Crab-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I’m not sure where we originally got this recipe but my husband found it years ago and we’ve hung on to it ever since. It’s really rich, so we don’t make it too often, but it’s delicious! Just be sure to watch the toothpicks as you’re eating; it can get dangerous.

Crab-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
6 ounces frozen crabmeat or imitation crabmeat, thawed and drained
1 envelope Lipton Savory Herb With Garlic Soup Mix (this is hard to find so I just fake it with garlic, onion powder, a few seasonings, etc.)
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cream cheese, crab, and soup mix; set aside.

Slice chicken breasts horizontally stopping 1 inch from opposite edge, open breasts. Evenly spread each breast with cheese mixture. Close each securly with toothpicks.

Dip chicken in flour, then eggs, then breadcrumbs, coating well. In 12″ skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; add butter. Cook chicken 10 minutes or until golden brown, turning once.

Transfer chicken to 13×9″ baking dish and bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Remove toothpicks before serving.

Why Trader Joe Should Be My Boyfriend

Why do guys get mistresses but women don’t get misters? If I could pick any person to have my extramarital affair with, it would be Trader Joe. He’d be my mister for sure. And I’m pretty sure my husband would be a-okay with this, as long as Mr. TJ kept him in good supply of beer and bbq sauce (his two TJ’s staples).

Some of my all-time favorite TJ items are as follows:

1. The pizza dough. Have you tried this? It’s so awesome. Fresh dough found in the refrigerated section, near the cheese. I buy about five at a time and freeze ‘em, then defrost whenever we want pizza or breadsticks. It’s easier than making your own and tastes way better than any other dough I’ve found.

2. The frozen sweet potato fries. Healthy, tasty, good source of vitamin A, easy to bake…what more could a girlfriend ask from her mister? I have trouble with getting them perfectly crispy every time. Sometimes they get a bit soggy but I’ll eat ‘em anyway. (And this could be simply because I get hungry and impatient…not a good combo.)

3. Frozen Indian naan bread. I just discovered this last month. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE??? Why is Trader Joe’s one of those places where things hide and you suddenly discover them and your life is changed forever? Seriously, this bread is like that for me. It’s an out-of-body experience. So easy to make, so yummy…just be careful not to eat the whole package in one sitting. You won’t feel so fantastic afterward. Don’t ask me how I know this.

4. TJ’s Barbecue Sauce. Get the glass bottle, it’s amazing on everything. Avoid the plastic squeeze bottle; it will burn your taste buds to bits in five seconds flat. Trust me on this.

5. Chipwich. ‘Nuff said.

6. Speaking of the frozen dessert aisle of torturous hell, get the mini chocolate mint ice-cream sandwiches. You can thank me later.

7. I love the lavash bread. Spread some cream cheese on there, slap on a slice or two of turkey, roll it up and eat. Mmmm, good snack.

8. English muffin bread. Pizza sauce. Mozzarella cheese. Into the toaster oven for two minutes. Oh, yeah. Pizza party in your mouth.

9. I love to buy a bag of spinach and a bag of arugula and mix them up to create my own salad mix. I’m a food nerd and I readily admit it.

10. Ginger soy salad dressing. Hello, friend.

Okay, so this started out as a list of five things and I couldn’t contain myself. Surprised? So what great finds did my mister share with you? What did I leave off my list? I always discover new, cool items at TJ’s so tell me what I should buy next!

Juanita’s New Friend (aka Shopping Find of the Month!)

I thought about calling this my Shopping Find of the Week, but I’m afraid that might encourage me to shop more and I need to avoid that! But I did absolutely score at the register this weekend and I’m pretty excited about it.

Backstory: For a long while now I’ve been on the search for the perfect accompanying pillow for my recliner, Juanita (yes, she has a name, and yes I refer to her as if she isn’t an inanimate object…it’s a problem, I know). I’m picky and I’ve never really found the right little friend for Juanita.

We randomly stopped in at Bed, Bath & Beyond this weekend and while I was waiting around for a friend I started digging through the clearance bin of pillows near the register…and found this lil’ beauty.

Original Price: $45

My Price: $5

Yeah, I did a happy dance.

So meet Juanita’s new little buddy. We call him Juan.

