Stuffed Chicken Parmesan

As I readied myself for my second blog-post worthy meal I was starting to think to myself...."this is actually a lot of fun". I know, I couldn't believe I was thinking it either. Not too long ago boxed mac n' cheese was about as far as I was willing to foray into the world of Chef-dom. But now I can say I am a changed man. I love cooking, I love grocery shopping, and like always - I love food. (As a side note - while I do love food just as much as always, I am currently partaking in one of my many "life changes" where I try to make better choices and exercise more regularly. Let's see how long this lasts). 


For this entry I prepared Stuffed Chicken Parmesan for the weekly family dinner. I first saw Rachel Ray do a stuffed chicken with ingredients I didn't like, but fell in love with the idea. I started thinking about some of my favorite chicken dishes to see how I could modify her dish and came up with what turned out to be a real treat for the family.

Overview
Chicken is one of my favorite proteins to make, but I often worry about making sure it is cooked completely. This recipe has you brown the skin on the skillet first, and then bake the chicken to ensure that the meat is cooked thoroughly. The stuffing inside mixed with the toppings really make the chicken extremely moist and delicious. I was actually really surprised with how well this turned out!


Recipe:
4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
16 slices mozzarella cheese
2 cups of your favorite pasta or marinara sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs (beaten)
1/4 cup olive oil
toothpicks


Directions:
First, take a knife and cut a slit on the side of the chicken breast so you can spread it open butterfly style on your cutting board and pound it thin. Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Mix half the Parmesan cheese with the bread crumbs.



Coat chicken breasts in flour, dip in egg, coat in bread crumb/Parmesan cheese mixture. Lay breaded chicken breasts out flat and put equal amounts of halved tomatoes on each breast. Cover tomatoes with 2 slices of Mozzarella cheese on each breast.


Roll up chicken as you would when making Chicken Cordon Bleu and hold together with toothpicks, if needed.


Put some of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a greased baking dish. In a skillet, sauté the chicken breast in oil until golden brown, then transfer to the baking dish.


Cover evenly with remaining marinara sauce and top with 2 slices of mozzarella cheese per breast.


Bake in a 400°F degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly and to an internal temperature of 165°F degrees.

First Entry - Mini Deep Dish Pizzas

So here goes my first post. Secrets of a First Time Chef. That's me - the first time chef. I use the term chef loosely as I in no way deserve an apron and one of those cool hats.

Since moving to Minneapolis on my own after graduation, I've wanted to learn more about cooking and see what I might be able to make. My mom and I have gotten into the tradition of her coming over for Sunday dinner and that's where most of my experimentation takes place (under her wise scrutiny of course :)). With that, I've been pretty successful....so far. I've made the basics - chicken, burgers, pasta, steak. For my first post I made - Mini Deep Dish Pizzas.

Overview:
These pizzas are delicious and super easy. I'm sure you could do everything from scratch - but remember, this is my first time. For this meal I learned the importance of cutting knives. I recently bought some - nothing special, just $15 at Ikea...but it made a difference. It's also a good to have an idea of what kind of oven you have because 350 degrees isn't the same for them all. I learned this the hard way a few Sundays before this post. Keep an eye on what you're baking - you won't regret it.

Recipe:
1 box Puff Pastry Shells
1 Bottle Pizza Sauce
Pepperoni
1 Green Pepper
1 Onion
1 Tomato
Shredded Italian Cheese Blend

Directions:
Take the puff pastry shells and place them on a un-greased pan at 350 degrees (remember to check) for 18 minutes. While baking, chop desired vegetables and meats finely and add to pizza sauce. Warm this mixture on the stove. Take the shells out of the oven and remove the "hats" by taking a small knife and scooping off the top. Fill with the sauce mixture. Once filled, top with shredded cheese blend (and hats if you'd like - I did) and return to the oven for about five minutes (until the cheese is melted and shells are golden brown). I served these with garlic toast and a side salad and it was plenty (we each had 3 shells).