Prosciutto-wrapped ricotta-stuffed chicken

We made these prosciutto-wrapped ricotta-stuffed chicken breasts from Rachael Ray last week, and Robert was surprised how much he enjoyed it because according to him, "it's hard to make a chicken breast exciting".  I agree, but this recipe takes the lowly chicken breast to a new level by stuffing it with parmesan herb ricotta, then wrapping it in thinly sliced prosciutto.  Delicious!!


PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED RICOTTA-STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS
Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup fresh ricotta
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tbsp. grated parmigiano-reggiano
• 1 small clove garlic, grated or pasted
• 1 tbsp. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• A few leaves basil, chopped
• A couple sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 4 small pieces skinless, boneless chicken breast, butterflied
• EVOO, for drizzling
• 4 thin slices prosciutto di parma
• A splash white wine
• 1 tbsp. butter
•    

• DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a bowl, season the ricotta with salt and pepper. Stir in the parmigiano-reggiano, garlic, parsley, basil and thyme. Place some of the ricotta mixture on each butterflied piece of chicken and fold the breast over. Drizzle with EVOO and wrap with the prosciutto.
  2. Heat an ovenproof skillet with a drizzle of EVOO. Add the chicken bundles and brown over medium-high heat, turning once, for 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to the oven to cook through, 12 to 15 minutes.
  3. Remove the chicken from the pan and deglaze the pan with the wine. Swirl in the butter. Spoon the sauce over the chicken to serve.

Jalapeno popper grilled cheese sandwich

Dinner last night was a brilliant combination of some of my favorite things- jalapeno popper grilled cheese sandwiches from Closet Cooking! Why haven't I thought of this before?  The cream cheese makes the sandwich, well, creamy, and the chips provide an excellent and unexpected crunch.  On the spicy-o-meter, I would rate this a 3 out of 5, so don't let the jalapenos scare you!  Oh, and I grilled ours in the panini maker, which is turning out to be one of the best purchases I've ever made.  We'll be making this sandwich a lot at our house!


JALAPENO POPPER GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES
Yield: 2 sandwiches


Ingredients

• 4 jalapeno peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
• 4 slices sour dough bread
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 4 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup jack and cheddar cheese, shredded
• Generous handful of chips, crumbled (I used jalapeno kettle chips)

Directions

1. Place the peppers on a baking sheet with the cut side facing down.
2. Place the baking sheet on the top shelf in the oven and broil until the outer layer of the skin has blackened, about 8-14 minutes.
3. Place the peppers in a zip-lock bag or other sealable container, seal and let them cool until you can handle them, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove the skins from the peppers. The skins should easily "pinch" off.
5. Butter the outside of each slice of bread and spread the cream cheese on the inside. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese on the cream cheese of one slice of bread, top with the jalapenos, crumbled tortilla chips, the remaining shredded cheese and finally the other slice of bread.
6. Grill until golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Cast iron steaks

Wow, who doesn't love a recipe with just 4 ingredients??  These cast iron steaks are from the Rachael Ray show and couldn't be simpler.  (We made the bacon-wrapped potato skins from the same episode, but weren't really wowed by them so they aren't making the cut for a blog post).

Ingredients:

• 4 flat iron or strip steaks
• 3 to 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Directions:
• Bring steaks to room temp and dress with Worcestershire, a little EVOO, lots of salt and coarse black pepper. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat to smoking. Add steak and cook 8 minutes, turning once, for medium-rare. Allow steaks to rest a few minutes then slice, sprinkle with parsley and garlic, and drizzle with EVOO.

Toasted ravioli

A long-standing favorite restaurant of my family's closed recently, citing the tough economic times.  Bruno's was an Italian place loved by many for their pizza, but I ordered the toasted ravioli every time, without fail. When I came across this recipe on FoodNetwork.com, I was excited to recreate the dish at home. That is, until halfway through prepping it I realized I was totally out of bread crumbs.  And panko.  Oops.  So Robert suggested we substitute crushed Ritz crackers... which turned out to be a genius idea!  It created a buttery, crispy crust that was to die for.  I'll post the original recipe below with our variations noted.  

Ingredients

• 3/4 to 1 pound small fresh ravioli (meat, spinach or cheese- the pre-made refrigerated kind)
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups breadcrumbs (or panko, or crushed Ritz crackers.  Your choice)
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• Marinara sauce, for dipping
• 
  
• Directions
• Spread the ravioli on a baking sheet and freeze until hard, 20 to 30 minutes.

Whisk the eggs and milk in a shallow dish or pie plate. Mix the breadcrumbs, parsley, rosemary and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in another shallow dish.

Dip the ravioli in the egg mixture, letting the excess drip off, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Return to the baking sheet and freeze until hard, about 15 minutes.

Heat about 1 inch vegetable oil in a deep skillet until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Fry the ravioli in 2 or 3 batches, turning as needed, until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes per batch. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain and immediately sprinkle with the parmesan. Serve with the marinara sauce.

Caramelitas

I saw these caramelitas from Lulu the Baker on Pinterest and knew they would be perfect for our Bachelor watch party.  I made them on Monday and they were a HUGE hit with everyone.  What's not to love- oatmeal cookie dough, chocolate chips, and caramel sauce??  Yes please!!

Ingredients:
32 caramel squares, unwrapped
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:
Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 8x8" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.


*A stint in the fridge will help them cool off if you're pinched for time. They shouldn't be served cold, but all of that molten caramel takes a long time to cool down. They should be stored and served at room temperature.
**To make a 9x13" version, simply double the amounts.

Slow-cooker parmesan honey pork roast

After seeing this slow-cooker parmesan honey pork roast recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff on Pinterest, I added the ingredients to my grocery list and fired up the crock pot!  We had a little trouble with the gravy because most (actually, all) of our liquid cooked off, so we ate it plain- and it was still delicious!  We'll make this one again.

Ingredients:

1 (2-3 pound) boneless pork roast
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup honey
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

* I made one small adjustment to the original recipe and seared my roast in a hot pan for a few minutes on each side before putting it in the crock pot. 
Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place roast in slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the cheese, honey, soy sauce, basil, garlic, oil and salt; pour over pork. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160°.
Remove meat to a serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer to a small saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Gradually stir into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice roast; serve with gravy.

Mediterranean quiche

We were feeling inspired from the success of our last quiche, so we tried it again with a Mediterranean twist.  I used the custard base from the Quiche Lindsay, then added sauteed spinach (directions here), sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, fontina cheese and goat cheese.

Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust
3/4 cup fontina cheese, shredded
3/4 cup sauteed spinach, chopped
Sundried tomatoes, thinly sliced (I used 4-5 marinated ones from the Kroger salad bar)
3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper
Olives (I used kalamata from the Kroger salad bar)
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Place refrigerated pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate.  Layer shredded fontina cheese, sauteed spinach, and sundried tomatoes in the bottom of the crust.  In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream and milk.  Season with thyme, salt, and pepper; pour mixture into pie crust and top with olives.  Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, then lower heat to 375 degrees and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Once the custard is set, broil for 3-4 minutes to brown the top, then let set for 10 minutes before serving.