Basil & Mozarella stuffed Chicken

Well this recipe was created just because I had the stuff in house to make it and it all seemed to go together. I had leftover Mozarella from a party, and the basil was given to me by my wonderful neighbor who grows organic produce and had it leftover after Saturday' farmer's market. It's shown here served with fresh bruschetta and roasted asparagus with garlic. There were Crostini and a much fuller ramekin of bruschetta, but they didn't last until the photo was taken :-). Normally I am an asparagus griller in the summer but the over was already on to do the chicken so I went with it.

So here goes.

Basil and Mozarella stuffed chicken
Chiken Breast- As many as you're doing
Basil Leaves- Chopped, I guess about 2 Tbsp per breast (I eyeball it to taste)
Garlic (1 clove per breast, minced and yes I do like my garlic)
Fresh Mozarella (2 thin half moon slices per breast)
Salt and Pepper to Taste

1) Filet open your chicken breast so they have a pocket like a pita. You will need a nice sharp knife for this and go slow, it's better if you don't slice a hole in your chicken.
1.5) Rub a SMALL amount of olive oil or use spray on your breasts to keep em from sticking to your pan. I suppose you could just grease your pan too... either way is fine.
2) Mix your chopped basil and minced garlic together
3) Put 2 half moon slices of mozarella in each breast
4) Stuff in your basil and garlic mixture
5) Pinch closed but don't worry if a little hangs out, it looks better this way.
6) Sprinkle ground pepper and salt on top of the chicken breasts. (I added some garlic and onion salt too but salt and pepper is minimalistic and just fine)

Bake at 350 for a half hour or until chicken is cooked through. If you want to do the roasted asparagus just add it in for the last 17 minutes (20 is too much 15 is a bit on the al dente side)

If you need the bruschetta recipe I can give you that too but it's basically mixing up garlic, basil and seeded tomatoes with some salt and a smidge of pepper. Think of it as Italian Salsa. Serve with Crostini (recipe for which can be found in Mocktail Party Recipe Post)

Just wait until fall when I unveil my apple stuffed chicken breast recipe. I like stuffing chicken breasts. I feel like I'm giving them tasty and flavorful implants :-)

Leanne's super simple waffle recipe

In my circle I tend to be famous for my waffle recipe, which let me tell you shouldn't be as tasty as it is because there is nothing special about it. I guess the secret must be, yes you really do need to separate the eggs and beat the crap out of those whites.

Light and Fluffy Waffles
2 Cups Milk
2 Cups Flour
1/3 Cup Oil
2 Egg Yolks
1 Tbsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp vanilla (if desired)
2 Egg Whites (stiffly beaten)

Mix all ingredients except whites. Stiffly Beat whites and then fold in. Make in waffle Iron (duh). I usually like to top it with a berry mixture for added health benefits but this is not always feasible in the winter given the jacked up cost of fruit in the chillier months. I have done three berry, bananas and strawberries, blackberries, etc. Whatever strikes you, they're your waffles after all. You can add pecans for extra protein as well (this is what I had the morning of my wedding, ala Grandpa Verkaik). Serve with your favorite breakfast sides, whatever they may be

Above is a picture of what they look like when done, but that may vary given the size and shape of your waffles. Kel is bummed that our waffle iron doesn't have littler squares so I am on the hunt for a smaller square one. May need once given the fact that he doused ours with water this morning instead of simply wiping clean.

Enjoy

Recipes from Mocktini Party

Well the party for the board last night went so very well that I thought it only fair that I share a few of the recipes we came up with for it as I sit here watching Anchorman because I was in the mood to giggle and we canceled our cable. Anyways.

Key Lime Mocktini
2 parts limeaid
1 part creme de coconut mixed with some half and half
a few drops of vanilla
the juice of one key lime

Serve over ice with a graham cracker rim.

Crostini Trio
(these are painfully easy and fairly impressive but make just enough they don't keep well sadly...)
- French Baguettes
- Olive Oil

First you make the crostini- Preheat the oven to 400 Take Baguettes and slice them somewhat thin, on the bias (which means on an angle, this makes for prettier crostini) drizzle a little olive oil and toast them in the oven. Flip them after about 5 minutes as they toast up. You want them crunchy and a little golden but not so much so. You will want to monitor your first batch and adjust the remaining batches according to your oven. Make them a couple of hours before you need to use them you want them cool to be topped.

