Rolled Chicken Florentine

I've been out of the habit of cooking lately. Hence my lack of posts. So when I started back up, I wanted something pretty easy, but different than our everyday fare. This was what I came up with.

I think anything "Florentine" is pretty tasty. It is usually some combination of tomatoes, spinach, and mozzarella. Red, green, and white, after the colors of the Italian flag. I just like the culinary combination. Haha. I used thin chicken breasts so I could roll them around the filling, but if you just have regular ones, just butterfly them and cut them at the seam to make two thin breasts from the one regular one.

This worked out really well. My husband and I both enjoyed it. I served it with some seasoned potatoes and crusty bread. Carb overload, I know, but it was awesome.

Ingredients:
-thin chicken breasts, enough to feed everyone
-Roma/plum tomatoes (each tomato makes about 5 slices, and you'll need about two slices per chicken breast)
-frozen chopped spinach (I probably used a tablespoon for each chicken breast)
-mozzarella cheese, shredded (a used about 2 tablespoons for each filling, and a little more to sprinkle on top)
-garlic powder (about 1 teaspoon per chicken breast)
-Italian seasoning (about 1/2 teaspoon per chicken breast)
-cooking spray
-toothpicks

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Spray with cooking spray.

Lay out each chicken breast.

Top with tomatoes,

then the frozen spinach.

No need to thaw the spinach. Sprinkle with some garlic powder. Top that with a generous pinch of mozzarella.

Carefully roll the chicken around the filling, securing with a toothpick.

Repeat for each chicken breast. Place on the baking sheet.

Spray the chicken with a bit more cooking spray.

Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven. The chicken should be just about cooked through, although maybe not completely. Sprinkle on a little garlic powder and Italian seasoning.

Top with a little bit more mozzarella, and return to the oven. Bake 5 more minutes until cheese is melted or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Grilled Chicken, Creamed Spinach, and Buttered Carrots

When I buy veggies, I almost never use them all at once. I usually have leftovers. So when it comes time to move, I usually have a random assortment of not very many veggies. Haha. So this meal came from cleaning out a couple of them together.

I actually don't mind spinach too terribly much. I very rarely eat it but itself as a side, but I don't mind it. I add it into other dishes all the time. My husband, who is a true deep Southerner, introduced me to creamed spinach. I think everyone makes it a little differently, but my way might be slightly a-typical. I think most of the time it's made with cream and nutmeg. Mine is made with cream, parmesan, garlic, and onion. I think it's quite tasty. My husband likes it as well, so we're golden. Haha.

This meal isn't really very complicated. It's a pretty quick, easy meal, but it was yummy. I think it would be great for those busy weeknights. This made plenty to feed the two of us. I made a chicken breast for each of us, but I know not everyone eats a whole one themselves, so adjust as needed. The creamed spinach and carrots were great portion sizes for us. I would say double the recipe for a family of four. Just saying. :) Have fun!

Ingredients:
-2 chicken breasts
-1/4 cup olive oil
-2 tablespoons spice mix (I used a roasted garlic and herb concoction)

-1/2 cup frozen spinach
-1/4 cup heavy cream
-a handful of grated parmesan (probably just under 1/4 cup)
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-2 tablespoons butter

-1 cup carrots (I used baby carrots, so no chopping needed. If using regular carrots, peel and chop coarsely)
-2 tablespoons butter

Directions:
In a large ziploc bag, place the chicken. Pour in the olive oil and seasoning. Close the bag and massage the seasoning and oil into the chicken. Set aside to marinate for a few minutes.

In a medium sized pan, boil some water. Add the carrots and cook just until tender. You don't want mushy carrots, but you don't want raw either. Drain the carrots and return to pan. Add in the 2 tablespoons of butter and let it melt into the carrots, stirring to coat.

Set aside.

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter. Add in the cream and stir. Add in the garlic and onion powders and stir to combine.

Add in the frozen spinach (no need to thaw) and stir. Let the spinach thaw into the cream mixture. When the spinach is thawed, add in the parmesan and stir to combine. Let the parmesan melt into the spinach, stirring occasionally. When the cheese is melted and everything is hot and yummy, it's done.

