Chicken Breast Stuffed with Spinach and Pepper Jack Cheese

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts...
4 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded (you can use up to 6 oz)
1 c frozen spinach, thawed and drained (you can also use fresh cooked spinach)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp breadcrumbs (I use Italian style)
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Lots of toothpicks

Directions

Preheat oven to 180 (350 degreesf ).

Flatten the chicken to 1/4-inch thickness.

In a medium bowl, combine the pepper jack cheese, spinach, salt and pepper.

Combine the Cajun seasoning and breadcrumbs together in a small bowl.

Spoon about 1/4 c of the spinach mixture onto each chicken breast. Roll each chicken breast tightly and fasten the seams with several toothpicks. This part requires a tiny bit of skill and I typically use about 8 toothpicks in each roll to ensure none of the filling seeps out. Be sure to count how many total toothpicks were used!

Brush each chicken breast with the olive oil. Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning mixture evenly over all. Sprinkle any remaining spinach and cheese on top of chicken (optional).

Place the chicken seam-side up onto a tin foil-lined baking sheet (for easy cleanup). Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Remove the toothpicks before serving. Count to make sure you have removed every last toothpick. Serve whole or slice into medallians
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Lemon Chicken with Potatoes and Green Beans

Ingredients
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced...
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound trimmed green beans
8 small red potatoes, quartered
4 chicken breasts (bones left in, with skin, about 3 1/4 pounds)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet.
In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices. Add the potatoes to the same olive-oil mixture and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, arrange the potatoes along the inside edge of the dish or skillet on top of the green beans. Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive-oil mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the chicken, skin-side up, in the dish or skillet. Pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken.
Roast for 50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet. Place the beans and potatoes back in oven for 10 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender. Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates; divide the green beans and potatoes equally. Serve warm.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 4 large baking potatoes (Idaho or russet)
• 12 slices thick-cut applewood smoked bacon
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 cups 2 percent low-fat milk, heated
• 5 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 ounces sour cream
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the potatoes on a roasting tray and bake for 45 minutes. When done, the tip of a paring knife should go through the potatoes easily.
Slice the bacon into lardons (thin strips) and cook in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pot.
Add the flour to the drippings in the pot and stir to combine. Cook, without adding color, until the flour and fat has combined, about 1 minute. Pour in the milk while you whisk to incorporate. Cook over medium heat until bubbly and thickened, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.
Scoop out the potato pulp from the skins and add to the milk mixture. Mash with the back of a wooden spoon leaving it a little bit chunky.
Add the cooked bacon (leaving a little out for garnishing the soup), 1 cup of the cheese, and season well with salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat.
Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with sour cream (from a squeeze bottle), sprinkle with remaining bacon bits, grated cheese and chives.

One-Bowl Kentucky Butter Cake

One-Bowl Kentucky Butter Cake

Ingredients:

Servings: 10-12 ...

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar (or more, depending on how sweet you like it)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup butter, room temperature (no substitutions)
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 large eggs

BUTTER SAUCE
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter (no substitutions)
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla


Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 325 degrees.


2 Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or a 12-cup bundt pan.


3 In a large bowl combine all cake ingredients; beat on low speed until moistened, then beat for another 3 minutes at medium speed.


4 Pour the batter into prepared pan.


5 Bake for 50-60 minutes or until cake tests done.


6 For the butter sauce; in a saucepan, over low heat combine all sauce ingredients; cook just until the butter melts, stirring occasionally (do not boil).


7 When cake is done remove from oven and pierce all over cake with a large fork or a long thin straw; pour the sauce all over the warm cake.

