Tried it and loved it: Olga's Flavor Factory Stuffed Chicken Marsala

I absolutely love trying new things with my family and friends. I am one of those people who grew up in a household where as soon as my dad got home from work, the table was set, food was ready and hot. We all sat down and ate dinner together as a family every single day. I remember those times with a smile. When I was a teenager and in high school, I would complain about sitting about the table to eat because heck, I was missing my favorite show...but oh how hindsight is 20/20. I now realize just want having dinner with my family did for me. It made me connect food with family and love.

When I cook, I cook to show my love. Sometimes it may take a little extra effort, but I want my family to know they are worth it. They are worth my learning how to do something, they are worth the work that comes with trying something new. Our meals are never routine and no one ever knows what to expect around here. Shoot, if I see something on pinterest, by dang it, I will try it.

I ran across this recipe for stuffed Chicken Marsala on pinterest and the southerner in me had to try it. Heck, how can you go wrong with mashed potatoes and chicken? Seriously....and gravy. Stuff it with cheese? Why yes, please.

I found a recipe for a wonderfully looking dish over at Olga's Flavor Factory and decided to give it ago. Seriously...it turned out amazing.

I followed her recipe but used breadcrumbs instead of bread slices and I omitted the flour on the chicken, I seasoned it after stuffing and placed it on my griddle.

Here is the recipe....once again, not my recipe, but the photos here on my blog are my results from following this recipe.


Author: Olga from Olga’s Flavor Factory

Recipe type: EntreeServes: 2-4

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
• salt, pepper
• ¼ cup flour
• 1½ – 2 Tablespoons oil

Cheese Stuffing:

• 1 slice bread (about ½ cup) made into breadcrumbs
• ¾ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• ¼ cup provolone cheese, shredded
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• ¼ teaspoon salt, pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 Tablespoon sun dried tomatoes, minced
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
• 2 Tablespoons sour cream

Marsala Sauce:

• 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• salt, pepper
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup sweet Marsala wine
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• fresh parsley, minced, for garnishing

Instructions

1. Using a paring knife, make an incision in the horizontal side of each chicken breast. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Pulse the slice of bread in a food processor to make crumbs. (You will have approximately ½-3/4 cup of breadcrumbs).
3. Combine all the ingredients for the stuffing in a bowl. Mix to combine.
4. Stuff half of the stuffing into each chicken breast.
5. Dredge each stuffed chicken breast in flour.
6. Heat 1½ Tablespoons of oil in a skillet on medium high heat until shimmering. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook until golden on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.
7. Place the chicken in a baking dish and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
8. Meanwhile, in the same skillet, add about ½ -1 Tablespoon of oil or butter and heat on medium high heat until shimmering. Add the mushrooms and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until the mushrooms are golden and the onions are tender.
9. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
10. Add the flour and mix until thoroughly mixed in.
11. Add the wine and chicken broth, whisking vigorously, to prevent lumps.
12. Bring to a boil and cook for 5-7 minutes, until sauce has thickened and reduced.
13. Add the heavy cream.
14. Season with salt and pepper. Add the lemon juice.
15. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Garnish with parsley.

My kids loved this. I served with fresh french green beans that I cooked in butter and salt and pepper and a side of fresh homemade mashed red potatoes that I cooked with 1 chicken Maggi cube for flavor. For the potatoes, I peeled and chopped them into halves, boiled with the maggi until tender....I then drained the broth, and mashed them, adding broth back as needed. Maggi cubes are full of flavor so I did not add additional salt or butter.

Pizza Casserole.....

My kids really love pasta dishes. I was going to make Chicken Marsala tonight for dinner but they insisted on spaghetti. I had a ton of pepperoni in the refridgerator so, Pizza Casserole it was. Super easy to make and the kids loved it!

Am I the only one who puts hot sauce in her spaghetti?  I don't put it in the main batch, but on my plate, I douse the bad boy with hot goodness. I like spicy spaghetti. How good would it be with some chipotles in it?!

To make this dinner (and perfect dish for a potluck), you will need:
Spaghetti Noodles (or your favorite pasta noodle)
Spaghetti or pizza sauce (two  jars)
Olives
Pepperoni (chopped and sliced)
1 pound of ground beef
italian seasoning
salt/pepper
4 tbsp of minced garlic
fresh parsley
2 cups shredded cheese of your choice
2 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Brown your ground beef and season with salt, pepper, italian seasoning and minced garlic.  Drain grease.

Cook your noodles until tender. I always use the refrigerator test. I throw a noodle at the fridge and if it sticks, they are done. Drain and pour 2 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on them, stir to prevent them from sticking together.

In large mixing bowl, add your noodles, then ground beef and chopped pepperoni, sauce chopped parsley and 2 tbsp of minced garlic, add about 1 tsp of salt and mix well. If it appears too dry, add more sauce.

Fill your casserole dish  with the spaghetti mixture and top with cheese, pepperoni slices and olives. You can also make it a supreme pizza casserole by adding chopped onions, sliced bell peppers, mushrooms, ham, bacon...seriously, the possibilities are endless!

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes and serve hot. It is so good!

Happy Mother's Day!

My mother was not here today to celebrate mother's day with us, her step-father passed away so she went out of town to be with family. 

The day was amazing with just my children, my sister and a friend that I invited over. I decided to keep the menu simple, light and fresh. Amazing day was had especially when I opened the gift of a brand new waffle maker my mom had left for me. Is it weird that appliances excite me? 

Margarita Chicken....