While the veggies are cooking, remove the chicken from the baggie and place immediately on a grill.

I used my counter top grill that only takes a little while to cook the chicken. If you're using a regular grill, I'd start the chicken before the veggies, but keep an eye on it. Dry, overdone chicken is no good. :) Cook until no longer pink in the center, or until juices run clear when the chicken is poked.

I sliced my chicken and served it that way, adding the veggies to the plate next to it.

This was actually really tasty, and I hope you enjoy!

Pancetta and Spinach Fettuccine

I had some fettuccine I needed to use up, and I had a little pancetta left over from a previous meal, so I figured, hey, why not? I also had some spinach in the freezer, and figured I might as well toss some of that in there too. The end result: awesomeness. My husband was disappointed there wasn't more to eat. Haha. I guess that means he liked it. Either that or he was really hungry...I'm going with he liked it to make myself feel better. :)

This was actually really easy and pretty quick, as well, which is always nice. I actually didn't make too terribly much of this since I was using leftover stuff, but it was enough for two people to have a decent serving. Hope you like it!

Ingredients:
-fettuccine (I used probably 6 oz)
-1 tablespoons olive oil
-pancetta, cut into bite size pieces. This was probably 4 oz or so. (1/8 lb)
-2 tablespoons flour
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-1/2 cup milk
-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-1/2 teaspoon onion powder
-1/4 cup frozen spinach

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, add in the pancetta and saute it until it starts to crisp up and brown slightly.

There should be a little oil left in the skillet, with some of the rendered fat from the pancetta. This will be the fat for your roux. Sprinkle the flour into the skillet. Stir the flour into the oil and fat. The pancetta will kinda look like it's coated, and the liquid will seem to disappear.

All is well. Add in the cream and stir to incorporate well. It should start to thicken up a bit. Add in the milk and stir to incorporate.

Once the milk is heated through and the sauce begins to thicken a bit again, add in the garlic and onion powder. Stir to combine well. When everything is mixed together and the sauce is hot, add in the frozen spinach. It will thaw in the sauce, so just toss it in there.

When the spinach is heated through and well incorporated, toss the pasta in the sauce. Stir it around the get the pasta coated in the sauce.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Creamy Tomato and Spinach Rotini

Creamy Tomato Spinach Rotini

I’m still cleaning out my kitchen for the move. I pretty much always have pasta of some sort, and making a sauce just kinda comes with that. I always try to think of new types of sauces, so I often have the ingredients laying around. This time, I had some frozen spinach and a jar of diced tomatoes, and some cream and parmesan in the fridge. Voila! Sauce it is. It was pretty easy to make, too…

I used garden rotini. It’s the tricolor kind. It was pretty with the red and green of the sauce. Hehe. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
-pasta (I used about 8 oz of the rotini, or half a box)
-1/2 can diced tomatoes, with juices
-1/4 cup frozen spinach
-2 tablespoons butter
-1 tablespoon flour
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-1/2 cup milk
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour to make a roux.

Cook for a couple minutes, stirring frequently. Add the cream and whisk to incorporate. It will begin to thicken up. Add the milk and whisk to combine. Continue cooking for a few minutes, letting the sauce thicken slightly.

Add the garlic and onion powder and stir to combine. Add in the tomatoes and spinach.

Let them heat through and combine into the sauce. Coat the pasta with the sauce

and serve immediately. Yum!

Southwestern Eggrolls with Avocado Sour Cream Dipping Sauce

I have seen versions of these done several different ways and in many different places. This is my version, and I came up with a yummy dipping sauce to go with it. These are pretty easy to make, and they're so.good. You can do these as appetizers at a party, or you can make them as a meal, which is what I did. Either way, they are amazing.

I will make a confession. I forgot something in mine, so the pictures won't really show that one ingredient, but just pretend that it's in there. It's the cheese. I know. It's sad that I could forget the cheese, but I did. So...don't forget the cheese. I'll give the recipe the way it's supposed to be, so just follow it. :) Yum!

