Use those figs!

Yay for figs! They've been everywhere here lately-the farmers market, the grocery store, the other grocery store...so obviously I had to figure out how to use them. This originally was going to be a goat cheese and thyme stuffed chicken, but I only bought goat cheese in my head, so plans changed about 5 minutes before I started cooking.

Luckily, too. This was delicious. And I did it all in one skillet. (Plus a bowl here and there. You are welcome, hubby.)

This recipe might call more the most butter I've ever used, like ever. It wasn't a huge quantity, but it was in everything. And it was awesome. The recipes I found and combined to make this all called for a LOT more, so I actually replaced some with a bit of olive oil, and still ended up using 3 tbsp less than directed. So if you're a Paula Deen at heart (the butter loving part, not the other part), go ahead and throw some more in there-you can add at least another tbsp to the sauce. I just didn't want the calories and didn't miss it. Your call.

Also, I've been making 3-4 servings of everything lately so hubby can take leftovers for lunch. So this will work with 3 or 4 chicken breasts. It's not exact. You may have some leftover cheese mixture if you make 3, or just don't fill the chickens as full and make 4. I trust you can figure this one out.

I served with a side of simple mashed red potatoes (skins on, mashed with some butter, milk, salt and pepper to taste).

Blue Cheese, Caramelized Onion and Walnut Chicken with Fig Sauce

3-4 boneless chicken breasts
Half a medium-small red onion, halved and sliced thinly
about 3 oz blue cheese
About 2 tbsp chopped walnuts
salt and fresh pepper
8-10 figs, halved
1 cup red wine
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup chicken broth/stock
butter
olive oil
toothpicks

Heat oven to 400.

Heat about 2 tsp butter and a dash of olive oil over medium heat in a large oven safe skillet (if you have one, otherwise a large frying pan or similar is fine) and cook onions for 8 minutes or so until they are soft and starting to brown. Remove to a medium bowl to cool.

Add the wine and sugar to the pan and bring to boil (high heat). Reduce to medium and simmer until it's reduced to about half. Add the broth and reduce again til about half gone. Pour liquid carefully into a pyrex or bowl (or whatever you've got) and set aside.

Take the cooled onions and add in the blue cheese and walnuts. Gently mix together.

Take your chicken breasts and with a thin knife, make a hole into the middle of the narrow end, fanning your knife a bit to make the hole wide on the inside. It may be easier at this point to stick a finger or two in there and widen a bit more (don't break through!) If you have a different way you want to make a pocket, do it. The point is that you're gonna put stuff in it and you don't really want it escaping.

Take the cheese and onion mixture and (with your hands) push it down into the pockets. Take a toothpick and close the hole up a bit, if you can. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.

Add 2 tsp butter and a splash of olive oil to skillet/pan and heat to medium. Brown the chicken for about 3 minutes a side, then either put the skillet straight into the oven or transfer the chicken to a (cooking spray coated) baking dish. Let cook 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let set. If you used the skillet method, remove from skillet and place on a serving dish before continuing.

In the skillet/pan, add another tbsp of butter and once hot (foamy) add the figs, cut side down. Let cook 3-4 minutes, then add the wine sauce back in. Cook another few minutes until hot and the figs are pretty and brown. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve over the chicken.

Eating my words.

In a good way.

Proving good things come from simple recipes (and quickly). So. Good. Makes me sorry hubby didn't get any. Cause I totally didn't leave him leftovers...sorry, honey. It was soft (and not soup!!) and delicious. Hopefully your pizza was good? (If not...it was free ;) )
P.S., do we like my new camera? Haven't replaced my DSLR, but I did get a new Canon Powershot Point and Shoot, which so far...so good. Plus..how cute is it? Tiny and powder blue. Hee. Such a sucker for color.


Spinach Risotto Stuffed Portabella
Olive oil
Two-pack of portabella mushrooms
1/2 cup arborio rice
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 and 1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup vermouth or white wine
Water as needed
A couple cups baby spinach
About an ounce crumbled blue cheese
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Remove the gills and stems from both mushrooms. Chopped one roughly, leave the other alone.

