Hasselback Caprese Chicken

Welcome back!  Time is flying, fall is falling and the garden produce is beginning to get to tired and worn out and cold to make anything more!  Bummer!  I picked the last of my basil, the last of my tomatoes, and decided to close the season with a bang!  This is a dish I have seen around here and there, but I wanted to make it my own way.  I wanted to add some seasonings, and better yet, I wanted to lay them on a bed of creamy, silky, alfredo-like sauce!

This came together in about 15-20 minutes, and another 45 in the oven.  I served it with a side of spaghetti that was lightly buttered, added some parsley, and a drizzle of this awesome sauce!

I gave you kind of an approximation of ingredients.  I wrote it for 4 servings, but for the tomato and basil and cheese it will depend on how thick you cut your slices, AND how many slits you put in the chicken.  See what I am sayin'?

Let's get started!

Cream Sauce:
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup chicken stock (up to 3/4 depending on how thick or thin you want your sauce)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Melt your butter in a medium saucepan.  Add in your flour and whisk to combine for 1-2 minutes.  Add in milk and chicken stock.  Whisk until slightly thickened and then add in cheese.  Again, whisk until cheese is melted and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Now, pour this mixture into a 9x13 baking dish.  Also, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F!

Now for the chicken prep you will need:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2=3 large tomatoes
2-8oz balls of mozzarella cheese
20 leaves of fresh basil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste

Slice your cheese and tomatoes into half moons.  Now take your chicken and slice across it.  Don't go all the way through, just about 3/4 of the way.  Do that to tall of the chicken breasts.  Using your Italian seasoning, and garlic salt, season them up all over.

 You can stuff these however you like.  Where you cut, you will stuff with tomato or mozz cheese. I used a basil leaf in each one, alternating mozz and tomato slices.  When you finish one, carefully place it in the 9x13 pan of cream sauce.  Do this until all chicken is done.

Lightly salt and pepper when all done and place into the oven.  You will need to start checking for doneness at about 35 minutes.  I used large breasts (teehee) and mine took upwards of 45-50 minutes.  Use your thermometers!

Enjoy this with a side of pasta, a salad, some nice crusty bread, the possibilities are endless and delicious!

Margherita Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Hey friends!  Hope you are all well!  How is the summer starting off for everyone?  Storms and more storms, and more heat and humidity here than ever.  Joy, pure and utter joy.  NOT!

In the summer we do lot of sandwiches and salads.  Some days it is just to hot to cook a big dinner, nobody wants to heat up their house more than necessary when it is hot outside.  Am I right or am I right?!?!

I have been on a grilled cheese kick.  Experimenting with different things I like and other ingredients.  A margherita pizza any day, anytime, anywhere makes me happy.  I decided to just work those ingredients into my grilled cheese.  They were so good, I decided to share. it.  No big secret or back story, (for once, huh? HAHA)  Just a great, quick, sandwich that will fill your tummy and it might make you moan a little when you eat it.  I won't say if it does that to me, but, I know a few people who it might affect that way!

Be ready to see a few of my grilled cheese experiments.  Here are a couple you might enjoy that are already posts, French Onion Panino, or my  Cheese Frenchee!  We have been trying to have a meatless night or two a week and these cheesy treasures make it much easier!!

I prefer my grilled cheese on plain old white, doughy (not so great for you) bread.  You choose your own favorite!  This will make 4 sandwiches!

8 slices of bread your choice
8 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
sliced tomatoes, as many as you want per sandwich
Fresh basil leaves, about 3 per sandwich (tear them up!)
Butter

I know, you know how this goes.  I butter my pan instead of the bread.  Layer cheese, tomato and basil.  Use a slice of bread, slice of cheese, then tomato, then basil, last slice of cheese and bread.
This makes the cheese act like a glue, and oh LAWDY, my mouth is watering.  Sadly, I am not joking.   Place in the pan, and cook slow!  That is the secret when you have multiple ingredients.  Let that cheesy goodness melt slowly and the bread brown perfectly and errrr meeh gerrrd!