Ingredients:
For eggrolls-
-1 cup cooked, shredded chicken (I put mine in my food processor)
-1 can whole kernel corn, drained
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
-1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
-1 tablespoon onion powder
-2 tablespoons garlic
-1 teaspoon cumin
-1 teaspoon chili powder
-1 package soft taco sized tortillas

For Dipping Sauce-
-1 avocado
-3 tablespoons sour cream
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-1/2 tablespoon onion powder
-1/4 teaspoon cumin
-1/4 teaspoon dried cilantro

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the chicken, corn, beans, spinach, cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder.

Stir to evenly distribute all the ingredients.

Preheat the oven the 400 degrees. Wrap the tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave for about 10-20 seconds. This makes them pliable. Scoop some of the chicken mixture into the center of the tortilla.

Fold two sides of the tortilla in toward the center,

then roll it into a burrito type shape

and place it seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Repeat for all the tortillas.

Spray cooking spray on the tops of the rolled tortillas, so that the whole tortilla roll has a light coating of oil (the greased baking sheet on the bottom, cooking spray on top).

Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the eggrolls over and bake another 10 minutes. The tortillas should get crispy and slightly browned.

If they don't get crispy enough, you can stick them under the broiler on low for a couple minutes to crisp them up. Remove from the oven and serve hot. I always cut them in half. It makes them a little easier to handle in my opinion.

While the eggrolls are baking, make the dipping sauce. To start, cut the avocado in half, working your knife around the whole avocado around the pit. To separate the halves, gently hold the avocado in both hands and twist gently.

One side should break free of the pit and allow you to pull apart the halves. To remove the pit from the other half, stick your knife blade into the pit,

then gently twist it until it breaks free.

Discard the pit. To scoop out the avocado, take a spoon and work it right inside the peel all the way around the half.

The inside should come out in relatively one piece if you do it right. Discard the peel. Roughly chop the inside of the avocado and place it in a food processor. Process it until it's relatively smooth. Add the sour cream and the seasonings and process it until it's well mixed together.

Serve with the hot eggrolls as a dipping sauce. Enjoy!

Spinach, Bacon,and Cheese Appetizer

Around the holidays, I'm usually asked to bring an appetizer to at least one get together. I get tired of making the same stuff, so this year, I decided to experiment and make something new. I also get tired of eating only sweets at parties. It seems like that tends to be what people bring. Which is fine...but I like a little savory with my sweet sometimes. Hence this little appetizer experiment. I think it turned out well, and there was not much left on my plate when I brought it home, so others must have liked it a little bit too. Yesssssssss.

So...this is super simple, and I will make small changes next time to make these a little prettier, but they worked for this time. Here we go!

Ingredients:
-2 sheets of frozen puff pastry
-1 package (1 lb) of bacon, cooked and crumbled (you might not need all of it, but close)
-1 cup of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Lay out the puff pastry and let it thaw according to package directions. I used that time to cook and crumble my bacon, then to thaw and drain my spinach. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. When everything is ready to go, cut the puff pastry sheets in half. On each piece of pastry, spread a thin layer of the spinach on one half of the sheet, leaving a clean edge so you can seal it later. Next, add a layer of bacon.
Finally, add the cheese. Moisten the edge of the puff pastry (this will help it stick). Carefully fold the pastry in half over the filling and seal it with a fork, like you would a pie or pastry. Using a sharp knife, cut thick slices (about 1.5 to 2 inches) from the now filled pastry sheets. I tried to kind of pinch the edges of each slice closed as I cut them. This is where I have room for improvement next time. I will probably cut the pastry before filling it next time to make neater little pastries. But it was ok. As you cut the slices, place them on a baking sheet, leaving at least an inch between the pastries. When the sheet is full, bake them in the preheated oven until the pastry is golden brown and crispy, approximately 10-15 minutes. These are amazing served warm, but they're pretty good at room temperature, too, so have at them either way. When I make these again at some point in the future, I will update or create a new post to let you know what I did differently. Enjoy!