Popliness (it's a word, I said so) by electing a non-European pope today. Not only that, but he apparently renamed himself from Jorge (which I think would have been a kick-ass pope name...Pope Jorge...c'mon!)  to Pope Francis I. This apparently also breaks with tradition because there has never before been a Pope Francis in the history of popes. The things you learn.

In other news, I'm gearing up for a trip home to the East Coast to see my family and visit with some friends for an East Coast style bridal shower leaving Geeky Dude home to fend for himself. As I've said before he is a great cook, but sadly when left to his own devices will gladly eat just peanut butter and jelly and cereal to avoid having to cook meals for just himself.

That being said I decided to prep him for a 3-day weekend alone with another big batch of stew so he can feast on leftovers while I dine on lobster :)

This recipe is courtesy of Cookin' Canuck (Adore the name!) and I made some pretty hefty adjustments due to ingredient shortages and my own personal preferences. I'll note them at the bottom of the recipe along with the results.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded & chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 can (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes
• 2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
• 3/4 cup pitted and quartered kalamata olives
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

1. Steam the butternut squash until barely tender, about 10 minutes. Remove half of the squash pieces and set aside.
2. Steam the remaining squash until very tender, an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Mash this squash with the back of a fork. Set aside.
3. In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer.
4. Add chicken thighs, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
5. Transfer the chicken thighs to a plate and allow to cool. Pour broth into a medium-sized bowl.
6. Return the saucepan to the stovetop and lower heat to medium. Add olive oil.
7. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is starting to turn brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
8. Add minced garlic and oregano. Cook, stirring, for 1 additional minute.
9. To the saucepan, add tomatoes, butternut squash pieces, mashed butternut squash. Stir to combine.
10. Stir in reserved chicken broth and quinoa. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa turns translucent, about 15 minutes.
11. Shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork.
12. Stir the chicken, olives and pepper into the stew and simmer, uncovered, to heat, about 5 minutes.
13. Stir in parsley and serve.

***Adjustments and Results***  I didn't have a butternut squash handy, so I used some white pumpkins we had lying around begging to be used. In hindsight this wasn't the best choice. I would recommend a squash over a pumpkin (acorn or butternut) as they have a stronger flavor. I also roasted my pumpkin in the oven, another something I wouldn't recommend unless you have copious amounts of time on your hands. Seriously. 

I added a pinch of rosemary and thyme to this as well and omitted the olives as I can't tell you my absolute hatred of all things olive (except, oddly....olive oil, which is amazing)

I ended up adding a bit more liquid towards the end because the quinoa really soaked up a lot and I had reservations about it being quite so thick.

All in all, this is a good base recipe and I would recommend it. It's pretty gosh darn tasty.