I do like to add a little pinch of salt to the top of my tomato! 

Enjoy this simple supper or lunch!

Roasted Red Pepper Marinara

Hello beautiful friends!  I am in a good mood, can you tell?  If I tell you why, you won't believe it.  I have just made the most amazing marinara, EVER.  Yes, I said EVER.  Just look at this beautiful goodness!

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This may look like your everyday, run of the mill sauce, but trust me, it isn't!  I was watching a blogger friend who also has a YouTube channel.  Her name is Heather, of "Mishmawshandotherthings", and you can find her at her blog, or here at her youtube channel.  I was inspired by her homemade marinara.  I took her method, and some of her ingredients and added a few things of my own.  This recipe looked fantastic and roasting the veggies before cooking them is fantastic.  What flavor!!!!  I have to thank her for being an inspiration for this recipe.  I hope you go join up with her, she is a good lady, a real mom, with real kids, and she cooks real food.  GOOD food.

I am planning on making a large batch or multiple batches of this sauce to can or freeze.  I am adding no meat, (as Heather did), and can see using this for a soup base, lasagna, for stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls, gravy, I mean the list goes on and on!  Oh it was ROCK over meatloaf!  When you want to add meat, you treat it as you would any other sauce, dare I say "jarred".  Add your browned meat, meatballs, sausages, whatever you want.  This is a versatile baby and I think you will love it!

10-15 tomatoes (cut out the core and cut in half)
4 cloves of garlic (peeled)
1/2 onion (cut into chunks)
1/2 red bell pepper
olive oil
salt
sugar
5-7 leaves of basil (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350.  Prepare all of your ingredients.  When you have them ready to roast, put them on your sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and salt liberally. 

Roast for 1 hour.  Remove and let cool for 5 minutes.

Put all roasted goodness into your blender.  Blend on high until smooth.  If you do not have a powerful blender you can strain it through a fine mesh strainer, mine left a FEW pieces of skin but I left them.  If I had blended longer they likely would have been completely pulverized!  I added about 5 large basil leaves to mine before I blended as well!

Add back into your saucepan and add sugar to taste.  I added 2 tbsp.  I also added salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. 

This is absolutely the most delicious marinara I have ever made or tasted I think.  As you can see I simply added it to some plain spaghetti and just enjoyed the goodness!  Crisp, clean, fresh and homemade goodness.  You may never by jarred sauce again, I know I won't, not even in an emergency!

Your "garden goodness and homemade happiness"Chefwannabe

Chicken Scallopini Caprese

Happy Friday friends!!

I hope you enjoying your last few hours of work, until it is the weekend. I am not so huge on weekends.  My husband always used to have to work them so my weekends became whatever days he had off.  Made it hard when I was teaching but, such is life.  He now has real weekends off, much do our dismay.  We enjoy a weekday off,
great restaurants aren't as crowded, neither are movie theaters or anywhere else most people would frequent on a weekend.  We also like to have a weekday off to conduct business if needed, since many places aren't open on the weekends.  Regardless, for most of the world is is already or almost the weekend!

Since I made fried ravioli this week, I decided to go all out and fry up dinner last night.  I actually only fried it enough to brown it and finished it in the oven.  I am always looking for ways to get more chicken into my husband because he would live on red meat if he could.  He loves chicken, he just loves steak better!  He is still raving over this dinner from last night.  It is quite simple, but I guess the combination of flavor hit him just right last night, and it did me to, to be honest.  I love all things Caprese to begin with, and I could likely manage a way to incorporate fresh mozz and basil into almost anything.  

Make sure to pound your chicken fairly thin.  Mine wasn't as thin as I wanted, I just had a headache and the pounding needed to cease, on the counter AND in my head!  