Artichoke Crostini
- Cream Cheese
- 1 can artichoke hearts, well drained and chopped, sort of in "ribbons" it seems like to me.
- Freshly diced tomatoes (with most of the seeds removed but don't go nuts over it)

Spread some cream cheese on the crostini, I used philadelphia spinach artichoke flavored at the party. Place a bit of artichoke on top of the cream cheese and then sprinkle a few diced tomatoes on it.

Avocado and Shrimp Crostini
- 2 Avocado
- 1 lime
- salt
- cilantro
- small to medium shrimp

Take your avocado and peel and pit it and put it in a bowl. Squeeze 1/4 to a 1/2 a lime for 1 avocado, a whole lime or so if using 2 or three. Add salt to taste. Spread this mixture over your crostini. Place two shimp on top of the avocado and then top with a sprig of cilantro.

Caprese Crostini
- Pre made pesto ( you can make your own or buy it store bought)
- Fresh Mozarella
- Sliced Roma tomatoes

Slice your roma tomatoes, a bit thick but not obnoxiously so. Cut your Mozarella in slices and then half your slices so they fit on the crostini. Basically cut your mozarella so it fits nicely on the crostini. Spread the pesto on your crostini, place a slice of mozarella on it, and then your tomato. voila. Simple stuff.

Italian Mini Sammies
- Foccacia Bread
- Pesto
-Bacon, cooked
- Sliced Roma Tomatoes
- Quality Turkey lunch meat ( I suppose you could use ham or chicken too)
-Provolone Cheese

Cook Bacon and Butter your foccacia bread. In a hot pan toast it on the stove top. You could probably do this in the oven on a high heat, face up too but then the tops would toast as well as the bottoms of the bread. Either way you want to toast up the bread. Allow it to cool, perhaps you could slice tomatoes at this time. Spread the pesto on both sides of the toasted bread. Place a slice of provolone on the bread. Then place three slices of turkey. Tear each slice of bacon in half and place a bacon half slice on each "quarter" of the sandwich. (You will be cutting the sammie in quarters for serving, or if you want to eat the whole thing then don't) Place a slice of tomato on each quarter of the sandwich. Store them for a few hours or less chilled. Cut them in quarters just before serving.

The Summer of the Salsas

I have for a long time been saying that I should start a blog about my recipes and what I am cooking, to promote recipe sharing, which i love to do. So here is is, it starts now. I aimed for this summer to be the summer of the skewer, and while a few tasty skewers and kebobs were enjoyed it seems as though this was the summer I discovered to simple but amazingly delicious and well loved salsa recipes. I am fast becoming stereotyped as the queen of salads and dips. Oh well, life goes on for me. So here are my two new favorite salsa recipes, which are both pretty tasty and no surprise, good for you to boot. Additionally I must add that these two fabulous recipes are compliments of two of my favorite aunts. So thanks Aunt Betsy and Aunt Dawn, keep em coming.

Fruit Salsa

2 granny smith apples (diced)
2 ripe kiwi (diced)
1 lb strawberries (diced)
2 Tbsp sugar

Combine all and serve with cinnamon chips, which can be found at any good grocery store but I have found the yummiest come from Target. You can bake your own by putting tortillas in the oven and then brushing them with water and sprinkling with a cinnamon sugar blend. If you want to use your food processor for this make sure you do one fruit at a time of your strawberries will blend first and you will have a smoothie with apple bits in it. No bueno.

Semi-home made (very chunky) salsa

black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can bi color sweet corn

Avocado (diced)

Large jar of salsa, or several smaller jars (the less salsa the more chunky, but I would used at least 1 large jar)

2 or 3 bell peppers either yellow, red or orange - diced
diced onion optional

Combine all ingredients and if time allows let chill for a couple of hours before serving. Serve with (no surprise) tortilla chips. This recipe keeps quite well for a week or so in the fridge.