Cheesy Rice Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Two posts in one day -- I'm making up for lost time. I actually took pictures of this one: go me!

I kind of feel like this recipe was a little more trouble than it was worth... but it was different, sorta unique presentation, and my husband ate chicken breast without complaints ("it's usually really dry").

So, here is the link: http://www.allthingscheese.com/cheesy-rice-stuffed-chicken-breasts/

And here are the steps and pictures, when the recipe is quartered (SERVES 2)...

1/2 Tbsp. Cream Cheese (in the interest of full disclosure, I used Neufchatel cheese: less fat, worked fine)
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup instant white rice, cooked (which we don't have in our house, so this recipe took a little while longer for me, because I had to cook up some rice. Oh well.)
1/4 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed (which we DID have in the house, for when I miss the Garden Deli and make my own stuffed potatoes)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness (recipe says these should be "small" which I don't believe ours were, but I made it work)
Ranch dressing

Here's my pounding picture:

I moved that cutting board for the pounding part. Cast iron skillet + chicken breasts + plastic wrap = Hubby concerned about the whole kitchen shaking + flat as a pancake chicken breasts.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix cheeses, rice and broccoli together.

3. Place chicken breasts on cutting board, top sides down. Spread evenly with rice mixture.

4. Starting at a small end, roll up the chicken breasts as tightly as possible. Place seam-side down in a baking dish and drizzle with dressing. (As I expected, a bit of the filling came right on out of the rolled up breasts, so I just piled it on top of the chicken for baking.)

If you follow the recipe exactly, you may have less dressing. I didn't really feel like measuring it out just for the sake of dirtying another dish, so I just drizzled it on top straight out of the bottle.

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (I let our somewhat large breasts cook for at least 40 minutes).

The one on the right popped open during cooking, but tasted just fine to me :)

Taco Night

These recipes are from January 17th, which also happens to be the date that we made supper quick, then high-tailed it to the hospital to welcome our niece (my husband's sister's baby) into the world. No pictures -- had other things on my mind -- but wanted to share the recipes anyway.

Mexican food in general has always been a contentious area of food with my IBS, but I feel a lot more comfortable making it in my own kitchen than rolling the dice at a restaurant. Not including red meat helps, as does making my own seasoning, rather than possibly encountering MSG which is often included in seasoning packets.

Tacos: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/lean_spicy_taco_meat.html
I used all ground turkey meat, opted for the chili powder over the ground chipotle chile, and bought store brand diced tomatoes with green chiles. We used store-bought shells and tortillas, and if I remember correctly, added green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese as toppings. Very basic, but pretty tasty :)

Rice: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/spanish_rice/
Since we only did a half-recipe of the meat, I used the rest of the diced tomatoes with green chiles for the tomatoes called for in this recipe. This makes quite a bit of rice, so depending on how many people you're trying to feed, consider a half-batch.

Fairly quick, pretty easy, and somewhat healthy... but if you want to see it, you'll have to make it yourself! ;-)