Mexican Style Pepper Jack Cheese & Spinach Stuffed Chicken Cutlets

This evening I decided to make "Mexican Style Pepper Jack & Spinach Stuffed Chicken Cutlets" which are a spin-off of my Italian Style Spinach & Cheese Cutlets.  I have one word to describe this dish...AWESOME!!!  They are full of flavor and really satisfy my taste and craving for Mexican food.  I really, really liked these -- even more so than my Italian version.  I decided to use my homemade recipe for Taco Seasoning which is so simple to throw together, has no wheat and it makes enough seasoning to use with this recipe and still have a little leftover.   For the filling, I used about 1/4 cup of ricotta cheese to mix with my spinach to serve as the "glue" to make a spreadable mixture to spread on the cutlets.  I then placed a piece of Pepper Jack cheese inside each before rolling the cutlets up.  The taco seasoning is used to season the spinach cheese filling, the breading and then sprinkle on top before baking. 

This recipe is full of flavor.  If you have young children or you do not like food that is a little spicy, you may want to substitute plain Monterey Jack cheese or another cheese of your choice.  I topped the baked cutlets with a couple of strips of Pepper Jack cheese and returned them to the oven to let it melt a bit.  I served each cutlet topped with a spoonful of salsa and paired it with a side of shredded lettuce, diced fresh tomatoes, avocado and a dollop of sour cream which went really well with the cutlets.  I just hate it when you go to a Mexican restaurant and they act like fresh tomatoes and lettuce are precious gems and they give you such a small portion that it doesn't even qualify as a "garnish" (and that is after you've paid extra for it too).  My advice to you when baking these cutlets is that I strongly suggest you use non-stick foil (like Reynolds) because any cheese that melts out or escapes from your chicken bundles while they bake is not lost or stuck on the foil forever -- it lifts right off the non-stick foil in its little puddle-shaped ooze and you don't lose any of your cheese.  I snapped a few photos below as well as the recipe.  Enjoy!

This is how we roll  :-)

Rolled, dunked, breaded & sprinkled - ready to be popped into the oven

Voila!

BOOM!

Mexican Style Pepper Jack & Spinach Stuffed Chicken Cutlets

INGREDIENTS:

Filling
1 6-oz bag fresh baby spinach leaves (1/2-3/4 cup cooked and chopped)
1 tablespoon olive oil (for sauteing spinach)
1 teaspoon homemade taco seasoning (recipe below)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Few grinds freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
8 oz brick of Pepper Jack cheese, *divided

Breading
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons homemade taco seasoning (recipe below)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, optional
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, optional

Other Ingredients
6 Chicken Breast Cutlets (about 1-1/4 lbs)
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with splash of light cream, salt and pepper)
Taco Seasoning (for sprinkling on before baking, recipe below)
Pepper Jack cheese, *cut in strips (included in 8-oz amount above)
Olive oil spray, to coat baking dish
Salsa (to top chicken when serving), optional

Taco Seasoning Recipe (makes enough for this recipe)
    2 teaspoons chili powder
    1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
    1/4 teaspoon onion powder
    1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
    1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
    1/4 teaspoon paprika
    1 teaspoon ground cumin
    1/2 teaspoon sea salt
    1 teaspoon black pepper
 
DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a medium-high non-stick skillet, put a drizzle of olive oil and quickly wilt the spinach leaves; remove to a mesh strainer and press as much liquid out as possible; place in a medium bowl and set aside to cool.  Place the cooled, well drained spinach on a cutting board and chop well; add back to bowl along with 1 teaspoon of taco seasoning, salt and pepper, to taste, and ricotta; mix well.  Slice half of the 8-oz brick of Pepper Jack cheese into approximate 1/4 in wide strips (for the number of cutlets you are using) to roll up into each cutlet.  Cut the remaining half of the brick of cheese into smaller strips to melt on top of the cooked cutlets before serving.

Mix all breading ingredients together in a shallow bowl or plate.  In a medium bowl, make egg wash by beating an egg with a splash of light cream and pinch of salt and pepper, to taste.