Here is what you will need:
5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts OR thighs

Breadcrumb mixture:
3 cups breadcrumbs.  I always use fresh and so should you but dried will do :)
1 cup grated parm
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 eggs + a splash of water
olive oil

Caprese salad for the top:
4 small-med tomatoes
1 small clove of garlic grated
1/4 cup torn basil
3/4 cup small mozzarella balls (pearls)
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Pound chicken thin!

Breadcrumb mixture

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cover a cookie sheet with foil and set aside.  Get large skillet heating with approx 3 tbsp of olive oil.  Combine bread crumb/cheese mixture in a shallow dish or baking pan.  Whisk eggs and water in another. Take pounded out chicken and dip in egg mixture, then coat in breadcrumbs, pressing them in to the chicken and then to the skillet.  Fry approx 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown.  Transfer to a foil lined cookie sheet and put in the oven when all chicken is finished browning.  Let bake until done, approx 15-30 minutes depending on how far you took it in the skillet.  While it is finishing up, make your caprese salad.  Chop tomatoes and put into a bowl.  Add in mozz balls and grate in garlic clove and toss in torn basil and extra virgin olive oil.  *use plain olive oil if you choose* Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Your "fresh mozz on top of anything that stands still"chefwannabe

Chris

More Mozzarella Fun! Caprese Mini Tarts

This is what happens when I make 2 batches of fresh mozzarella.  You get bombarded with recipes using it!  I mean if one ball of cheese is good, 2 has to be better right?  We have had all things cheesy this week, so I hope you are finding something you can use it for!  Look back at my pizza blog, make a great Pizza Margherita!! Mine turned out practically perfect last night.  I might even have to go update my sauce recipe, I think I have something new and better!  My crust was crispy and thin, and the cheese, well......obviously AH-MAZING!

 

On a sad, unfortunate note.  Please bow your heads......"Dear Herb Garden Gods, Thank you for the gorgeous abundance of herbs this summer.  I am so sorry I became preoccupied and forgot to pick everything that was left so it could be dried and enjoyed all summer.  I especially want to express my deepest sorrow to my dear, precious, sweet, basil.  I needed you much longer than you were alive, and I will miss you until next summer.  I will think of you each time I pay 4.00 for 6 leaves of basil in a prepackaged clear hanging box.  We will see each other again next year.  Thyme, rosemary, parsley and chives, I will miss you too.  You are much cheaper in the store, but none the less, nothing will be like you, fresh and lush, nurtured by my love and care.  Love, Your sad gardener, Chris"

I decided I wanted more caprese but not in a traditional caprese salad.  I saw this recipe and of course changed it up.  It is the perfect marriage of bruschetta and a caprese salad, I swear!!  It is easy to eat, tasty and perfect for the holidays coming up!  Can use it as an appetizer, or a side dish. 

Here is what you will need for your Caprese Mini Tarts:

(recipe makes 8 tarts)

3-4 small Roma tomatoes sliced thinly

1lb fresh mozzarella ball sliced into 16 slices *may have to cut to fit into tart*

Basil (5-7 leaves fresh, 1 tbsp dried) fresh preferred

8 slices of white bread.  *the cheaper the better on this one*

Olive oil

Salt to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut crusts off of sliced bread.  Using a rolling pin, roll remaining square of dough to flatten and thin out slightly.  Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.  Carefully push a slice of bread into each muffin cup forming a bowl shape.  The bread will rip easy and it won't be the end of the world but try to keep it in tact.  Do this with all remaining bread.  Brush with olive oil.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Remove from oven and leave in muffin tin, set aside while preparing other ingredients.

 

2.  Slice cheese and tomatoes.  Salt tomatoes and let sit while you prepare basil.  You can tear it, chop it, or chiffonade it.  

3.  Shells should be cooled and slightly crispy.  Alternate a slice of mozzarella then tomato in each shell.  Start with mozzarella first.  Each shell should accept 2 slices of each, cheese and tomato.  When all are filled, place back in oven for 2-4 minutes.  Remove.  Sprinkle tops with basil, and serve.  

