Stuffed Chicken Recipe (And a cautionary Tale!)

Sorry I haven’t posted for a bit. I did the stupid move of rushing a meal and undercooked a hamburger a few weeks ago. I got Food Poisoning. Let me tell you, Food Poisoning is nothing to fool around with. I got lucky, I was only sick as a dog. I did not end up in the hospital, but it was a close call. Always, I repeat always, make sure you cook hamburgers completely. Raw centers are not a good thing. It’s not like steak, which hasn’t been broken down and processed. Ground beef has been run through a grinder and this breaks down the meat and allows bacteria to grow. It could have been much worse. I could have had botulism and had serious organ failure. I did get so dehydrated that my kidneys didn’t work right for 3 days. But, thanks to my brother knowing what to do, “Thank you Dr Jim” and a whole lot of Gatorade, I got through it. Uno was hysterical the last 2 days of my recovery, it seems my stomach was making so much noise it annoyed him. He wouldn’t sleep in the bedroom; he slept out in the hall or the living room to get away from the noise. The Poor baby.

During my recovery time, I of course wasn’t making any money, so that is when my cable bill came due and couldn’t pay, so I lost Cable and Internet last week. I have to log on from some local places that have free wifi. The best is Martin’s Grocery. But I have even logged on thanks to Starbucks and McDonald’s. I hope to fix the situation soon, but pardon my spotty posts for a while. Other bills are more important to me.

In the mean time, I am going to start selling “Pampered Chef” as a Consultant. I am hoping to make a real go of this and get myself on a more solid financial footing. I should have a Consultants page with them soon. I will use my aroseross@outlook.com email when I sign up with them. So you can go to that page to order items once it is set up.

Pampered Chef has some of the best cooking products, bake ware, preparation tools and more. It’s a company I can firmly stand behind since I can use and Love their products. I hope to be having tasting parties and getting many of you as hooked on their awesome kitchen tools as I am.

Yesterday I cooked a nice dinner for a friend of mine and her Mom. It was the first big meal I have prepared in ages. I stuffed chicken breasts with Prosciutto and Manchego Cheese. I coated them outside with a delicious crumb mixture of bread, Ritz Crackers and just enough butter to hold it together. I will post the recipe below. Along with this version of “Chicken Cordon Blu” I made asparagus and Mashed Golden Potatoes. Everything was delicious. My only problem, the deli person who cut the Prosciutto for me, did so wearing gloves that he had handled Turkey with. I am very allergic. And it seems I have gotten more so. I felt like a second round of food poisoning. Thankfully, it didn’t last half as long and I felt tired but okay today. Believe me, I will be having a word with the manager at that grocery about their deli workers changing gloves and cleaning the slicers more thoroughly. I do not want an instant replay ever again.

So here is the recipe for the everyman’s simple “Chicken Cordon Blu” or Stuffed Chicken Breasts.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

3 large boneless chicken breasts

24 Ritz Crackers

2-4 slices of sourdough or hearty white bread (depending on size of slices)

2 Tablespoons of butter melted.

6 slices of Prosciutto (or ham if you prefer)

Shredded Cheese (I used Manchego, but Provolone or Mozzarella would be great too.)

Flour

3 eggs

2 Tblsp Dijon Mustard

 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Clean the chicken well and pat dry.

Using a sharp paring knife, slice the chicken breast from the thicker meaty side and carefully form a pocket inside leaving the edges intact. (About a ¼ inch all around is good)

You will lay out the prosciutto and put a pile of the shredded cheese on one end and carefully roll it up.

Take each roll and carefully stuff it into the chicken breasts. Two to a breast. Then pinch the opening closed and put on a plate. Take the 3 now stuffed breasts and put them in the fridge for 20 minutes or more to rest and it will seal itself closed.

While the chicken is in the fridge put the Crackers and Bread that you have shredded up a bit into a food processor and pulse until well crumbled and mixed together. Add the butter and pulse a few more times to coat the crumbs. Set aside in one large dredging dish.

In a second Dredging dish beat the 3 eggs with the mustard, blending well.

In the final put enough flour to coat the outside of the chicken breasts. (About ¾ cup)

Take the chicken and carefully dredge to coat with the flour and tap off the excess.

Next dredge it in the egg and mustard mixture. (Using tongs makes this easier and keeps your hands from getting too messy.

Finally dredge in the crumb mixture and really pat the crumbs on so it is well coated.

Place each breast in a 9 x 13 pan (I used my Pampered Chef Baking Dish)

Place the pan in the oven on the bottom rack and cook for 10 minutes.

Then lower the heat to 400 degrees and finish cooking the chicken on the middle rack for 20 more minutes or until cooked through. (You should test to make sure it is done with a meat thermometer inserted carefully into the chicken breast at an angle so you are in the breast and not the stuffed center. The internal temperature should be 180degrees)

 

Remove the pan from the oven when cooked and lightly cover with foil to allow it to set and finish cooking. Though don’t cover tightly or the crust will become soggy.

Serve with steamed asparagus and mashed potatoes. Enjoy!