sugar.salt.spice

For chicken lovers, this dish is an easy way to spice up boring chicken recipes, and the oregano chips add a wonderful, cheesy crunch.

Stuffed Chicken

Start by preparing the chicken.  Put one thawed chicken breast into a plastic Ziploc bag. Pound the chicken with a rolling pin or other utensil until flat. Repeat for each chicken breast. Set aside.

For the filling, pour 2T olive into pan on medium heat.  Add garlic and saute for a minute.  Add spinach and mushrooms, then season with salt and pepper. Cook until spinach and mushrooms are soft, approximately 5 minutes.  Remove from heat. Add ricotta and Parmesan cheese.  

Lay one chicken breast out and scoop enough spinach mixture into center of chicken so that it can roll easily without spilling mixture out the sides, about 1/4 cup. Roll chicken around filling and secure chicken edges with damp toothpicks.  Tip: soak toothpicks in water to prevent burning when cooking the chicken. Repeat for each chicken breast.

Cook stuffed chicken breasts in a pan with 2T olive oil on medium heat, turning once or twice, for approximately 10 minutes or until cooked through.  Keep lid on to retain moisture while cooking.

Ingredients

• 3 – 8oz thawed chicken breasts
• 10oz package of frozen spinach
• 6 medium button mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4T olive oil
• 4oz ricotta cheese
• 2T grated Parmesan cheese

Oregano Chips

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Brush one side of each tortilla with olive oil. Cut the stack of tortillas lengthwise, making four slices (which will yield 16 pieces total). Arrange the tortilla pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the oregano, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes until crisp and golden.

Ingredients

• 4 corn tortillas
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1T grated Parmesean cheese

This twist on a classic recipe is divine. I took mom’s everyday meat and pasta dish and added a little goat cheese and fresh parsley to make a sultry beef stroganoff.

Ingredients

• 1lb cubed beef (tenderloin is best, but any cut will do)
• 15oz package No Yolk Egg Noodles
• 2 – 8oz cans cream of mushroom
• 80z lite sour cream
• 2oz goat cheese
• salt and pepper
• 1 garlic clove
• 1T olive oil
• 1/8 cup fresh chopped parsley

Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente (approximately 10 min).

Heat the skillet to medium, add olive oil and chopped garlic.  Season beef tips with salt and pepper.  Add to skillet and cook to preferred wellness (5 minutes for medium).  When beef has reached preferred wellness, add cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, goat cheese and parsley.  Add pinch of salt and pepper.  Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add pasta to beef mixture and stir until coated.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.  Serves 5.