Hawaiian Ham N Cheese Sliders

Hawaiian Ham N Cheese Sliders

Here's what you'll need....
1-2 packages of Hawaiian sweet rolls...
1 onion, minced
1 stick of butter
3 Tbs of Dijon Mustard
2-3 teaspoons of Worcestershire Sauce
3 teaspoons of poppy seeds
1 1/2 pounds of shaved deli ham- or more depends how thick you want them
8-10 slices of Swiss cheese or American
In a sauce pan melt your butter. Add onion and cook until soft.
Then add in your mustard, Worcestershire, and poppy seeds. Simmer for 5 mins
Slice your rolls right down the middle. Place them in a pan with foi.lplace 2/3 of mixture on bottom of rolls..Add your ham and then your cheese.Top with the other side of the rolls and add the rest of the mixture on top.Bake for 20 mins on 350! Cut where the lines are in the Hawaiian rolls and you know have perfectly melted sliders. Enjoy!See More

Hot Pink Candy Apples

How to Make Hot Pink Candy Apples (or any other color!!)

Ingredients...

6-8 medium apples (washed, dried & stems removed)**
3 cups of white sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp white food coloring (I recommend AmeriColor Bright White Soft Gel Paste)
1-2 tsp. of you color of choice (I used Americolor Electric Pink and Americolor Orange) - the more color you use, the brighter the apples will be!)
Candy Apple Sticks (or craft sticks or short dowels)
** I used rather large Granny Smith Apples. I love the tartness of the green apples, but I wish they had been smaller. They were hard to wrap and I wasn't able to dip as many as the recipe indicated!
Other things you'll need:
Cookie Sheet
Non-stick Spray
Heavy Duty Boiler or Sauce Pan
Candy Thermometer
Rubber Spatula

Instructions

Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a heavy boiler (sauce pan). Turn on medium to high heat and let the mixture come to a boil.

Be sure to have a candy thermometer inserted into the mixture but not touching the bottom!

Let the candy come to 302°F (hard crack stage). This will take about 20 minutes. There's no need to stir or disturb the mixture while it heats... just be patient!

While that's going on... make sure your apples are ready (washed, dried, and on the sticks!), then spray a cookie sheet with non-stick butter spray. The "butter" flavor isn't necessary, but butter makes everything better, right?

When the candy reaches 302°, immediately remove it from the heat and use a rubber spatula to stir in the vanilla (or other flavor). Then add the white gel paste and whatever color you want the apples to be... for me it was pink (and later on, orange.. but that was two different batches!). Stir it gently to get the color evenly incorporated.

You'll want to work quickly because the candy will start to cool immediately. As soon as the colors are evenly mixed in, begin dipping your apples.

I like to tilt the pot to get them really well coated, then let the excess drip off for a few seconds. After they're dipped, I set them on the buttered cookie sheet to harden. Be careful!!! This sugar is HOT and it will hurt you if you touch it!!

It will only take a couple of minutes and the candy will be hard and ready to eat! They keep well at room temperature for 2-3 days but do not refrigerate... they will get super sticky!See More

Oven Baked Tacos

Ingredients

2 lb ground beef
1 can refried beans
1 can of tomato sauce
1 packet taco seasoning
1 oz shredded cheese
12 tortillas/taco shells

Directions

Start with the taco shells, buy them in the store or make em yourself. If you make them yourself, I don’t think you will ever go back to purchasing taco shells. All you need is some tortillas and cooking spray. We used some small, soft “taco” tortillas. We used the flour kind but corn is fine too.

First you want to steam them… Wet some paper towels and wring them out well. Layer the tortillas with the wet paper towels on a plate and then microwave (we did 6 at a time). Keep an eye on them, it should be about 30 seconds until they are steamed. Then lightly spray each side with cooking spray and drape each tortilla over two bars of the oven rack. It is wise to put a baking sheet below them to catch any oil from the cooking spray. Bake at 350-375 degrees for 7-10 minutes. You will be able to tell that they are browning & getting crispy. Take them out and set them aside!

Okay, now for the filling All you need is ground been (2 pounds), 1 can of refried beans, 1 can of tomato sauce, 1 packet of taco seasoning, shredded cheese, & your favorite taco toppings.

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. COMPLETELY drain all grease and return to skillet. Over low heat, add refried beans, taco seasoning, and about half to two-thirds of the tomato sauce (you can eye this to see whats best, you don’t want the filling to be too runny or your tacos will be soggy on the bottoms). Blend well and scoop into the tacos (which should be “standing” in a lightly greased casserole type dish). Then just sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake. I think I did my at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.