As the recipe says, the cheaper the bread the better. I will be nice and doughy!  Prepare your tomatoes first, so that the salt can sit on them a few minutes.  These can be served hot or room temperature.  I do not care for them cold.  I like the cheese slightly softened and the sweetness of the tomatoes after being roasted for a few minutes.  

Enjoy these little gems!  They are DELISH!  Let me know how you like them!

Your "loves all things caprese" chefwannabe,

Chris

Pasta alla Sorrentina

Happy Thursday evening my friends!  Can you believe tomorrow is already Friday?  My husband had the day off so we enjoyed shopping for ingredients for my blogging recipe and having lunch.  Today was a great day!  

I suppose your wondering what exactly I made for dinner.  Well...what I made was called Pasta alla Sorrentina. I had it once, years ago but decided to tweak it a little bit to my liking.  It's pretty much all the same ingredients, perhaps just worked differently.  My husband was so terrified it was going to be full of garlic he heated up some leftover mac and cheese just to be on the safe side.  What a pansy!  (And the way he embarrassed me at lunch today he is lucky I didn't just roast garlic and slap it on his plate!)  Anyway, this dish is refreshing, great for fresh tomatoes and basil out of your garden.  My basil is abundant and I refuse to waste it!  This is Nebraska, we can't get fresh herbs here in the winter.  Its a parsley, cilantro and chive world most of the winter out here!  Oh excuse me, you CAN choose between curly and flat leaf.  

I used this as a side dish, in reality it can be a meatless main dish.  I did grill up some Italian sausages to go along with it and some super crusty bread. YUM!  


You will need....
1lb pasta of your choice, obviously I recommend spaghetti
1 pint halved cherry or grape tomatoes
1 container bocconcini  *small balls of fresh mozzarella* Gawd I love these....get your own snacking container!
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp butter
1/4 cup fresh basil, torn or cut info chiffonade
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare your pasta to al dente.  While the pasta is cooking halve your tomatoes and bocconcini.  Also chop or tear your basil.  Also heat in a small pan 1/4 cup olive oil.  Put garlic and red pepper flakes in the oil while still cold and slowly heat up until garlic is browned but NOT burned.  It will have fulfilled its fate and can be discarded (or eaten).  Put pasta in large bowl, drizzle over olive oil, and add butter.  Toss with tongs until coated.  Toss in tomatoes, mozzarella, and oregano.  Top with basil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Serve!

This is an incredibly simple dish with simple ingredients.  If your looking for pasta drenched in sauce this is NOT your night.  Its clean, and simple.  Make sure to salt last, so your cheese also gets some salt!

Some options in adding meat....
1.  Grilled steak, sliced thinly on the bias and laid across the top
2.  Chicken done the same way
3. Italian sausage chunks on top or sliced thin.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

On a side note...I was at my parents over the weekend.   My mother is so cute, but so out of touch with culinary reality I don't even allow her in the kitchen for water while I am there.  Bless her heart, she WANTS to be on top of it.  I mean the rotten green onions, cantaloupe and parsley I recovered from her fridge were proof of that. "Oh Chris, I have pepper in one of those twisty deals".  Even the peppercorns were petrified.  She just can't be trusted with more than toast and coffee these days and honestly I don't think she minds at all!  God forbid she reads this.....oh never mind she has a laptop she is just sure doesn't work, "the screen is just black and it wont do a darn thing. CHRIS, I have tried everything". Ummm...have ya tried powering it on ma?  Yes, I am dead serious.

So I realize this blog is so random and scattered.  However, I am leaving it this way, its how I think. Don't even try to believe you don't have your own scatter brain moments, but accept some of us LIVE that way!  Part of it I blame solely on the fact I am chair dancing to "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire.while typing this blog.

 

Your..."yes I am one of THOSE" chefwannabe

Chris