Cream Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Chicken

Another great recipe from Kayotic Kitchen, both Randal and I really liked this, although we both thought there was a little toomuch cream cheese for our tastes, but that's easily changed next time we make this!


4 chicken breasts
4 puff pastry sheets
4 oz cream cheese
2 slices of bacon
flat-leaf parsley
1 spring onion
1 large egg
pepper
salt

Preheat the oven to 400

Cook the bacon and leave to cool

Chop the spring and parsley and mix that into the cream cheese, as well as the crumbled bacon and black pepper

Make a deep cut into each chicken breast and stuff with a quarter of the cream cheese mixture

Place each chicken breast onto a pastry sheet, cream cheese side down and season with salt and pepper

Brush the edgesof the pastry with a beaten egg, and fold the pastry over the chicken, turn the pastry bundles seam side down and brush remaining eggon top, and bake for 35 minutes.

Creamed Spinach

Randal actually made this for me while I was making the beer and cheddar risotto. I gave him the Pioneer Woman's recipe to follow, which he did along with a few of his own additions.


1 stick Butter
8 tbs Flour
1/2 an Onion, Finely Diced
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 cups Milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 pinch Nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
3 tbs Butter
24 ounces Spinach

In a medium pan, melt the 1 stick of butter, add the flour and stir together. Cook the butter and flour for 5 minutes, add the onion, garlic and allspice, cook for another few minutes. Pour in the milk and cream and heat for another 5 minutes.

In a seperate pan, melt the 3 tbsp of butter and add the spinach. Cook until wilted.

Season the cream sauce with salt, pepper and the nutmeg. Add spinach and serve.

Beer and Cheddar Risotto

Just a couple of days after saying I would post more often this year, my computer went and died. I've been going crazy the last 10 days without it, but after spending most of yesterday afternoon trying to bring it back to life, I finally have it back. So now I am playing catch up, trying to get the recipes I've made in the last couple of weeks posted.

I found this recipe over at Made In Mel's Kitchen. I ended up liking this a lot more than Randal did, he said it tasted like the cheese fondue at the melting pot restaurant, which is delicious so of course I loved this risotto!


1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups Arborio rice
12 oz. bottle of beer
48 oz of chicken broth
5 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Warm chicken broth over low heat

Heat large pan over medium heat, add the butter and olive oil, when butter has melted add the onion and cook for 3 minutes, add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add rice, cook for 2 minutes, add beer and once it starts to simmer add the chicken broth 1/2 a cup at a time, stirring until absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Keep stirring and adding the broth until the risotto is creamy and the rice is cooked.

Remove from heat and stir in the cheese and cayenne pepper.

Menu Plan Monday

I am determined that for 2012 I am getting back to menu planning, trying new recipes and actually posting them to my blog.

Monday: Steak, beer cheddar risotto and creamed spinach

Tuesday: Chicken pastry bundles, green beans and salad

Wednesday: Bacon wrapped meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas

Thursday: Eating out - cafe adobe

Friday: Chicken tikka, jasmine rice and mango chutney

See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie