Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I was trying to make something quick and easy for dinner the other night, when I stumbled onto this. Not sure if anyone else out there has this exact same recipe( I am sure someone does) But it came out very, very good. 

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
pne package of cream cheese( I prefer the low fat variety but you can use any cream cheese)Needs to be at  room temperature.
1 cup of baby spinach
2 garlic cloves
4 scallions or green onions
1/2 cup or one can of mushrooms. If using fresh saute quickly with some butter and drain and set aside. I prefer canned though, mixes in better.
bread crumbs( not seasoned)
salt, pepper and paprika
2 eggs, slightly beaten with milk
plate with about a cup of flour on it, seasoned with SPP( salt, pepper and paprika)

Preheat oven to 350 

Slice open the chicken breast, creating a pocket inside. Lightly season the inside of the breasts and set  on a greased cookie sheet.  Chop the green onions or scallions and mince the garlic. In large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, onion, garlic, some pepper and paprika( no real need for salt, the cheese is salty enough)   Mix well.  Add the mushrooms and fresh baby spinach. Mix well again.  Stuff generously into each breasts.  They'll be slightly bugling open, but thats ok.  Now this part is messy. Roll in the flour, then douse with the egg mixture, return to the cookie sheet, then sprinkle with bread crumbs.  Repeat with each breast.  Heres a picture of what it'll look like. Its a messy prep, but worth it.

Bake for 45 minutes.  Or until juices run clear, when breasts is poked.

Very Simple, yet delicious Brisket.

Ive made brisket for many years by boiling it with cabbage. I stumbled upon making it in a cast Iron quite by accident.  We had just moved and the only pan that had been unpacked was a cast iron fry pan. I had a brisket ready to cook.  At this point in my life, id only used a cast iron a few times, mostly for frying potatoes, so I wasn't very confident.  But the results was the best brisket I have ever had.

A cast iron fry pan
aluminum foil

6 cloves of garlic

one very large onion, even two is good, thinly sliced

Mrs Dash
2-3 pound brisket. 

Make sure your pan has been well seasoned.  To season a cast iron: Preheat oven to 450.  Clean with soap and water, dry thoroughly and the oil the inside pan down. Every part of the surface.  Use vegetable oil.  Wipe out the remaining oil.  Place in preheated oven for about 30 minutes. Some people say put it in upside down, but I never have and mine are fine.  It may smoke a little and smell weird, but thats normal.  Turn oven off, let the pan stay in the oven until room temp.   Remove and let cool completely before using.  If you cant fry an egg in it, repeat the process.  I know it seems like a lot of work, but once you get used to a cast iron, you'll swear by them.  They are my most used item in my kitchen. I  bake, fry, sear, and roast in them.

Ok Back to the Brisket. :)  Preheat oven to 325.

Take it out of the packaging and toss the season package. That stuff is gross :P
The brisket is slimy, so I rinse it off in cold water, then pat it dry. Put the onion and the garlic in the cast iron, place brisket on top and season.  Can use a variety, but I find Mrs Dash original works the best.

Seal the pan well with aluminum foil, so it has no leaks, use a lot if you need.

Place in the preheated oven.

After about an hour and half pull your brisket out and remove the foil, drain any liquids.  Work carefully and slowly, because its going to be hot.  Turn oven up to 375. Replace back into the oven for another hour and half, checking for liquid frequently. Anytime you see liquids, drain it. The less liquid at this point the more crispy the fat gets, making for a very nice brisket.  Continue this until the brisket looks very dark and you can stick a fork in and twist it...........the meat should fall apart. Ive even burned one once and it was still delicious. The fat was crispy like bacon. Remove and let sit for 20 minutes before cutting into it.  ( if you can wait, we almost never make it) Its good served with a creamy horseradish.

This is the way I make it, I am sure there are other more methods, but this comes out so good.

Bacon and brown sugar little smokies

 Saw these on a Paula Deen cooking show, I tried them and they were a real hit here. My only difference from her recipe, is broiling them at the end, to crisp up.  She also takes bacon and coats in brown sugar and bakes it until crisp. I will have to try that one soon!


1 pound thin sliced bacon, cut into half
1 package of little smokies.
brown sugar on a plate

Put a piece of bacon on the brown sugar, Pressing into the sugar to coat the bacon.   Wrap around a little smokie, set on a cookie sheet. Repeat until all the bacon and smokies are gone.  Sprinkle more brown sugar on top. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then under the broiler for 2-3 to crisp up. These are wonderful.

My Own Seafood Alfredo.

I'm not a big fan of Alfredo sauce, so I make a different variation of it.   Its a cheater recipe, but its good. Serve over the pasta of your choice, with a warm crusty bread and a green salad. Again, remember I am not a professional, so most my amounts are guess work from experience. 