And Juan’s got a pretty chill spot in our living room (Juanita, after all, is prime seating real estate) and I think he looks pretty awesome hanging out there.

And I do realize I just devoted an entire blog post to Juanita and Juan…and that this could be construed as a bit strange. Yep, fully aware of this. Still didn’t stop me.

Five Things

1. Could not be more thankful that it’s the weekend. Busy week behind me!

2. I covet.

3. I try to only buy new clothes a couple times a year, when the urge to buy shiny new things gets to be too much to handle. The urge is starting to kick in. Especially since now I really need a new pair of good jeans.

4. I am craving sugar lately. This is bad. I think I need to throw away the pixie stix that have crept their way into my house. (You think I’m joking? So not.) Maybe it’s time to do a serious sugar cleanse? Any tips? Thoughts? Rehab suggestions?

5. I’m giddily nerdy over a new project I’m working on. Hopefully it will turn out well enough for me to share. But I won’t count on it!

Creamy Tomato Soup

This is a recipe I’ve been wanting to try out for ages and I’m so glad I finally did. I have a deep love for tomato soup but I’ve never tried to make it from scratch before. Man, I’ve been missing out! It was so easy and the results were so delicious. Now I’m really looking forward to the yummy leftovers!

Creamy Tomato Soup

Makes 8 servings
Recipe courtesy Joy the Baker (adapted from Martha Stewart)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onions, chopped
1 medium carrots, finely diced
Sea salt
Pepper
Splash red wine vinegar (just over 1 T.)
1/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf
2 14.5-ounce cans chicken broth
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes in juice (with basil if possible) (I used a combo of crushed tomatoes and peeled tomatoes.)
1/2 to 3/4 cup whole milk or cream (I used fat-free half-and-half and it worked great.)

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven melt butter over medium heat.  Add oil, carrot and onion and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the onion is translucent and the carrots are well on their way to softening, about 7 to 8 minutes.   Add the splash of vinegar at stir until cooked off.

Turn flame to low and add flour.  Incorporate into the onion and carrots.  Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute to distribute the paste and cook off the flour taste.

Add chicken broth and bay leaf.

With clean hands add the tomatoes to the pot, breaking the whole tomatoes up with your hands as you add the tomatoes and the juice.   Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat.  Using an emulsion blender, puree soup in pot until you’ve reached the desired consistency.  Maybe you like more chunks than some folks!  If you don’t have an emulsion blender, let the soup cool for about 30 minutes and, working in two or three batches, puree some of the soup in a conventional blender until smooth.  Place pureed soup in a bowl and puree the remainder in the pot.

Return pureed soup to the pot and stir in milk or cream.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Let cool to room temperature before dividing among airtight containers or jars (leaving 1 inch of space at the top) and freeze.

Triple Lemon Mini Pound Cakes

One of my favorite Christmas gifts this past season was this beautiful cookbook. Seriously, it’s droolworthy. Check it out:

It combines two of my greatest loves: dessert (surprise, surprise) and tiny food. I was in heaven just flipping through the pages. And I immediately was struck by the urge to bake (yet another shocking surprise).

I also suddenly decided I need tons of new fun baking pans in various shapes and sizes (mini Bundt pans, anyone?). Yeah, we’ll see how long I can hold out on that one.

When I finally cracked and had to bake something tiny and yummy, I landed on these scrumptious little pound cakes. I’d also received some mini loaf pans for Christmas so I knew I wanted to use those as well. Hey, why not kill two birds with one stone, right? Or one cake…whatever. Gotta give huge thanks to my family for supporting my (somewhat unhealthy) baking habit!

Now, let the drooling commence over these golden beauties.

Triple Lemon Mini Pound Cakes

Makes 8 mini pound cakes.
Recipe courtesy Bite-Size Desserts cookbook

Serve with whipped cream and sliced berries, peaches or pears.

1 stick plus 2 T. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 2 T. superfine sugar, divided
3 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325. Spray inside of mini loaf pans with cooking spray and place on baking sheet.

Beat butter on medium speed until flufyf, 2 minutes. Gradually add 1 cup sugar and beat until very fluffy, 2 minutes. One at a time, add eggs, beating well after each. Add extract, 1 T. juice and zest and blend thoroughly.

In medium bowl, sift flour, salt, and powder. Add to batter in three stages. Blend well.

