Feta & Spinach stuffed Chicken

The other day I was stuck at home, sick.  No husband and no kids to "help" choose a TV show. That was the only perk of the day.   I watched 10 mins of one show, 5 mins of another, 2 mins of yet another.  As wonderful as it was, I guess I am not a daytime TV lover.  I did however see the last 10 mins of Rachel Ray.  She made feta and spinach stuffed chicken.  I thought as she says - YUM-O.
It was several weeks ago that I saw the show, so this recipe was from memory.

 To start I took out chicken breasts, spinach, feta, onion and olive oil.

 I chopped my onions, seasoned with salt & pepper, sauted them in olive oil until they were perfectly soft.

 While the onions cooked, I pounded my chicken (by placing chicken in a freezer bag, it helped contain the mess)

 The spinach (which was frozen) I cooked and drained off all the water.  I added feta and my cooked onions.  Then mixed.  At this point I knew this dinner was going to be good.

 I took a chicken breast, opened it up and stuffed as much of the stuffing as I could, then I simply folded the side over.   It was messy, but since it was baked, all the goodness stayed in the pan.

 Then I melted about a tablespoon of butter and added a cup of panko bread crumbs.

 Spread the bread crumbs and cooked at 425 for 25 mins.  While the chicken cooked I made basmati rice and corn.

And the final product!   YUMMY 

I highly recommend making this for you self.   Took about 35 mins from start to finish.   


Recipe
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or more)
1 onion - diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 box frozen spinach - cooked and all excess water drained
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 tbsp butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs


1.  Preheat oven to 425
2.  Chop onion and saute in olive oil until onions are soft.  Then set asside
3.  While onions cook, heat up spinach and let cool.
4.  Take chicken and place in freezer bag.  Pound until thin.
5.  In a bowl, add cooked onions, broken feta cheese and drained spinach - mix well.
6.  Take chicken, place as much or as little spinach/cheese mixture as you want and place in baking dish.
7.  Repeat until all chicken is stuffed.
8.  Any left over spinach mix, place with chicken.
9.  Melt butter, add bread crumbs and mix, then place overtop chicken
10.  Bake for 25 mins


Recipe adapted from Rachel Ray

Beef Stroganoff a la Calvin

We usually make Beef Stroganoff after a yummy Sunday Night Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house.   Using left overs from a yummy roast beef dinner - for those of you who know my parents, you know how yummy those dinners are.
Since they are "snow birding" it, we are on our own for Sunday dinners.   For this Beef Stroganoff, we used leftovers from our Big Steak dinner.


As the title suggests - this dinner is all Calvin - creating without a recipe.

First he boiled the water to cook whole wheat egg noodles.

He sliced 2 onions.

Added the onions to pan heated with olive oil.

Don't look...  he then added butter (he says it's all about the butter)

And of course, he seasoned it with salt and freshly ground black pepper

Here is the left over steak from the other night.   He chopped it in to bite size pieces.

He floured the beef lightly then threw it in the pan of beautifully browned onions.

Next he added about a cup of beef stock.

Then dijon mustard.

And cheese.   Cheese?  Why did he add cheese?  Because he wanted to....  and why not!

Then about a cup of Greek style yogurt (because that's what we had in the fridge)

He put the egg noodles in the bowl then added the beef mixture on top.  Can you smell it???

How about now?   Can you smell it?   Can you say YUMMY?

Served with a simple green salad.  

What an amazingly yummy dinner!   I think this was the best beef stroganoff I have ever had!   We usually use sour cream, but I think we will only use greek yogurt from now on. And when I say "we" I really mean Calvin.  I have never made beef stroganoff before, and why would I when he does it so well!
The bestest (is that even a word?) part, is he cleans the kitchen after himself.   And the bestest bestest part, is he cleans the kitchen after me too!   


Stay tuned for some Blueberry Oat Flaxseed Muffins.

Big Steak...

Tonight's dinner -- BIG STEAK on the kamado, marinaded in lots of garlic and other good stuff.  We bought a big roast and decided to butcher it ourselves... after all, how hard can that be?  (We will find out soon enough...)

We took some time to trim off the fat, there was not much there.

We got 2 giant steaks (one is tonight's dinner) 2 smaller steaks, 1 roast and 1 tip that we will use for a stir fry.  Not bad for a $29.00 roast (Top sirloin roast) - cheaper per pound than chicken!

Tonight's dinner - One GIANT steak - we will need help eating this.

Need to start with a marinade - this one will be with olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, salt, pepper and lots of garlic.

Did I mention lots of garlic?

My helper adding the dijon mustard.

There was a bit of red wine left, so we added it too.

Into the fridge to marinate...

Need to shovel the deck before BBQing or do we call it Kamadoing?   I guess we can just call it grilling?!

Oops, how did that get in there?

Grill starting - needs to warm.

While the grill warmed we prepared onions and potatoes.

With olive oil, salt and pepper -- for the grill.

Mmmmm, grill is ready for the steak...

And there it is!

Salad - topped with feta, capers, red onions and tomatoes.

Cooked perfectly.

The final dinner plate.

Yes, these pictures were over kill, but the meal was amazing!!!   We worked together for this one and it was better than the pictures tell.

Pork Gyros

Dinner... it often is the big question of the day as in, what are we going to have for dinner?!   


Tonight - Pork Gyros on the Kamado Grill!

Start with pork tenderloin, olive oil, tarragon vinegar, lemon, lots a garlic, oregano, salt and pepper...

Magically the Kamado Grill starts!!!   

Ok, well maybe it doesn't magically start...   Maybe he starts it for me!   

While the grill warms up (which is no longer than a propane bbq.)  Mix the olive oil, tarragon vinegar, juice of one lemon, 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, about a tablespoon of oregano, salt and pepper.   Let the meat do its thing...

Then let the Kamado grill do its thing... there are so many good things about this grill.  #1 the flavour, you can't get that smokey flavour with a regular BBQ and #2 there are no flare ups!  Leave it and you don't even have to check it.   At least that is what I am told, I haven't ventured to cook on the grill yet.

Next, get the kids to chop the veggies....  

Mmmmm, grilled to perfection!  With onions done on the grill too....

The gyros warmed up.   Getting hungry yet?

Getting there.

 Calvin's...  Can you get anymore on it?

I'm new at this, so I don't even have a recipe to post... 
1.  Marinade your meat while the grill is warming
2.  Make your taziki and hummus (or yummus)
3. Chop your veggies
4.  Slice meat thin while warming the gyros
5.  Top as your wish
6.  Enjoy!