Month: January 2022

Chile Stuffed Chicken Breasts

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Chile Stuffed Chicken and Maize Picante

As far as meat proteins go, I probably use chicken the most. Trying to figure out new and exciting ways to prepare chicken has become a challenge for me that I have happily taken on.

I stuff these chicken breasts with roasted peppers, chiles, and cotija cheese and marinate them in a somewhat spicy, sweet, and tangy marinade to add a lot of flavor to the chicken.

2 larger chicken breasts can easily be cut in half for a meal for 4 people. Try serving this with Cilantro Lime Rice for a delicious meal.

I start by mixing my marinade ingredients in the pan that I’m going to cook my chicken in.

Slice the cheese, peppers and chiles, and butterfly the chicken.

Roll your chicken breasts around in the marinade, ensuring you get it all over and leave them cut side up.

Now it’s time to add the fillings. I like to put the cheese in between the peppers and chiles. Cotija cheese holds up well when baking. You can use a mild feta if you can’t find cotija cheese.

Now fold over the top. Try to stuff everything inside, but a little hanging out won’t really matter.

Cover the pan with a lid or foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven and remove the foil or lid. Using a spoon, scoop up some of the liquid and baste the chicken. Return to the oven without a cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Make sure the internal temperature of your chicken reaches 165 degrees.

Now it’s time to eat. You could certainly top this off with a dollop of sour cream or guacamole or even some avocado slices, but it is so tender and delicious all on its own. Try this with Cilantro Lime Rice and Maize picante.

Enjoy!

Chile Stuffed Chicken and Maize Picante
Print Recipe

Chile Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Stuffing the chicken with moist chiles and peppers and baking in a marinade makes this chicken super moist and tender to eat. It has a little bit of spice, a little tang, and a little sweetness.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Keyword: Chicken, Chiles and Chicken, Stuffed Chicken
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 104kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • 1 8 x 8 baking dish
  • Cutting board and knife
  • Citrus Zester

Ingredients

Chicken and Stuffing

  • 2 each chicken breasts butterflied
  • 2 each whole green chiles cut into long strips
  • ½ each roasted red bell pepper cut into long strips
  • 2 ounces cotija cheese 4 to 6 thin slices

Marinade

  • 2 tsp Sambal Oelek chili sauce
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ each lime juice and zest
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger minced
  • 1 tbsp cilantro fresh, chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In the dish you are going to bake the chicken in, combine the Sambal Oelek, oil, lime juice, honey, ginger, and chopped cilantro.
  • Butterfly the chicken breasts.
  • Slice the cheese, roasted red pepper, and green chiles.
  • Rub both sides of the chicken breasts in the marinade mixture.
  • Place chicken breasts flat, cut side up. On one half of each breast stack half the chiles, half of the cheese, and half of the red bell peppers. Fold over tucking in the ingredients.
  • Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and use a spoon to baste the tops of the chicken with the sauce that is in the pan. Leave cover off, return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Check to ensure the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
  • Cut each breast in half to get 4 servings.
  • Try this with Maize Picante.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Cotija cheese which is a Mexican Feta does not melt well and will hold up during baking. You can replace it with a mild feta if you cannot find Cotija cheese.
You can find roasted whole green chiles in the Mexican section of the supermarket.

Nutrition

Calories: 104kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 197mg | Potassium: 29mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 85IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 1mg

Ham and White Bean Soup

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Ham and White Bean Soup

I love a good ham and bean soup and look forward to using up leftover ham in soup making. I’m not a runny soup type person, so I add mashed potatoes to a lot of my soups to thicken them up a bit. I also throw in broccoli, spinach and/or kale into a lot of my soups for added nutrients.

Ham and Bean Soup Ingredients

This is a quick soup to put together so make sure you have all your ingredients ready to go. If you don’t want to thicken it with mashed potatoes or add spinach, that’s ok.

I generally use navy beans because I like the size, but use whatever white bean you want. Just make sure you drain and rinse them well to get as much of the gases off of them as possible.

Sautéing Veggies

In a large stock pot, sauté the veggies for a few minutes to soften them. Then deglaze the pan with red wine or red wine vinegar, or a couple tablespoons of the chicken stock. Scrap the bottom of the pan to get all the stuck on bits of flavor up off the bottom.

