Day 29: Spinach & Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken, Rice, Balsamic Broccolini

It's February vacation!!!

As a way to "ring it in", today's post will include recipes for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner! With the homemade bread I made too, I basically didn't leave the kitchen all day.  My kind of vacation... :)

This week is partially dedicated to my daughter, Abigail.  I love being home with her and making fun breakfasts and lunches when we're home together.  We also do some baking together, too.  She's a

Couch cuddle time!

great helper in the kitchen!  She's used to it, too, because last night when my parents were over, we told her that she could go with Grampy to pick up the pizza.  But she misunderstood and asked for her stool because she thought she and Grampy were going to make the pizza. :)

I say it's only partially dedicated to Abby because making kid-friendly and fun lunches isn't the only thing I do in the kitchen when on vacation.  This is also my chance to try some new recipes, or some old ones that just take a little longer to prepare.  By starting this blog, I've also set some culinary goals for myself.  A week off from work is the perfect time to start trying to reach some of them.

Tonight's dinner recipe is not a new one, nor does it take that long to prepare.  However, today I did spend some time practicing de-boning chicken breasts in the kitchen.  Chicken breasts are used so often in many recipes but can be pretty expensive.  Buying them with bones-in and skins-on can be a way to save money--you're doing the work yourself.  Plus, if you have a recipe that would allow you to cook the chicken before you use it, cook it in the oven with skin still on and on the bone--the chicken will be much more flavorful that way.

I wanted to make stuffed chicken tonight, and there are a couple different ways I could do it.  As with the chicken cordon bleu I made for Valentine's Day, I could use a boneless, skinless breast pounded out, sprinkle the stuffing on top, and then roll it up.  I've done this several times before.  The second option is to use a boneless breast with the skin on, and stuff the stuffing between the skin and meat.  This is the option I wanted to use tonight.  That meant buying breasts with the skin and bones, and de-boning them myself.  I'd say I didn't do too bad a job for a first-timer, with no de-boning knife (which Randy says he wants to get me soon--he's so supportive of all the things I do in the kitchen!).  I used 2 breasts for tonight's dinner, froze the rest, made stock with the bones, and used the tenderloins for chicken tenders for Abby's lunch today.

My starting point...

My first one!  Looks pretty good, I think!

Here are today's recipes:

Breakfast: Ricotta Pancakes (Tyler Florence)

 2 cups ricotta

4 large eggs, separated

1 cup buttermilk

1 TBSP lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 TBSP sugar

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

Butter, for cooking

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting, optional

1 cup maple syrup, warmed on stove-top

Combine the ricotta, egg yolks, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Sift the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together into the ricotta mixture and stir until fully combined. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form and then gently fold into the batter.

Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and add a little butter. Cook 2 to 3 pancakes at a time using a 6-ounce ladle or measuring cup to pour the batter into the pan. The trick to perfect round pancakes to carefully pour all the batter in the same spot and let it roll out to a complete circle. Cook the pancakes on 1 side until they set. When small bubbles appear on the uncooked surface, flip the pancakes and cook until golden on both sides, about 6 minutes. Keep the pancakes on a plate set at the back of the stove under a dry towel to keep warm while you make the rest.

To serve, lay the pancakes on a plate and dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve with roasted apples, crispy prosciutto strips and warm maple syrup on top (if desired).

Lunch: Chicken Tenders w/ Marinara, Mac & Cheese, Mixed Vegetables, Fruit/Yogurt

 When I make lunch for my daughter, I like her to always have vegetables and a fruit or yogurt or both.  The easiest way for me to do this is to keep a bag of frozen vegetables in the freezer.  Because she's still young, it's hard for her to eat carrot sticks or other raw vegetables.  (She's always asking to try a carrot, but always ends up spitting it out.)  So I pour some frozen veggies in a bowl, add water, and microwave for 1 minute.  Then I drain the water and add a little bit of butter.  She's always been good about eating her vegetables!  I always keep a variety of fresh fruit in the house, too.  She always has fruit with breakfast (strawberries or blueberries in cereal, or a banana or orange alongside).  Her snacks usually consist of fruit and cheese or graham crackers, and she has a piece of fruit with lunch, too.  (Or she can have a yogurt--or both if she's still hungry.)  For her lunch today, I breaded the tenderloins from the chicken breasts I cut up.  

My breading standard goes something like this:

1) dip in flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

2) dip in egg wash (egg/water combo, beaten)

3) dip in Italian breadcrumbs mixed with FRESHLY grated parmesan cheese

I then browned the chicken in a skillet with some oil, and finished them in a 300* oven.  (I kept the temperature low because they were small pieces, and I knew they'd be in there a while so I could prepare the macaroni and cheese.  For marinara, I used the leftover pizza sauce I bought for Saturday night's dinner and added some dried herbs and grated parmesan cheese to it.

I served the chicken with the sauce, some macaroni and cheese, and vegetables.  Today she didn't make it to the fruit/yogurt part--it was a big lunch for a little girl as it was! :)

Dinner: Spinach & Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken, Rice, Balsamic Broccolini 

When I first started making this dish, it was when Randy and I were engaged, and I heard someone (I can't remember who) was using goat cheese and chicken for dinner that night, so I started experimenting.  At first, I used plain goat cheese, and extra garlic.  Then I found the garlic and herb goat cheese in the store and used that instead.  No going back for us!  Next time, I may try the same recipe with some basil either instead of the spinach or in addition to.

2 boneless chicken breasts with the skin on

1 garlic clove, minced

10 spinach leaves, stems removed

2-3 oz garlic & herb goat cheese

extra virgin olive oil

salt, pepper

Preheat the oven to 400*.  Mince the garlic, crumble the goat cheese between your fingers, and remove the stems from the spinach.  (Have all of your stuffing ingredients ready and separated from the packages they came from--since you'll be handling raw chicken, make sure all the ingredients you touch will be either stuffed into the chicken or discarded.)

Slip your fingers between the skin and meat of the chicken and make a pocket to stuff into, being careful not to pull the skin totally off (keep it attached on the sides).  Stuff half the spinach and goat cheese into each chicken breast and most of the garlic.  The rest of the minced garlic and be rubbed onto the skin of the chicken.  Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.   

Broccolini--different from broccoli, sweeter, and a bit more expensive