In Saute pan, heat olive oil and garlic til fragrant. Add rice. Saute over medium high about 5 minutes, then add vermouth. Stir frequently while it cooks down. Then add 1/2 cup stock, let cook down while stirring. Add chopped mushroom, keep stirring. Repeat with rest of stock. When almost cooked through, add spinach. When wilted and rice is cooked to taste (kinda velvety), add blue cheese and pepper. Mix in, cover, and remove from heat.

In small saute pan, spray with cooking oil, and cook whole portabella about 4 minutes a side, adding some water to help steam it. When cooked through, remove from heat.

Serve with a scoop of rice on plate, then mushroom, cap-side down, filled with another scoop of rice. Serves one with leftover rice. (To serve two, get two mushroom packs, then just serve rice in cap, not underneath).

I promised.

Every time I pass the portabellas at the grocery store, I pause and try to figure out how to get away with adding them to my dinner plans—especially if I'm already wanting to grill.

They're just so versatile...as long as I start with tomatoes and garlic, I've found you pretty much can't go wrong. Plus, they take like 10 minutes total. Especially if you cheat and buy pre-diced tomato.


Stuffed Ports
About a cup diced tomato
A couple tbsp chopped chives
1 tsp or so fresh thyme
1 tbsp or bacon pieces (the bottled kind)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp of so goat cheese
Splash olive oil
Splash balsamic vinegar
S&P to taste
2 portabella mushrooms, gills and stem gently removed
Olive oil
Balsamic
Low sodium soy sauce

You know the drill. Mix tomato through salt and pepper.

Place mushrooms in shallow bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, vinegar and soy. Turn to coat.

On a hot grill, cook over high, gill side down, about 4 minute. Brush with some of the remaining marinade. Turn over, brush that side.

Carefully spoon in tomato mix. Grill another 5 minutes. Serve hot.


-posted out of laziness from my iPhone.

Sorry, honey, but sun-dried tomatoes win.

I've been working on a jar of sun-dried tomatoes for quite awhile now. But when I'm the only one in the house that likes them, there are only so many excuses I have to dig in.

So, in true passive fashion, I decided to go ahead and just use them and not tell Hubby. Not that I think he's incapable of looking at a piece of chicken and realizing what the tangy, deep red additions are...I just wasn't in the mood to cook two versions of the same dish. I did go ahead and add an extra tbsp or so to my leftover portion, which only made it that much better. Mmmmm. I so love those oily little dehydrated suckers.

Oh, and his reaction? "...are these sun-dried tomatoes?" That was it. No complaints, no whining. He's good like that.

This is a twist on my normal stuffed chicken-rather than do a side slit, I did a lengthwise slit down the top, so the mix sat more on top than inside...if that makes any sort of sense at all.

For the rice, I sauteed half an onion (chopped) in a bit of olive oil, mixed in a cup of brown rice, then cooked it in 2+ cups of broth for 40 minutes.


Spinach, Tomato and Almond Stuffed Chicken
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large or 3-4 medium)
About 1/2 cup finely chopped spinach (I used leftover frozen spinach, defrosted)
1-2 tbsps chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 tbsp toasted slivered almonds
(If you have plain, just heat them in a dry skillet over medium, moving frequently, until brown)
1 oz or so blue or gorgonzola cheese (or goat or whatever)
Oregano, about 1/2 tsp
S&P
Half an onion, sliced
1/2 cup broth

Make slits down chicken breasts big enough to hold filling.

In bowl, combine spinach, tomatoes, almonds, cheese, oregano, and some salt and pepper to taste (good pinch each or more).

In large skillet, heat a bit of olive oil (1tsp or so) and add onions. Let caramelize down (cook without messing much with them) over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes or until they start turning golden brown. In the meantime, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, and arrange tomato mix in the slits.

When onion is ready, add chicken to skillet, filling side up. Let brown over medium high for 2 or 3 minutes, then add broth and bring to a low boil. Cover, and let cook about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve chicken and onions over rice.


See, not only does it taste better with more tomato, it's more colorful, too.