Mini Dinner Party: Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes

When I have people over for dinner, I like to choose easy recipes that won't keep me in the kitchen the whole night. For Sunday dinner this week, we had our families over, and I decided to make a mixture of this recipe and this recipe from Bethenny Frankel's "Naturally Thin" cookbook.

In the morning, I took out the chicken breasts, poked holes in them with a fork, and marinated them in 1 container of Fage greek yogurt, Worchestershire, garlic salt, pepper, lemon juice, Tabasco, and Dijon mustart. I refrigerated it all day until around 30 minutes before our company arrived.

Next, I mixed some Sundried Tomato goat cheese (I had lots of tomato-haters so I didn't want to use the actual tomatoes), italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and sliced pockets in the thicker sides of the chicken breasts. I stuffed around a spoonful and a half into each breast, and warmed the pan with olive oil.

I couldn't pass up these fingerling potatoes at the grocery just for their packaging!

I sliced them into around 4 pieces each, sliced an entire red onion, and put them into a casserole dish with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then I covered them with foil and baked at 375 for around 45 minutes while I focused on the chicken.

I placed the chicken into the pan with the warmed olive oil, and cooked it until it was browned on both sides (around 8-10 minutes per side). Then, I placed each piece into a casserole dish, covered it with foil, and turned down the oven so that I could keep them warm with the potatoes.

Next, I deglazed the pan with some white wine (around 1 cup), and scraped all the bits and pieces off the bottom. I added some soy milk (around 1 cup), minced garlic, and salt and pepper, and let it all come to a simmer for a few minutes. It wasn't thick enough for my taste so I added some Cornstarch.

He just wanted to be in a picture...

While my sauce was simmering, I took a minute to admire my table with all my favorite patterns on it.

Everything was warmed at the same time, and served up! Delicious, AND I had time to spend with my guests!

(Salad with caramelized peaches and walnuts)

Asian Invasion: Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

I recently subscribed to "Cooking Light" and received my first issue (August 2011) in the mail a couple of weeks ago. I was really excited about this recipe for Rice Noodle Salad, since earlier in the week I'd sauteed some vegetables from the Farmer's market with sesame oil and soy sauce, so I had some extra bulk to add to the dish. (Seen below are carrots, mini eggplant, okra, mushrooms and onion.)

Since Mike would likely not eat tempeh, I decided to substitute chicken. I sliced about 1 1/2 lbs of chicken, and sauteed it in a little bit of toasted sesame oil in a separate pan. Then, I sauteed garlic and shallots in another pan, added eggs, the soy sauce mixture (vegetable broth, ketchup, lime juice, soy sauce, and Sriracha) and the cooked chicken. I also added some shelled edamame from my freezer, and sauteed it all until it came to a boil.

At the same time, I boiled some Wheat Udon noodles I found at Whole Foods, then drained them and tossed them in a little bit of sesame oil.

Next, I added the noodles and bean sprouts to the pan, and let it all simmer for a few minutes.

I skipped all the toppings the recipe suggests, except for the lime, since I had a key lime left over from our Farmer's market trip.

I topped it with some Toasted Sesame Seeds, and it was very well received. I saved the leftovers and will add my other sauteed vegetables to it for lunch later in the week.

Chicken Pot Pie (Healthy Style)

One of Mike's favorite dinners is Chicken Pot Pie. Usually this is a calorie filled dish, but with the slight changes made in Bethenny's recipe from "Skinnygirl Dish" and smart choices, it can be very nutritious and satisfying!

I started out by boiling around 1lb of boneless/skinless chicken breasts in mostly water, with some chicken broth added. Once it was sufficiently cooked, I pulled it out and had Mike shred it with two forks, and set it aside (every once in a while he needs to have a job in the kitchen...).

Next, I pulled out 2 c frozen peas, around 2 stalks of celery chopped, 1 medium chopped onion, and 2 c of frozen carrots (recipe calls for 1 c of each frozen veggie but I like to double).

I preheated the oven to 400, and combined the chicken, vegetables, celery, and onion, then added a cup of chicken broth and cooked it around 10 minutes (until the carrots were soft); then I added some garlic salt and black pepper to season it to taste.

Next, I pulled out another saucepan (even though I really like one pot meals, this one is worth it) and combined 2/3 c of wheat flour (you can use oat or quinoa flour, too) and 1/3 c of chicken broth. I whisked it together then added 1/3 c of soy milk and kept whisking til it was smooth. Then I cooked it over medium until it turned out looking like this:

(It gets sticky)

I added 2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce, and some extra garlic salt and pepper. Then I added this mixture to the chicken and vegetables and incorporated it fully.

Next, I opened up the whole wheat pie crust I got from Whole Foods (in the freezer section by the desserts), and poured the chicken/vegetable mixture into the bottom one.
Then, I placed the second pie crust on top and pressed down on the edges to seal it. If you have a super hot oven, you can cover the edges with aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. I made some vents in the top of the pie (for authenticity's sake), and baked it for 35 minutes.

Once I removed it, I let it sit for 20 minutes (or longer, if you can stand it), sliced it into pie slices, and served with a side salad. It is so full of veggies, you don't even really need a side. I usually wrap it in individual servings and freeze for leftovers, too!