I love eating out at restaurants but having four children, it can get pretty pricey. I am always looking at recipes to try or if I get a taste for something I just make it myself. Still not the same as eating out, because hey, the best part about eating out is not having to cook, right? Thank goodness I get enjoyment out of cooking.

The other day, I had a taste for margarita chicken, now, I have never actually tried this dish at the restaurant but I have seen the photos and it looked delicious enough. I had to try it out. I am so glad I did.

You will need:

Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 Bottle Non-Alcoholic Margarita Mix

4 limes and limes for garnish

2 cloves of garlic

3 teaspoons Italian Seasoning

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp pepper

In bowl, pour margarita mix, add seasoning (except salt and pepper) and squeeze juice of 1 lime. Rinse chicken well and add to mixture. Cut 2 limes into wedges and place into mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 2-5 hours. I also reserve some of the mixture before I add the chicken for adding to the skillet when cooking the chicken breasts.

On meduim heat, place your chicken in a nonstick skillet. If you have a griddle or grill, that is even better. I used a George Foreman grill and it was perfect. Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Occasionally dash some of the reserved marinade on the chicken while cooking. Cook for about 5-10 minutes each side. You can poke with a fork and if juices are clear, it is done. If cloudy, let it cook more. 

Remove from heat.

I served mine over a simple rice flavored with a little tomato sauce and creole seasoning and over a bed of Bush's Grilling Beans, the black bean medley (my kids love those beans).

I made my own colored crispy tortillas by slicing flour tortillas into strips and dipping in food coloring and water...I let them dry on a paper towel and then fried them in vegetable oil until crispy, once removed from grease I sprinkled with salt.

You can find my pico de gallo recipe here....I added a few chopped bits of red bell pepper to this one.

This was delicious and hit the spot perfectly! 

Bangers & Mash....

I must say, I have some AMAZING pals overseas. Born and raised in the UK, they have a wicked sense of humor and I absolutely LOVE them. 

This recipe coming up.

Mini Shepherd's Pie....

So my cousin, Catina Williams called me the other day and told me she had something she wanted me to try. She came over with a plate of these, they were cold from being in the refrigerator but they were so cute, I wanted to try one then. I ended up eating all ten of them, cold and all and asked her if she would please, please, please make some more for me to photograph. And she did!

We are huge shepherd's pie lovers here and these bite size pies are perfect for any party or brunch. You would be the hit of any potluck with these!

The phyllo crust adds the perfect crunch to them and is a great contrast to the other textures of the meat and mashed potatoes. She added bacon on top of hers but you can easily just top with a small mound of shredded cheese.

You will need:

phyllo mini tart cups

ground beef (1 pound is more than enough)

salt/pepper to taste

mashed potatoes

      (to fill about 30 mini pies, peel and cut 2 large potatoes into quarters. Place in pot of boiling water...add chicken bouillon cube and let cook until potatoes are tender.  Pour out  the broth into a measuring cup or bowl, you will need it.  Begin mashing the potatoes, slowly adding in the stock for moisture and creaminess, add in a tablespoon of sour cream...mash well)

red/yellow and orange bell pepper (about 1/4th of each--diced)

bacon (optional)

cheese (optional)

Brown ground beef adding salt and pepper to taste.  Drain grease.  Fill the phyllo cups with a spoonful of beef, top with diced peppers and dollop of potatoes.  Place in oven until warm for about 15 -20 minutes. Remove and top with bacon or cheese.

These are so delicious. I have no idea where they have been all my life. Thank you to my cousin for sharing these with me, I will definitely be making them soon!

Brisket Eggs Benedict...

I have never had eggs benedict.  It is one of those dishes that I am familiar with seeing over and over again online but something about the poached egg turned me off. It was not until about a year ago that I actually started to appreciate and enjoy eggs sunny side up.

Eggs Benedict is one of those dishes that I always felt was the epitome of  having brunch at a fancy restaurant.  Maybe that is why I have never attempted to make it but I thought, today, why not and why not use a nice smoked bbq brisket instead of the traditional ham. 

To make this process easy, I used Sadler's BBQ Brisket...I found it at WalMart. It is already cooked and sliced. It is a bit pricey, but so worth it because the taste is amazingly good!

It looks like this:

Of course, if you are like my mom, you can bbq or smoke your own brisket. My mom makes a killer brisket for holidays. 

I started by just warming my slices of brisket in a pan.

I also tasted my english muffins in the drippings left by the brisket (which is not a lot). 

Now...poaching an egg....this is the part that actually intimidated me. I had never poached eggs before and really thought is was going to be some difficult process, but you know what...it was so easy!

You will need to use fresh eggs.  If your egg is not fresh, once you drop it in the water, it will look like you are making egg drop soup.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once it begins boiling, lower the heat to medium/medium low.  Add one cap of vinegar (this keeps egg whites together) and a tsp of salt. stir and once the water has lowered from boiling, drop in your egg. If a few strands break away, don't worry, you can scoop them out. Once the whites turn well, white, you can use a stirring spoon to turn the egg. You want to cook the egg for 7 minutes.  Remove from water. 

For the hollandaise sauce, I used this recipe found over at She Knows... I followed the steps precisely and was very happy with the results. If you want to make this even easier, you can purchase Knorr Hollandaise Mix at your grocery store. I have not tried it but I know Knorr makes awesome sauces and seasoning mixes.

Once your sauce is done, assemble your brisket eggs benedict. These were absolutely delicious and I will be making these again very soon and they will be at my next brunch with friends and family.