Divided evenly among loaf pans, filling 2/3 full. Shake gently to spread out batter.

Bake 30 minutes (I did 20) until light golden and toothpick comes out clean. Remove to racks to cool.

Turn cakes out onto racks to cool more.

To make lemon syrup, heat 2 T. sugar and 2 T. juice in small saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, 3 minutes. Continue to cook until thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes> remove from heat and brush tops of cakes with syrup.

Use toothpick to poke 4 or 5 holes in top of each cake and brush cakes again with syrup. Let stand 5 minutes. Brush again with any remaining syrup and allow to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

Can add 1/2 c. lightly toasted coconut to batter before baking. Or 1/2 c. toasted, finely chopped walnuts of pecans.

Banana Bundt Bread

This bread (I really want to call it a cake!) is so light and moist. The sour cream really makes a huge difference in the flavor and consistency. I love how this turned out! So easy and simple to make but the flavor is great. A fun breakfast treat and definitely feels more cakelike in the Bundt form. Plus, this gave me a great excuse to use the new Bundt pan I got for Christmas!

Banana Bundt Bread

Recipe courtesy Pioneer Woman

2 sticks butter, softened (I used unsalted.)
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe/overripe bananas
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour (I used half whole-wheat flour and half all-purpose.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups sour cream (I used fat-free.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour bundt pan.

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating for a few seconds after each addition. Add mashed bananas and beat.
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add dry ingredients and sour cream alternately to the mixing bowl. Beat well until all combined.

Pour into bundt pan and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Invert on a cooling rack and allow cake to cool slightly before slicing and serving with softened butter.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Looking for a quick, easy weeknight meal that’s DELICIOUS? I got  it right here! I’m (obviously) a soup lover, and we usually make some sort of soup about once a week. It’s great for leftovers and for a quick lunch. But it also makes a fantastic dinner (and it’s usually pretty filling, too!). I got this recipe from my friend Helena and I’m definitely going to be making it often! It’s super easy to just toss it all in the slow cooker in the morning and let it cook all day. You can easily modify the spice of the enchilada sauce to control how much heat you want in the soup. And it’s blissfully perfect for a rainy evening! You can have with quesadillas or the like, but we just had a big bowl each and it was plenty! YUM!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Serves: 8
Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com

2 frozen chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (I used medium; had some great kick to it!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.5-ounce cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (14.5-ounce) can corn kernels, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can black beans, drained
1 avocado, diced, for topping
1/2 cup shredded cheese, for topping
1/2 cup sour cream, for topping
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas
Vegetable oil

1.      Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, black beans, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. One hour before soup is served, remove chicken breasts and shred, then add back to soup.
2.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
3.      Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.
4.      Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup. Top with avocado, cheese, sour cream, and chopped cilantro, if desired.

Lemony Bulgur With Carrots

I’ve been slowing introducing my husband to various grains and good, healthy rice substitutes. This month we tried out bulgur to great success. I’m definitely going to try a few other recipes until he’s desperately in love with it and can’t live without it (ha). This dish turned out as a great side to our Firecracker Shrimp and was super quick and easy to make. Great weeknight meal!

Lemony Bulgur With Carrots

Recipe courtesy Cooking Light

1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup uncooked bulgur wheat
1 large carrots, julienne cut
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh parsley
3 tablespoons lemon juice

In 2-quart saucepan with lid, bring broth to boil. Add bulgur, carrot, and salt; simmer 7 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Chop parsley and mix with lemon juice and remaining oil. Stir parsley mixture into bulgur, fluff with fork.

Firecracker Shrimp

If you don’t yet know the wonder that is Pioneer Woman, you need to hightail it over to her blog immediately and check it out! Not only is she a fantastic writer and photographer, but her recipes are just to die for.

Case in point: Firecracker Shrimp. This was such a hit that we made it twice in the span of four days. And I know we’ll make it again! Definitely take care to control the amount of spice you prefer ’cause this one can really knock your taste buds out! Yum!

Firecracker Shrimp

Recipe courtesy Pioneer Woman

1 pound large (16 to 20) shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons hot chili sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
4 to 5 cloves garlic, pressed

Combine all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag, then add shrimp and marinate for 20 minutes to 2 hours. Skewer shrimp and grill until opaque and brown, with black bits.