Lay chicken cutlets out on a cutting board or work area and evenly divide the spinach filling between the cutlets, spreading the mixture on top of each cutlet; roll up lengthwise. Dunk the stuffed chicken bundles in the egg wash and then roll in the seasoned almond flour crumbs and place seam side down on a baking pan or sheet covered with non-stick foil that has been very lightly sprayed or coated with oil.  Lightly sprinkle the tops of the breaded cutlets with a little additional taco seasoning.  Bake at 375 F degrees for about 30 minutes or until done.  Remove from oven and lay strips of Pepper Jack cheese on top of cooked stuffed chicken bundles and return to the oven for another 3-5 minutes, or until cheese begins to melt.  Let cool about 5 minutes to allow cheeses to set.  Serve topped with a spoonful of salsa, if desired.  This meal pairs well when served with a side of shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and avocados and a dollop of sour cream (like they do in Mexican restaurants).

      

Sometimes It's Hip To Be Square...Bagel/Squagels

Happy Sunday!  Well, this morning I woke up feeling somewhat accomplished that I was able to produce a delicious stuffing recipe to present to you for Thanksgiving (not that you couldn't have found other great recipes for it elsewhere...it's not exactly like I reinvented the wheel or anything) but I am pleased with how it turned out and it's definitely good enough to put on my discriminate table this Thanksgiving.  :-)

If you read my blog with any regularity, you already know that my first attempt (test batch #1) did not turn out suitable, in my opinion, for stuffing because it was too dense.  However, since I had leftover "uncut bread" from the first test batch...and it actually tasted good as bread, I toasted a piece yesterday to serve as the "toast" to go with my egg and sausage breakfast -- and it was actually delicious!  When I woke up this morning...it hit me like a flash of light -- the denser texture of my "test batch" bread would be really good "as is" for bagels to top with cream cheese.  As I laid there thinking about how annoying it would be to go out and buy one of those special donut pans to make these into round bagels...lightning struck again (well, maybe that is a little dramatic...).  I am a kitchen freak -- a gadget geek and if I keep buying kitchen appliances, gadgets, pans, dishes (don't even get me started with how many sets of dishes I have)...well, the point is I will eventually need to build a new house just to store this stuff!!!  Back to the point I'm trying to make here...you can have bagels that are not round...you can have bagels without holes...but if you really are dead set on holes in your bagels...just put them there -- and that is what I did.  I cut the sheet of bread I made for my first batch of stuffing bread into squares with square holes, toasted them and put cream cheese on them.  They were awesome!  You could easily scatter minced onion on top of the batter and make onion bagels...poppyseeds, shredded Asiago cheese, or even mix cheddar and diced jalapenos into the batter (my hubby's favorite) to have Cheddar Jalapeno bagels...the sky is the limit.  And you can use what 99% of you already have in your kitchens...a simple cookie sheet and a knife!  I kept the recipe for the test batch because while it wasn't perfect for the stuffing cubes...I knew it was good for something!  :-)  Take a look at the pics of my breakfast below....Bagels/Squagels...sometimes it really is "hip to be square"...Enjoy!  :-)

Voila!

It really is "hip to be square"...and delicious too!

And lastly...sometimes it's just "hip to be cute"...  ;-)

Enjoy!

     

Herbed Grain Free Stuffing..."Voila!"

Today I continued to work on my "Operation Grain Free Stuffing" recipe.  :-)  The grain free bread cubes I made a few days ago were good, but the bread was still a little too dense for my liking to use for stuffing.  I revisited my recipe again this morning to see how I could lighten it up just a bit.  The recipe I made for the lightly herbed "Grain Free Stuffing Bread Cubes" makes about 7 cups of oven dried bread cubes which is the equivalent to approximately 1 bag of commercial stuffing mix which typically contain about 6 cups.  You will need to measure the bread cubes AFTER drying them out because I measured them both before and after oven drying.  Before drying they made 10 cups of fresh bread cubes; after oven drying they measured a tad over 7 cups (the dried measurement is the one you need to use).  I made an Herbed Grain Free Stuffing recipe that I posted below, but you could easily just use the Grain Free Stuffing Bread Cube recipe to make your favorite stuffing recipe.  Stuffing (or dressing) is such a personal kind of dish -- people have all kinds of preferences as to what they like to put in their stuffing...or more what they don't like in it.  My Grain Free Stuffing Bread Cubes recipe below is a great substitute for the more traditional wheat bread stuffing that many of us are accustomed to.  The recipe for my grain free bread cubes is posted below my Herbed Grain Free Stuffing recipe, so if you are using them in your own stuffing recipe, just scroll past mine directly to the recipe for the "stuffing bread cubes".   

For dinner tonight, I am making Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken.  I'm roasting a 7-lb chicken in my dutch oven.  I placed a couple of celery stalks along with their leaves and a couple of carrots in the bottom of my dutch oven to place the chicken on.   I squeezed the juice of 1 fresh lemon over the top of my chicken and placed the cut lemon halves into the chicken's cavity along with 1/2 of an onion, a sprig of fresh rosemary, a handful of fresh sage leaves and a few sprigs of fresh thyme to help flavor the bird from the inside out. In a small bowl, I mixed a few tablespoons of olive oil, and a tablespoon each of fresh rosemary, thyme and sage along with some salt and pepper and brushed it over the chicken, covered it and popped it into a 400 degree F oven for 30 minutes -- and then uncovered it and reduced the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and roasted it for another 1-1/2 hours until it was done.  The smell in my kitchen this afternoon from the fresh lemon herb chicken roasting for a couple of hours along with the Herbed Grain Free Stuffing was amazing!  In tonight's stuffing test I did not add the sausage or mushrooms because I wanted to get a clear feel of the texture of the fresh herb flavored stuffing itself.  I've snapped a few photos below for you to see as well as 2 recipes (one for the Grain Free Stuffing Bread Cubes to use in your own recipe and the other for my Herbed Grain Free Stuffing).  Enjoy!

This is what the dough looks like for the Grain Free Stuffing Bread Cubes

The dough pressed out into the pan, ready to be baked

Bread is baked and fresh out of the oven

Bread has been cut into bread cubes and ready to be oven dried

Here's a close-up shot before going into the oven

Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken ready to be popped in the oven

Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken fresh out of the oven

Herbed Grain Free Stuffing fresh out of the oven

Herbed Grain Free Stuffing

INGREDIENTS: 

6 cups of grain free stuffing bread cubes (*recipe below)
2 cups turkey or chicken broth (more or less to moisten, depending on preference)
1/2 pound Italian sausage, (or preferred type/flavor of bulk sausage), optional
2 tablespoons fresh sage, finely chopped (or 1 tablespoon dried)
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1 cup celery, chopped or thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced, optional
1/2 cup fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped, optional
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms, cooked, optional
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Please grain free bread cubes in a large bowl and set aside.  In a medium to large skillet, brown optional bulk sausage well, breaking and crumbling into pieces as it cooks; remove cooked sausage and add to the bowl of bread cubes.  Place butter in a large saucepan or stockpot; add onion and celery and cook for about 4-5 minutes until celery and onion is crisp-tender.  Add chopped apple and cranberries (if using) to the celery and onion mixture and cook a few more minutes just to soften slightly.  Add herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley), the bowl of bread cubes with optional cooked sausage and mushrooms to the pot; stir until mixed.  Pour broth over the stuffing mixture and toss lightly (add enough to moisten, but do not over saturate).  Spoon mixture into a well greased 9 x 13 baking dish or casserole dish; cover and bake at 350 degrees F for about 35-40 minutes.  If desired, uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes to give it a drier "crusty topping" or until stuffing is the desired moistness and consistency (you can add additional broth, if needed while it is cooking).  

***Note:  The fresh cranberries are tart and not sweet like adding dried sweetened "Craisin" type cranberries. If you want to add a bit of sweetness, you can add a sweeter type of apple than Granny Smith.

For the Grain Free "Stuffing" Bread Cubes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup organic coconut flour
3/4 cup almond flour
2 cups organic golden flax meal
4 teaspoons baking powder (aluminum free)
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 eggs (I used organic cage free)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a medium sized bowl, mix all dry ingredients together; add eggs, water, vinegar and oil and mix well.  Dough will be thick and a bit sticky and slightly springy feeling.  Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes while you prepare the baking pan.  Line a baking pan or cookie sheet with non-stick foil lightly brushed with olive or coconut oil or parchment paper sprayed or brushed with oil.  Place ball of dough in the center of the pan and begin pressing the dough outward with a lightly oiled rubber spatula (so it doesn't stick) to between 1/4 - 1/2-inches thick.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the bread is lightly golden and feels done when pressed near the center.  This will make a 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick "bread".  

When bread is done, remove from oven and let cool for about 10-15 minutes.  Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees F.  Move cooled bread to a cutting board and cut into approximate 1/2-inch cubes; place cubes back on baking sheet and return to a 300 degree oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until cubes are dried and crisp.  When bread cubes are thoroughly dry and toasty, remove from oven and let cool completely.  Store in a tightly covered container or Ziploc bag to keep moisture out until ready to use in your favorite stuffing recipe.  Makes approximately 6-7 cups of toasted bread cubes.  Use in your favorite stuffing recipe. 

     

Breakfast Idea -- Happy Saturday!

Happy Saturday!  Today I am going to continue my experimentation with perfecting my grain free stuffing recipe.  I decided I'd start this beautiful, chilly Saturday morning with a good breakfast!  I made myself a fried organic cage free egg topped with a smidgen of grated cheddar cheese along with 2 organic/nitrite free chicken and sage sausages (by Applegate) and some fresh berries topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt (raspberries, blackberries and strawberries).  I toasted a piece of my grain free "stuffing bread" leftover from my grain free stuffing recipe I made this past week.  I have to say, I actually like it better as a side of "toast" than I did in the stuffing recipe.  I'm enjoying a cup of "Eight O'Clock" hazelnut coffee with my breakfast this morning which tastes unusually good on this nippy Saturday morning.  Weekend breakfasts are always more special since I have more time to prepare them than I do during the work week when I usually just have a cup of plain Greek yogurt with cinnamon and stevia for breakfast.  I am getting ready to hit the kitchen again and give the stuffing bread another try...wish me luck!  ;-)  Enjoy!

Herbed Grain Free Stuffing -- A Work in Progress...

I haven't posted in a couple of days because I've been working on a grain free stuffing recipe and just don't have it exactly where I want it yet...but it's close!  Last night I completed my first attempt on this project that I actually started working on Wednesday night.  I wanted to try my hand at making grain free stuffing (or dressing).  The first item I had to tackle (and the most tricky) was making the bread cubes to use in it.  I wanted them to be solid enough to hold their shape and not melt or crumble and become mushy when baked along with the broth, veggies and herbs. I decided to modify some of the previous bread and pizza crust recipes that I've created and morph them into something that would work as the bread to be used in my grain free stuffing.   I wanted them to be lightly seasoned but not overly so because that can be added later in the actual stuffing recipe.  I didn't want to use all flax meal or all almond or coconut flour either.  I decided the best approach for my first attempt would be a combination of all three of those. 

Once I mastered the "bread cubes"...the actual stuffing recipe is basically just a matter of personal preference and taste.  Some people like fruit in their stuffing, others like only veggies; some like sausage in their stuffing or nuts too...and then there are those of us that like EVERYTHING in our stuffing...apples, cranberries, mushrooms, celery, onion, sausage, turkey broth and fresh herbs and spices.  That is what I added to the stuffing I made with my "stuffing bread" creation.  I put it all in there (except for the mushrooms because I can't disguise them easily from hubby).  :-)   While I have the recipe that I used for this stuffing -- it isn't 100% where I want it to be yet, so I am not going to post it until I feel it is up to my standards -- it actually tastes good, but the bread cubes are more dense and heavy than I want them to be. I am going to continue working on the blend and ratio of ingredients to lighten it up a bit.  In other words, it needs to be tweaked a bit before posting.  I snapped a few photos of last night's dinner that I served with the first "test batch" of stuffing and hope to be posting the perfected recipe soon!  This evening I did all my Thanksgiving shopping to avoid the crush of the crowds this weekend.  It feels good to have that out of the way!  So now I have all weekend to play in the kitchen!  :-)  Check out the pictures of my "work in progress" stuffing below.  Enjoy!

Stuffing Recipe..."under construction" -- "Take One"

Here it is with our dinner last night...it was pretty good, but it wasn't "perfect"...yet!

This is how it began...a shallow loaf

Cut into cubes, ready to be toasted in the oven

     

It's Pizza Night (Almond/Flax/Parmesan Herb Pizza Crust)

This evening I was in the mood for pizza.  Usually I make my grain free pizza crust for myself and a separate regular wheat crust for hubby (he is not wheat/grain free).  Tonight I decided there was no reason to continue making two different kinds of crusts unless he really did not like my crust after trying it.  We both prefer different toppings so I made a double batch of my Almond Flax Pizza Crust that made a larger cookie sheet sized pizza with "his and hers" halves.  He had his Kalamata olives, artichokes and turkey pepperoni on his half and I had mushrooms, onions and red and yellow peppers on mine.  It turned out great...but the best part of all is he looked at me and said "this is really good" -- and he picked it up and ate it just like he usually does his regular wheat riddled crust.  So, effective immediately, I don't have to make 2 different kinds of crusts every time we have pizza now!  He asked how long it took to make the crust and I told him about 5 minutes to mix the ingredients in a bowl and another few minutes to spread it out in the pan with a rubber spatula before baking it.  Most of the cooking is done before putting the toppings on and during the 20 minutes or so it takes to bake the crust, I precook any raw toppings since it only goes back into the oven for 5 to 10 minutes after you place the toppings on top.

While I have made a cauliflower crust before (and posted it)...it was so tedious to make and you definitely needed a fork and knife -- there was NO picking that pizza up (not in my lifetime, anyway).  I also have made an herbed flax Parmesan crust that I like a lot too...but when one of my readers asked me to make a crust that wasn't all flax,  I tried out a combination of almond flour, golden flax meal, Parmesan cheese and herbs and spices and created my "Almond/Flax/Parmesan Herb Pizza Crust".  It has turned out to be my "new favorite" pizza crust!  Now that I know hubby likes it too, this will definitely become my go to crust for both of us.  I am going to include the recipe for the larger pizza crust below (which is essentially a double batch of the recipe that normally makes a thin crust 10" round pizza).  This doubled crust recipe will make a thin crust cookie sheet sized rectangular pizza.  The trick to handling this crust easily is that I use non-stick foil sprayed well with olive oil and then I plop the dough ball in the center of the pan and using a rubber spatula (also sprayed with olive oil), I begin pressing it out from the center towards the edges until it is uniform thickness and the shape that I want it.  Your dough will be a bit sticky, but it should be sort of firm, not wet and mushy.  If you need to thicken it a bit more, add a little more finely grated Parmesan cheese until the dough can be pressed out nicely into the pan.  I reduced the amount of water by a few teaspoons when I doubled this recipe.  Below are a few pictures as well as the recipe for the larger pizza crust (you could also make 2 separate 10" round pizza crusts instead of the larger crust if you preferred).  Enjoy!

BOOM!

My half

His half

Almond/Flax/Parmesan Herb Pizza Crust
Makes 2 10-inch round pizzas OR 1 large rectangular cookie sheet sized pizza 

INGREDIENTS:

Dry Ingredients

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup golden flax seed meal (organic golden flax has a milder taste than brown)

1-1/3 teaspoons baking powder (aluminum free)

2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder 
Couple dashes cayenne pepper, optional

1/4 teaspoon sea salt, optional

Few grinds of freshly ground black pepper

8 - 10 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated (powdered)

Wet Ingredients

2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute such as Egg Beaters)

2 tablespoons olive oil (a little more, if desired)

4 tablespoons water

 

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients together; add wet ingredients and mix well.  Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes to thicken. 

Spread dough on a lightly oiled large rectangular cookie sheet (or pizza pan) on greased parchment paper (I use Reynolds non-stick foil, lightly brushed or sprayed with olive oil.  Place ball of dough in the center of the pan and begin pressing the dough outward with a lightly oiled rubber spatula (so it doesn't stick).  Bake for about 20 minutes or until cooked through and dry/lightly crisp feeling to the touch (check the crust after 15 minutes and take out if it looks and feels done).  Add sauce, cheese, pre-cooked toppings and place back into the oven for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese.  If desired, run under the broiler for a few minutes to lightly brown the toppings and make the cheese bubbly (be careful not to burn it).  

***Note:  The amount of water in the recipe above has been reduced when I doubled the original recipe (I found that it worked better for spreading the dough over a larger surface area). 

     

"Spaghetti" w/ Herbed Chicken Meatballs

This evening I was in the mood for "spaghetti" and meatballs.  I had a 1-pound package of ground chicken breast in the fridge and some beautiful zucchini that I picked up this weekend.  I also had about 2/3 of a jar of spicy marinara left from last night's meal.  All of that came together nicely to make "Spaghetti" w/ Herbed Chicken Meatballs!  The spaghetti noodles were courtesy of some beautiful zucchini and my Spirelli.  The herbed chicken meatballs were so easy to make.

Since ground chicken breast essentially has no fat to speak of, I placed it in a bowl and added the following:  3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, couple dashes of cayenne pepper, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 3/4 teaspoon paprika, 1 slightly rounded teaspoon Italian seasoning, 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan and 3 tablespoons of shredded Parmigiano Reggiano (or Parmesan).  Whew...that sounds like a lot of ingredients, but most of it is spices that most people already have.  It doesn't have to be exact and you can add or omit anything that you like or don't like.  You can use regular ground chicken or turkey or beef...whatever you prefer or have on hand.  I made 16 small meatballs and browned them in a non-stick skillet in a little olive oil and then added them to the sauce and let them simmer on low for about 30 minutes.  I quickly sauteed the zucchini noodles in a little olive oil and then topped our noodles with the meatballs and sauce and sprinkled it with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano and fresh Italian parsley.  Eating without wheat and grains is so easy and delicious!  I snapped a couple photos for you to see below.  Enjoy!

Voila!

BOOM!

Italian Style Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Cutlets

Today hubby and I spent part of the day recuperating from doing yard work all day yesterday!  We ran our weekly errands and did our grocery shopping this afternoon.  Youngest son came over and had dinner with us this evening.  I made Italian Style Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Cutlets.  Essentially they were stuffed with a filling much like I used to make when I made stuffed shells.  The filling was a mixture of fresh spinach, ricotta, Parmigiano Reggiano, herbs and spices that I rolled up in chicken breast cutlets, dipped them in egg wash and then rolled in Italian seasoned almond flour and Parmesan "breading" and baked until done.  I served them in a little puddle of spicy marinara sauce and added another spoonful on top.  It was delicious.  As a side dish I julienned a mixture of yellow summer squash, zucchini and a carrot into long thin strips and lightly sauteed in olive oil and seasoned with sea salt and black pepper and then topped with a little Parmigiano Reggiano.  It was both colorful and delicious.  I snapped a few photos below for you to see as well as the recipe.  Enjoy!

Voila!

BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM!

Fresh out of the oven

Topped with fresh mozzarella, ready to be popped back into the oven to melt

Yellow squash, zucchini and carrots ready to be sauteed

Ta-da!

Italian Style Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Cutlets

INGREDIENTS:

Filling
1 6-oz bag fresh baby spinach leaves (about 3/4 cup chopped and cooked)
1 tablespoon olive oil (for sauteing spinach)
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Dash of garlic powder
Dash of cayenne pepper, optional
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, shredded (or Parmesan)

Breading
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Dash of cayenne pepper

Other Ingredients
6 Chicken Breast Cutlets (about 1-1/4 lbs)
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with splash of light cream, salt and pepper)
Paprika (for sprinkling on before baking
6 slices fresh mozzarella cheese, cut in strips
Olive oil spray, to coat baking dish
About 1 cup marinara sauce (to top chicken when serving), optional

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a medium-high non-stick skillet, put a drizzle of olive oil and quickly wilt the spinach leaves; remove to a mesh strainer and press as much liquid out as possible; place in a medium bowl and set aside to cool.  Place the cooled, well drained spinach on a cutting board and chop well; add back to bowl along with the Italian seasoning,  salt and pepper to taste, garlic powder, optional cayenne, ricotta, shredded Parmigiano Reggiano and mix well.

Mix all breading ingredients together in a shallow bowl.  In a medium bowl, make egg wash by beating an egg with a splash of light cream and pinch of salt and pepper, or to taste.

Lay chicken cutlets out on a cutting board or work area and divide the filling evenly between the cutlets, spreading the mixture evenly on top of the cutlet; roll up lengthwise. Dredge the stuffed chicken bundles in the egg wash and then roll in the seasoned almond flour crumbs and place in a baking pan or dish (seam side down) that has been sprayed or coated with olive oil.  Lightly sprinkle the tops of the breaded cutlets with paprika.  Bake at 375 F degrees for about 30 minutes or until done.  Remove from oven and lay strips of fresh mozzarella on top of cooked stuffed chicken bundles and return to the oven for another 5 minutes or until cheese melts.  Let cool about 5-7 minutes to allow cheeses to set.  Serve topped with a spoonful of marinara sauce, if desired.

     

Decadent Chocolate Espresso Pot de Crème Topped w/ Buttered Almond Brittle

This evening we are going to eat the leftover pot roast from Thursday night's dinner, so other than roasting some fresh brussel sprouts to go along with our meal, I don't have to cook tonight.  It was a gorgeous day here so we took advantage of it and worked outside in the yard most of the day.  We didn't get it all done, but we put a big dent into the raking, pruning, etc.  I took a little break from yard work this afternoon to make a dessert that I've been wanting to try and since it has to set up in the refrigerator for a while, I wanted to get it done early enough to be able to enjoy it after dinner.  I actually made 2 different items but used them together for the final product.  I made sugar free Chocolate Espresso Pot de Crème which is a rich decadent custard like dessert that you eat in small portions because of its richness.

It originated in France in the 17th century.  The flavor is rich, deep, dark and chocolatey and the flavor is further deepened by the addition of strong espresso.  You can top it with whipped cream or berries, etc., but I wanted to top it with crispy Buttered Almond Brittle.  Both of these recipes were very simple to make and neither required any baking in the oven at all.  They are prepared completely on the stove top which is a plus!  I was pleased with how they both turned out.  The Pot de Crème is a sugar free version of an older Ghirardelli recipe.  I put the Buttered Almond Brittle recipe together after getting ideas from other recipes at a couple of different places, including the Swerve site.  Most nut brittle recipes use corn syrup, but by melting butter and Swerve together in place of sugar or corn syrup, you get essentially the same results (or very similar).  You could substitute any other kind of nut in place of the almonds...peanuts, macadamias, cashews, etc.  Both desserts substitute Swerve in place of the sugar and both turned out totally awesome!  Swerve is quickly becoming my favorite sweetener for baking and making treats.  Besides tasting great, I really like the ease of measuring it the same way you measure sugar in recipes -- no calculations are required.  Below are a few pictures as well as the recipes for both items.  Enjoy!

Voila!

Topped w/ pieces of Buttered Almond Brittle

BOOM!

This is a chocolate lover's dream!

Buttered Almond Brittle

Voila!

BOOM!

Decadent Chocolate Espresso Pot de Crème Topped w/ Buttered Almond Brittle

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz. Ghirardelli 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate Premium Baking Bar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners Swerve sweetener (equivalent to 1/2 cup sugar)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup very strong espresso coffee

DIRECTIONS:

Break chocolate baking bar into small pieces. Bring the cream, Swerve, and vanilla to a boil in a saucepan. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl. Add about 1/3 of the boiling cream into the yolks and whisk constantly (you don't want to cook or scramble the yolks).  Return the remaining cream to a boil and whisk in the yolk/cream mixture. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, for about 20 seconds or so, until slightly thickened. Strain the cream mixture through a mesh net strainer into a bowl and add the chocolate, whisking until smooth. Once chocolate is melted and incorporated, whisk in the espresso coffee.

Pour into three 5 to 6-ounce custard cups or ramekins. Refrigerate until cooled.  Top with pieces of Buttered Almond Brittle or whipping cream and berries, if desired.

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Buttered Almond Brittle

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon butter (I used Kerrygold)
1/3 cup Swerve sweetener
Pinch of sea salt
2/3 cup blanched slivered almonds

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter in a small saucepan; add Swerve stirring constantly until it has dissolved and melted into a smooth liquid.  Add almonds; stirring frequently, cook approximately 6 minutes or until almonds begin to turn light golden brown.  Spread hot nut mixture onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and let cool completely.  Break into chunks.  Store covered in a tightly sealed container or bag.  

Other types of nuts can easily be substituted to make other nut brittles such as peanut brittle, cashew brittle, macadamia, etc. 

This was our dinner tonight...pot roast, zucchini patty, carrots, mushrooms and roasted brussel sprouts