Putting it Together

Now add the ham, beans, stock, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Final Ingredients

If you’re adding mashed potatoes and hearty greens like spinach, kale, or chard, now is the time to stir them in. Simmer for another 5 minutes or so to wilt the greens and heat everything thru.

It’s as easy as that, you have a delicious ham and white bean soup ready to eat.

Enjoy!

Ham and White Bean Soup
Print Recipe

Ham and White Bean Soup

Ham and white bean soup is a wonderful soup for the dreary fall and winter days. Adding mashed potatoes, thickens it a little bit, and spinach and kale adds some extra nutrients to this soup.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American
Keyword: ham and bean soup, soup
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 577kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Knife and cutting board
  • 6 to 8 quart stock pot
  • heat resistant spoon

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil or canola oil
  • 1/3 cup yellow onion diced
  • 1 stalk celery chopped, about 1 cup
  • 1 each carrot chopped, about 1 cup
  • 2 cups mushrooms sliced
  • 2 tbsp red wine or red wine vinegar
  • ½ tbsp garlic fresh minced
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 2 cups ham diced
  • 2 cans white beans drained and rinsed well, 15 oz cans
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup mashed potatoes optional
  • 4 handfuls spinach and/or kale, optional
  • 2 tbsp parsley chopped, optional

Instructions

  • On medium heat, heat large stock pot and add oil, onions, celery, mushrooms, and carrots. Sauté for 3 minutes.
  • Deglaze pan with red wine, scrapping all the brown bits off the bottom.
  • Add ham, beans, stock and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
  • If adding mashed potatoes, spinach and/or kale, or parsley, stir in and cook for another 3 minutes or so until the potatoes are hot and the spinach is wilted.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 2cups | Calories: 577kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 1524mg | Potassium: 1712mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 3079IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 173mg | Iron: 7mg

Chorizo Skillet Scramble

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Chorizo Skillet Scramble

When I decide to make a larger breakfast or brunch I often make some sort of a skillet style breakfast. You know the kind you get served in a restaurant in a sizzling skillet? They are fairly simple to make and you can put whatever you want in them, plus cook the eggs however you like them best. This Chorizo Skillet Scramble is a slightly spicy and very flavorful Tex-Mex style skillet that is wonderful for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Skillet style breakfasts take time sautéing and crisping the potatoes, so I microwave the potatoes first to cut out about 1/2 hour of cooking time.

This skillet has a little spiciness to it and can be eaten as is, or put it in a burrito shell for a hand-held, to-go style breakfast. 

After I stab my potatoes several times, and put those in the microwave to cook, I start preparing the rest of my ingredients. Once my potatoes are finished, they only take 4 minutes, I put them in the refrigerator to cool down a bit while I finish preparing my ingredients.

After my ingredients are all gathered and prepared, I take the potatoes out of the refrigerator and dice them up. Those are the first to go in the pan and crisp up. Once done, I put them in my baking dish that I sprayed with cooking oil.

Next in the pan is the chorizo. I like to cook it long enough to get it a little crispy. The oil will be used to sauté the vegetables and beans.

Add to the pan with the chorizo, pepper, mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Sauté this for a couple minutes until the peppers have softened.

And preheat the oven to broil.

Now stir in the beans, corn, chiles, and dry seasonings. Reduce heat to low.

While the beans are heating up, cook the scrambled eggs, or cook the eggs however you want to eat them.

Pour the chorizo mixture over the potatoes, top with the eggs and cheese. Put under the broiler for about 3 minutes to melt the cheese.

Top with sour cream, guacamole or avocado, salsa or fresh tomatoes, and fresh cilantro.

Enjoy!

