Spinach & Mushroom Stuffed Chicken

So this recipe was inspired by one of my friends and old roommates, and I decided to try it out on some guinea pigs, aka Kirk and Linda :) Again, I didn't really work from a recipe but used my knowledge of how long chicken typically takes to cook and estimated everything! What you need:

-Spinach
-Mushrooms
-Cream Cheese (or Philadelphia Cooking Creme)
-Chicken Breasts
-Toothpicks!

We started out by butterflying the chicken breasts, or just cutting a pocket since some were a little on the small side. After doing this, I thought it might have been better to flatten out the chicken first so they would lay flat, but that's how you learn, right!?


In a mixing bowl, we mixed together some spinach with approximately half of the Cooking Creme-we used savory garlic, but regular cream cheese would probably work fine too :)


After mixing those two ingredients together, we chopped up some mushrooms and put them in the mix as well.


After mixing everything together, we divided it into three portions, one for each chicken breast. Then, I strategically stuffed each one with the mixture and sealed it with toothpicks. This part was probably the trickiest seeing as I've never done anything like this before! :D


We wrapped each one individually in foil to make sure nothing leaked out, and baked them for 15 minutes in the oven on 375. After the 15 minutes was up, I took them out and put on some seasonings and such and turned them over. Put them back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Once the 2nd 15 minutes is up, decided to open the foil and put them under the broiler/500 degrees for 5 minutes to brown the tops for your aesthetic pleasure ;)

The final product!

We paired it with some herb linguine which was very tasty and a cucumber, tomato, green onion and green pepper medley :) Let me know if you try it, or if you have any other types of stuffing that might be yummy!

Brown rice risotto with porcini mushrooms

Hi family! Thanks, Becca, for reminding us to be posting! I really want to get back into posting too. I forgot how much fun it is! I usually make several meals a week, I just have to remember to take photos! Last night I made a delicious risotto I wanted to share with you....

Background: I've been trying to switch us to using only brown rice. While I can throw a bowl of white rice in the microwave and have it done in a half hour without thinking, for some reason brown rice has given me a lot of trouble. In the microwave it always boils over and is never cooked through. On the stove it gets super sticky and makes a huge mess, and is sort of crunchy. I thought maybe trying it in risotto would be the key!

I found a couple brown rice risotto recipes online, and combined 2 of them. The trick is to boil the rice for about 20 minutes, drain, and then add your aromatics and broth like you would in a normal risotto recipe. Here's the ingredients and step by step:

• 1 1/4 C. brown rice
• 3 C. water
• 1 1/2 - 2 C. chicken stock
• parmesean cheese
• 1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp. water
  
• onions, garlic, mushrooms, etc. - whatever you want in your risotto!

First, bring rice and water to a boil. (You can toast the rice first for a few minutes, then add the water) Once it boils, turn the heat down and simmer for 18-20 minutes, or until rice is getting soft.

While the rice is boiling, start sauteing your add-ins. Normally you would do this and then add the risotto, but this is different! I started with olive oil, garlic & onions, and some porcini mushrooms. I also had some fresh thyme leaves, which made this AWESOME.


(I may have also added some butter....shhhh)

Don't forget salt and pepper!

The veggies got done before the rice was ready, so I added some white wine to coat the bottom and prevent anything from burning. It added a really nice flavor and I'd totally do it again.

Once the rice is almost al dente, strain out the excess liquid (there won't be much), and add the veggies. Add about 1 cup of your broth, and stir. Let simmer until liquid is absorbed and then add another half cup of broth, repeating until broth is gone (or rice is done as you like it). You can heat the broth if you want - I just stuck it in the microwave for a few minutes so it wasn't cold.

Once the rice is cooked and the liquid is absorbed, add in your cornstarch/water mixture - this thickens it slightly and makes it more like an arborio rice risotto. Then check seasonings, grate in a TON of parmesean cheese, and maybe add some more butter.

And you're done!

And yes, that was the only picture I took. :( We were actually having a friend come over for dinner and I was rushing towards the end. But it turned out so well, I will definitely be making brown rice risotto again!! (plus brown rice is totally way cheaper than arborio rice)

Let me know if you try it, and if you have any more tips for risotto!