stuffed chicken with bacon

well, talk about a hint!
i was cleaning the house with my husband, and he set out a new cookbook on the stand, open to the dish he hoped i'd make next. it just happened to be this delicious meal, which is extremely unhealthy, and also one of our new favorites. quite the dilemma.



here's the quick how-to:
cut a slit in the chicken breast and fill with goat cheese (per the recipe) or brie (what i did). sprinkle the outside with italian seasoning, then wrap with two or three slices of bacon, depending on the size of the chicken, and tuck the ends under. using the dutch oven with a little oil in it, cook the chicken just until the bacon is browned, about 3-4 minutes per side.

for one of them, i turned it before the bacon was cooked, and it started to fall off. no big deal, just serve it all together once it's done with the oven cooking. 

add thick slices of tomato (grape tomatoes would be good, too), garlic, and a sprinkle of olive oil, then move the dish to the oven (350 degrees) for 30-ish minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. serve with a side salad.



see, easy! and, well, it's BACON so your house smells amazing while it's cooking. i'd recommend serving it with some crusty bread, cause there's an amazing sauce in the pan that you'll surely want to soak up!

two bean vegetarian chili

i hesitate to actually call this dish "chili", except for the spices that i used. i don't generally use cumin in soups and stews, or else this could be considered a soup. of course, the amount of beans in it definitely earns it the designation of chili, right?
best part about this meal? besides the fact that i could eat it every day for the rest of my life?
there's a measly 400 calories in one generous serving!
add 1 tablespoon of light sour cream, and you've reached a whopping 420 calories.
yumm-o.

i'll do this one the old fashioned way...

1 onion, chopped
most of a butternut squash, chopped into 1/2" squares
red pepper, chopped
garlic cloves, or garlic paste
red pepper flakes
1 cup water, separated
two cans of beans. whichever you like. i used red and pinto.
a can of stewed tomatoes
spices-- cumin, italian seasonings, cilantro-- whatever you like.



in a dutch oven, or large pot, heat some oil. add the onion and saute about 5 minutes.



add the butternut squash, red pepper, and 1/2 cup of water. also red pepper flakes, garlic, and any spices you choose to add. simmer for about 7 minutes.



add the beans and the stewed tomatoes, using the spoon to break apart the tomatoes a little bit. add the other 1/2 cup of water, then simmer, partially covered, for 15-20 minutes, until it thickens a little bit.



serve as is, or garnish with fresh cilantro and a lime wedge. or, a small dollop of light sour cream.

dicing a tomato- sans gooey, messy seeds. yes, it's possible!

this is the COOLEST trick i have ever learned. as much as i cook, i am still a pretty novice slicer/dicer. i was reminded of it everytime i tried to dice a tomato. i was so messy about it, i even tried to use my handy dandy slicer dicer from williams sonoma (LOVE that thing) and that was even worse:
 
 

slicer-dicer. GREAT for peppers, onions, fruit, etc






slicer-dicer NOT great for tomatoes. especially whole ones.





 

  

so, imagine my joy when i learned this:

Step 1: get supplies: small knife, cutting board and tomato

Step 2: i like to cut the top off to see how far in i can cut without exploding the seed ball. you dont have to necessarily.

Step 3: use the knife and begin 'peeling' the skin off the tomato. like you would an apple. you can see where the skin hits the 'seed ball' try not to puncture the seed ball.



keep on peelin!



Step 5: peel all the way around the tomato- you will end up with a few different 'petals' for lack of a better description. (see next picture)

see the 'petals'? the thing in the middle is the ball of seeds. nicely contained, way less mess!

Step 6: throw away the seed ball, use a larger knife and dice up the petals!

VOILA! perfectly diced tomato, and WAY LESS MESS!

again, another life changer by erica. :)

chow!