Stuffed Chicken Thighs

My dear friend Theresa made this for me last night.  It was like a Thanksgiving meal.  Besides the stovetop stuffing, she served it with mashed potatoes, green beans and jellied cranberry sauce.

OMG, I want more now.  ~~Shelly

An easy comfort food dinner of chicken rolled up with stuffing in the center and swimming in gravy.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb chicken thighs about 6 thighs, boneless & skinless
• 1 18 oz jar chicken gravy
• 1/3 C milk
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 - 6 oz box instant stuffing mix + ingredients called for on package

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Prepare stuffing as directed on package.
3. Place each thigh, laying open and place a scoop of prepared stuffing in the center. Roll chicken as best as you can and place in a 9x13 baking dish, seam side down. Spoon remaining stuffing around the chicken in the baking dish.
4. Season chicken with seasoned salt and pepper.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together gravy and milk. Pour over chicken.
6. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes.
7. After 25 minutes, remove cover and continue to cook an additional 10-15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked thru. Always check chicken temp with a quick read thermometer.

Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

I used only 4 chicken thighs and kept the amount of the sauce ingredients the same. 

So, if I were to make 8 chicken thighs, I would double the sauce.  ~Shelly

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs (about 4 pounds), skin on

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons snipped fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons snipped fresh Thyme                

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces fresh button or Cremini mushrooms, halved and/or quartered

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour               

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth

2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard

1 tablespoon snipped flat-leaf Italian parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Season chicken on both sides with salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon of the rosemary, and 1 tablespoon of the thyme. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a 12-inch cast iron skillet or very large oven-going skillet. Add chicken, skin side down, to the hot oil and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until browned on one side.

Transfer chicken pieces to a foil-lined baking pan and bake the chicken in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until done (at least 170 degrees F).

In the mean time, while the chicken is baking, make the mushroom sauce in the same skillet used to brown the chicken in.

Add mushrooms to skillet and turn heat to medium-high; cook, stirring occasionally for 4 minutes. Add flour to skillet, stirring to coat. Stir in chicken broth, wine, and mustard. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Remove skillet from heat and add remaining rosemary, thyme, and parsley. Serve mushrooms sauce over chicken.

           From Better Homes and Gardens    

Parmesan Baked Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 4 boneless pork chops, 1/2" thick
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 c parmesan cheese
• 1/2 c Italian bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions

1. On a plate combine the last 4 ingredients.
2. Rub the pork chops with olive oil and then dip (coat) each one in the cheese mixture. Press the mixture over the pork chops to make sure they are well covered in it.
3. Line a pan with tin foil and spray with cooking spray.  
4. Place the pork chops on the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

This come from Just a Pinch Recipes 

Filet Mignon with Rum-Red Chili Sauce or Cabernet Sauce

Do you enjoy a rich or spicy sauce served over your meats?

Here are a coupe of sauce ideas for your next meal.

You will find everything you need at Harter House

and Harter House World Flavors

Rum-Red Chili Sauce:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 shallots, minced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 cup dark rum (recommended: Meyers's)

5 cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons chili paste or puree

2 tablespoons molasses

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter and olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until soft. Add the rum and reduce to 1/4 cup. Add the stock, bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Whisk in the remaining ingredients and simmer until reduced to 2 cups.

***************************************

Cabernet Sauce:

1 cup onion, chopped into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup carrot, chopped into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup celery, chopped into 1-inch pieces

1/4 cup olive oil

6 cloves garlic, crushed

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 cup good-quality Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 cups red wine (preferably Cabernet)

1 1/2 quarts veal stock or chicken stock

Salt and black pepper to taste

In a heavy-bottomed pot, cook the onions, carrots, and celery in olive oil over medium heat until well browned. Add the garlic, bay leaves, and tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring. Add the vinegars and wine, bring to a boil, and simmer until reduced by two-thirds. Add the veal or chicken stock, bring to a boil, and simmer, skimming occasionally, until reduced by two-thirds. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer. Cool and refrigerate if not using immediately.

Return the sauce to the heat and simmer until it lightly coats the back of a spoon. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Fresh Corn and Avocado Salsa

INGREDIENTS

4 ears Sweet Corn

2 whole Very Firm Avocados, Diced

1/2 Red Onion, Diced

1/2 Jalapeno, Seeded And Finely Diced

1/2 Hot Chili Pepper, Seeded And Finely Diced

1 whole Juice Of Lime

Plenty Of Chopped Cilantro

Salt To Taste

1 Tablespoon Vinegar

1 teaspoon Sugar (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Slice kernels off the corn, and combine it with all remaining ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate before serving.

  

 

The spicier the pepper, the more finely you want to dice it.  

If you don't want to use a hot Chili pepper, a finely diced red bell pepper would work great and give the salsa color.  I really like the red in this.

It’s best to cover and refrigerate this for a couple of hours before serving. That’ll give the flavors a chance to get to know each other better.

Serve with white (or even better, blue) tortilla chips. Or serve it as a relish for grilled chicken…or pile it on top of a cheese omelet or quesadilla!

This is another recipe I discovered on The Pioneer Woman blog.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/fresh-corn-avocado-salsa/

Italian Butter Shrimp

This recipe comes from mamasbestrecipes.com

I made this recipe recently and everyone really enjoyed it.   I will definitely make it again. 

~Shelly

Cook Time:  15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 stick butter

1 Lemon

1 Packet Italian seasoning

Shrimp

INSTRUCTIONS

Melt a stick of butter in a pan.

Slice one lemon and layer it on top of the butter.

Add fresh shrimp, then sprinkle on pack of dried Italian seasoning.

Put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad

This Thai-flavored salad recipe is made with carrots, cabbage, snow peas, and quinoa, tossed in delicious peanut sauce. This healthy salad is vegan, gluten free, and packs well for lunch. Recipe yields 4 salads.

Ingredients

Salad

• ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 ½ cups water
• 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1 cup thinly sliced snow peas or sugar snap peas
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• ¼ cup thinly sliced green onion
• ¼ cup chopped roasted and salted peanuts, for garnish

Peanut sauce

• ¼ cup smooth peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (I love ginger so I used 2 teaspoons)
• ½ lime, juiced (about 1 ½ tablespoons)
• Pinch of red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Cook the quinoa: First, rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander under running water. In a medium-sized pot, combine the rinsed quinoa and 1 ½ cups water. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer the quinoa until it has absorbed all of the water. Remove the quinoa from heat, cover the pot and let it rest for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set it aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, make the peanut sauce: Whisk together the peanut butter and tamari until smooth (if this is difficult, microwave the mixture for up to 30 seconds to loosen it up). Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. If the mixture seems too thick to toss into the salad, whisk in a bit of water to loosen it up (I didn’t need to do this).
3. In a large serving bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, shredded cabbage, carrot, snow peas, cilantro and green onion. Toss to combine, then pour in the peanut sauce. Toss again until everything it lightly coated in sauce. Taste, and if it doesn’t taste quite amazing yet, add a pinch of salt and toss again. Divide into individual bowls and garnish with peanuts.
4. This salad keeps well, covered and refrigerated, for about 4 days. If you don’t want your chopped peanuts to get soggy, store them separately from the rest and garnish just before serving.

Notes

Recipe minimally adapted from Frugal Vegan by Katie Koteen and Kate Kasbee.