2 cans of Alfredo sauce
one package of cream cheese
1/2 cup of half and half( can use milk)
1/2 stick of  real butter
2-4 T of real butter
1 King Salmon Steak
1 pound of shrimp, shelled
1 pound of scallops
either two cans of mushrooms ( drained), or about a cup of sliced mushrooms
2 cups chopped baby spinach( can use frozen spinach.....let thaw and then using a clean kitchen towel squeeze all the liquid out of it. Dont use canned spinach)
8 green onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves minced
fresh parsley chopped
cracked pepper
Olive oil
salt
Pasta


Put very large pot with 8-10 cups of salted and oiled water on high and bring to a boil.   Heat the Olive oil in a cast iron pan.  Fry the King salmon until most the way done, about 4 minutes each side.

Once its done set aside on a plate to cool, don't let it cool in the pan, it'll over cook and become tough.  Meanwhile take out a deep sauce pot( like a frying pan, but larger and deep)  Pour the two cans of Sauce into it, add the cream cheese, half a stick of butter. Take the two empty jars of sauce and pour half  of the half and half into each jar. put the lid on it and shake it well. Pour into the white sauce.  Use a whisk and mix it well, keeping heat on low. About here your water should of come to a boil. Add your pasta, and cook al dente. about 7 minutes depending on what type of pasta u chose. Should be about enough time to get the rest of this delicious meal done.  Take a regular Teflon coated frying pan and heat with the 2-3 T of butter, add the green onion, garlic and mushrooms, tossing around in the butter, until the mushrooms start to get soft, add the spinach, cooking until the spinach just starts to wilt.  Add to the cream sauce.  Mix in well. Keep the sauce on low, and stir often.  Return the Teflon pan to the fire and melt  more butter add the scallops. Now scallops tend to be watery, so fry the scallops for 3 or 4 minutes, then Drain them and return to the HOT frying pan. Add a little more butter, melt,  then add the shrimp to the scallops, fry until the shrimp is pink. May have to drain again.  We don't want "fishy" juice in the white sauce. Add the parsley and toss. Dont rinse them though.  Add to the white sauce. Keeping the sauce still on very low heat and stirring often.  Now the Salmon.  Remove skin and all bones and tear into bite sized pieces.  Add to the sauce. Now we bring the sauce heat up to medium, and let the sauce simmer, stirring it a lot. It is a cream based sauce, it will scorch easily, so stir it every chance you get. Let simmer for  about 3-4  minutes, stirring constantly.   Pour into a serving bowl and and sprinkle with cracked pepper and paprika.  Seems complicated, but it really isn't, and its well worth the work, because the taste is amazing!

Chicken Breasts in Creamy Mushroom Sauce

 I am not sure if this is an already established recipe, but I just made it up tonight. I may have seen other variations of this and they may of stuck in my head. :) Recipes tend to do that.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can Chicken brother

half an onion

2 small cans of mushrooms

about 1/2 cup of cream cheese

1/2 cup of mozzarella finely shredded ( or any mild white cheese, finely grated) 

2 garlic cloves

olive oil

1 Tablespoon Finely chopped Parsley or dried Parsley

 1/2 tsp Pepper

1 tsp Paprika

 Using a large Cast Iron Fry pan, heat oil and fry breasts until slightly browned on each side, Remove keep warm.  Add onion and garlic......saute until onion is opaque.  Add Cream cheese and half the can of broth. Use a whisk and incorporate it together.  Add more broth as needed.  Add the finely grated cheese and more broth as needed. ( at this point I used the rest of the can)  Add the mushrooms.  Add the pepper and paprika.  return the chicken to the sauce, put in oven and bake for about 45 minutes. Or until juices in the chicken run clear, when poked.  Serve over rice.

Purple Pickled Eggs

Purple Pickled Eggs

So easy! I grew up eating these delicious purple treats. I save pickle juice after all the pickles are gone.  I buy the economy sized ones.

One Large jar of Pickle juice, minus the pickles

One can of PICKLED Beets. 

As many hard boiled eggs as u can fit in the jar. Estimate 18.  To make hard boiled eggs: Put eggs in a very large boiling pot.......one egg deep/ Add water to cover eggs about 3 inches. Bring to a boil. Boil 20 minutes. Turn off, let set in hot water for 20 minutes. Then drain and add very very cold water. let set 20 minutes. Peel.  This is called the 20-20-20 Hard boiled egg method. There are many other ways. You just have to find which way works best for u.

 If anyone in the family loves pickled eggs, DO NOT TELL THEM U R MAKING THEM. In our house they wont last for more than a week if they know.  

Add the beets to the jar of pickle juice.   Add the peeled eggs. HIDE in the very back of the fridge for one month. :) Enjoy