Chicken Enchilada Pockets by Dashing Dish

This is a recipe that I got from one of my favorite "lite" cooking blogs, Dashing Dish. The author of this blog does a great job turning some of your staple dishes into a more figure-friendly version. I recommend visiting her site and following her blog for some great new recipes.

This particular recipe is for Chicken Enchilada Pockets. You can view her easy step by step instructions by clicking here. Since this isn't my recipe I am not going to go into details here.  I did make just a few modifications and observations.

1. Next time I make these I will pull the chicken instead of cubing it. I think it will make the mixture easier to spread on the triangles.
2. I added cilantro, one of our favorites!
3. The sauce mixture would make a great dip if you don't feel like going to the trouble of putting it in the pockets. We had some leftover sauce and ate it with tortilla chips and it was very good.

Make sure to enjoy all that Dashing Dish has to offer!

*Photo courtesy of dashingdish.com

Cream Cheese & Pesto Stuffed Chicken Breast

This is a recipe I heard about from a friend at work. She tried it a few weeks ago and said it was definitely worth a try. It comes from eatingwell.com so I have the nutrition facts below. I made a modification which is instead of using the egg white, I made buttermilk (milk and lemon juice). Here is what you need:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (1-1 1/4 pounds total)
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Cream Cheese-Pesto Filling:

• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese, (Neufchatel)
• 1 tablespoon basil pesto, (store-bought or homemade)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Combine cream cheese, pesto and pepper in a small bowl with a fork.
3. Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up each breast and place one-fourth of the filling in the center. Close the breast over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and filling.
4. Lightly beat egg white with a fork in a medium bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow glass dish. Hold each chicken breast half together and dip in the egg white, then dredge in the breadcrumbs. (Discard leftovers.)
5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts; cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center or until an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F, about 20 minutes.

 

Nutrition
233 calories; 9 g fat ( 4 g sat , 3 g mono ); 81 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbohydrates; 33 g protein; 1 g fiber; 379 mg sodium; 351 mg potassium.

I served this with pasta with a little pesto mixed in. It was pretty good! Josh liked it, too. A little rich because of the cream cheese. This was prepared and we had eaten within an hour.

Warm Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

These little sandwiches are the perfect size and recipe for a gathering. They are just the right amount of sandwich, taste great and are easy to prepare. They offer something a little different than cold cuts and bread. I'm a big fan.

 Warm Ham and Cheese Sandwiches  (makes 24)

2 packages "brown and serve" rolls

1 1/2 lb. sliced ham

1/2-3/4  pound swiss cheese-sliced

2 sticks margarine or butter

2 TBSP. Worcestershire Sauce

2 TBSP. prepared mustard

2 TBSP. poppyseeds

4 TBSP.  brown sugar


Prepare sandwiches and place in large baking pan(s)

Next, melt butter and add the next 4 ingredients. Bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and pour the hot sauce over the sandwiches.

Let set for 2 hours (I did overnight and debated if they should be refrigerated or not, they went in the fridge).

Bake at 375 degrees for 7-10 minutes until bubbly.

I had great reviews at the Fathers Day party. The Shaull family is really a bunch of small people who don't eat a lot so maybe thats why it worked so well. I wondered as I was pouring the sauce over if I should have made more of it, but they tasted great with this amount. If I think of it next time, I will probably make extra. I didn't get a picture of the final product, but they looked great stacked on my Wilton Armatele platter!

Thanks to Katie for passing along this little gem! Katie and Pete by the way have the cutest new addition to their family. Meet Cosmo.

Chicken Marsala

I feel like I haven't had much time to blog lately with all the travel. While I was on my trip to Reno I went out to eat in Truckee, CA with some colleagues. It is a very cute little western town. We ate at a great restaurant that unfortunately I cannot remember the name of. This was our first meal in 3 days that didn't consist of appetizers, finger foods, hotel coffee, or Starbucks oatmeal so everything on the menu looked good. I needed advice. I asked the waitress if she were hypothetically from out of town and may never have the opportunity to come back and eat here again what she might order.  Chicken Marsala was on her list. Coincidentally it was in my top 3 choices so I went with it.  Excellent decision, it was so very good.  I've been craving it every day since so I decided to look up the recipe online.  I trust allrecipes.com so I went with this one:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine
• 1/4 cup cooking sherry

Directions

1. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 448 | Total Fat: 26.6g | Cholesterol: 99mg

I would give this recipe a A- for taste and an A+ for prep time. We're talking 15 minutes to a delicious meal. I paired it with angel hair pasta and a glass of Little Black Dress pinot grigio.

I have a lot of leftovers too!

Now as for my trip to Reno. Well... whatever image you have in your head of Reno, it is probably true. It lived up to every expectation that I had before I left.  Here is a picture of my hotel room:

But here is me at Lake Tahoe!

And here is me not getting run over by cars while standing in the middle of the main street in Reno to get my picture taken:

I'm so glad to be home.

Chicken-Vegetable Pasta

This recipe comes from my Better Homes and Gardens Cook Healthy Today book.  It smelled delicious during prep. The taste wasn't as strong and I think there are 2 reasons. 1) I might have made too many noodles. 2) I would make more sauce & veggies next time. I think it is worth a second chance.

Ingredients
8 ounces dried penne
8 ounces asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 & 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups sliced fresh shiitake or crimini mushrooms
1 medium leek, thinly sliced or 1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup half and half or light cream
1/3 cup mushroom broth or vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
12 ounces shredded cooked chicken (about 2.5 cups)
1 cup chopped roma tomatoes
1 tablespoon finely shredded basil
1 tablespoon finely shredded oregano
Directions
Cook penne according to package, adding asparagus for the last 2 minutes of cooking; drain. Return pasta mixture to saucepan; cover and keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms, leek or onion, garlic; cook for 4-5 minutes or until most of the liquid is evaporated.

Stir in broth, half and half, salt, and pepper. Bring to boiling. Boil gently, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened. Stir in chicken, tomatoes, basil, oregano; heat through.

Spoon the mixture over the pasta; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately. Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.