I've been having a pretty great kitchen run lately. Here's the second hit of last week.
I had defrosted a few chicken tenders over the weekend and they kind of sat around in the fridge and I had no ideas of what to do with them. Then I ran into an appealing-looking container of feta cheese, grabbed some spinach, and spinach+feta stuffed chicken breasts were born.
First thing was first. The tenders were pretty small so I butterflied them (i.e. cut a pocket into the middle of each tender) and flattened them out. How? Well I covered them in plastic wrap and beat them to death with a heavy pan. That was satisfying! And loud! Good thing our neighbors have a noisy yappy dog and can't very well complain. This is especially wonderful when I set off the smoke alarm (not infrequently!) because our stove doesn't have a ventilator system.
I had defrosted a few chicken tenders over the weekend and they kind of sat around in the fridge and I had no ideas of what to do with them. Then I ran into an appealing-looking container of feta cheese, grabbed some spinach, and spinach+feta stuffed chicken breasts were born.
First thing was first. The tenders were pretty small so I butterflied them (i.e. cut a pocket into the middle of each tender) and flattened them out. How? Well I covered them in plastic wrap and beat them to death with a heavy pan. That was satisfying! And loud! Good thing our neighbors have a noisy yappy dog and can't very well complain. This is especially wonderful when I set off the smoke alarm (not infrequently!) because our stove doesn't have a ventilator system.
Then I mixed up the stuffing: 2 servings fat free feta cheese (2 oz), a big handful of spinach and 1 tbsp truffle-flavored oil. I also added a splash of lemon juice and a sprinkle of S+P.
Mixing it all together is really important, keep going until the feta turns green from the spinach. I think adding pine nuts would be a great addition too.
I suspect that a mixture of mozarella and basil will be equally delicious. Especially with some tomato.
Mixing it all together is really important, keep going until the feta turns green from the spinach. I think adding pine nuts would be a great addition too.
I suspect that a mixture of mozarella and basil will be equally delicious. Especially with some tomato.
I spooned out one giant soup-spoon full of the stuffing into each chicken tender (I had a total of 7 tenders, but again, super small)
If your chicken tenders don't roll so well or you have little faith that they will stay together, you can put a toothpick through horizontally to keep it together while it cooks.
Finally, I threw the tenders into a Pammed non-stick pan and kept them on the same side each for about 3 minutes. I used tongs to flip them so the stuffing didn't fall out. It did fall out a little, but it turned out ok.
Up top are two flipped tenders, on the bottom is a tender that has only cooked on one side.
Up top are two flipped tenders, on the bottom is a tender that has only cooked on one side.
These three were Boyfriend's dinner. I had just gotten yet another dental procedure so this was going to be too chewy for me that night.
Boyfriend ate these three (minus 2 painful bites for me) with full enjoyment. He also went on to eat all the rest of the 4 tenders and so I actually never wound up tasting one. But based on the situation (and my bites), I will have to assume they were delicious.
Boyfriend ate these three (minus 2 painful bites for me) with full enjoyment. He also went on to eat all the rest of the 4 tenders and so I actually never wound up tasting one. But based on the situation (and my bites), I will have to assume they were delicious.
My dinner that night was a bowl of yogurt with jam =( =(
I ate heartily before the dental appointment though.
Tonight I have finished my latest rotation where I got to spend more time with patients, though of course they were uniformly pretty sick. Still, the next month will have me heading over to the Bronx, which is actually where I started this blog back in April.
Tonight holds ahead a hang-out with my coworkers where I will hopefully keep my drinking to a minimum. Sadly, the holiday and wedding season have left their impression on my waistline and the scale doesn't lie, so I know I'm not crazy. I really have to take it easy!
Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season!
Julie
I ate heartily before the dental appointment though.
Tonight I have finished my latest rotation where I got to spend more time with patients, though of course they were uniformly pretty sick. Still, the next month will have me heading over to the Bronx, which is actually where I started this blog back in April.
Tonight holds ahead a hang-out with my coworkers where I will hopefully keep my drinking to a minimum. Sadly, the holiday and wedding season have left their impression on my waistline and the scale doesn't lie, so I know I'm not crazy. I really have to take it easy!
Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season!
Julie
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