Chorizo Skillet Scramble
Print Recipe

Chorizo Skillet Scramble

Slightly spicy, yet flavorful Tex-Mex style breakfast skillet for any time of the day. Goes great with fresh biscuits.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Tex-Mex
Keyword: Chorizo, Scramble, Skillet
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 333kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Large non-stick sauté pan
  • Medium non-stick sauté pan
  • 7 x 11 oven safe baking dish
  • Microwave
  • Large bowl and whisk
  • Cutting board and knife

Ingredients

Eggs

  • 8 each eggs
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • 1 pinch black pepper
  • 1 tbsp butter

Potatoes

  • 3 each russet potatoes medium size
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • 1 pinch black pepper

Scramble

  • ½ pound chorizo
  • 2 cups mushrooms sliced
  • ½ cup yellow onion chopped
  • 1 tbsp garlic fresh, minced
  • 1 each bell pepper
  • 1 can green chiles
  • 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup corn frozen
  • ½ tsp basil dry
  • ½ tsp oregano dry
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp taco seasoning

Toppings

  • 1 cup co-jack cheese shredded
  • 2 tbsp cilantro fresh, chopped
  • Sour cream
  • Guacamole or an avocado
  • Salsa

Instructions

  • Stab the potatoes several times with a fork. Put on a plate in the microwave and cook for 2 minutes. Flip over and cook another 2 minutes. Remove to the refrigerator to cool.
  • While the potatoes are in the microwave, crack and whip the eggs with a pinch each of salt and pepper and set aside.
  • While the potatoes are cooling, prepare the vegetables, drain and rinse the black bean, open green chiles, and get corn out of the freezer. Then dice the potatoes.
  • On medium heat, heat a large sauté pan. Add the oil and chopped potatoes, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are crispy. Put potatoes in the baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking oil.
  • Put pan back on medium low heat and add the chorizo. Sauté for 3 minutes until it is cooked and starting to get crispy.
  • Preheat oven to broil.
  • Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and bell pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes until the pepper softens and the onions become translucent.
  • Add the chiles, beans, corn and dry seasoning. Reduce heat to low.
  • In a non-stick sauté pan, melt the butter on medium heat. Add the eggs, stir frequently, and cook for 5 minutes until the eggs are just firm.
  • Pour the chorizo mixture over the potatoes in the oven safe dish. Top with the scrambled eggs and shredded cheese.
  • Put in the oven for 3 minutes until the cheese is melted.
  • To serve top with sour cream, salsa, avocado, and fresh cilantro.

Nutrition

Calories: 333kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 696mg | Potassium: 389mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 533IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 181mg | Iron: 2mg

Kielbasa Stew

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Kielbasa Stew

Looking through the freezer I found some kielbasa sausage that didn’t end up on my grill this summer. In trying to figure out what to make with it, I looked through the pantry and found some lentils and quinoa and decided to make a hearty stew to stand up to the wonderful flavors of the kielbasa sausage.

This is a fairly simple stew to make and you can accomplish prepping the vegetables and kielbasa while the lentils and quinoa are cooking.

Quinoa and Lentils

First you want to rinse the quinoa. For some people quinoa can taste a bit soapy when it is cooked, so rinsing it is an important step prior to cooking.

Also, sort through the lentils to ensure there are no any rocks.

You can put both in one pan to cook since they take about the same amount of time. I happened to have a quinoa and grain mix in my pantry so I used that.

Put this on the stove and simmer with a lid on the pan for about 20 minutes.

Kielbasa and Veggies

While the lentils and quinoa are cooking, you can gather and prep the rest of the ingredients. I found some bell peppers in my freezer from my garden this summer that had been roasted, so I used them instead of a fresh bell pepper.

I also kept the frozen broccoli on top of the peas and corn because when it thaws a bit, I chopped it down into bite size pieces.

The chipotle pepper was also in my freezer. When I open a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, I usually only use 1 or 2 at a time, so the rest I freeze individually in snack size bags for future use. That way I don’t waste most of a can of chipotle peppers.

At this point your lentils and quinoa are probably cooked. If there is a lot of liquid left, you can strain it, or just turn up the heat and boil it out. Just be careful not to burn the lentils and quinoa. If there is a little liquid left, its not a big deal to add it to the stew.

Sautéed Kielbasa and Veg

In a larger stock pot, saute the kielbasa, carrots, onions, celery, and bell peppers. Be careful not to add too much oil, the kielbasa has some fat, and you don’t want a greasy stew in the end. About 1 tablespoon or a little less oil is plenty.

Simmering Kielbasa Stew

Now add the canned tomatoes, chicken stock, chipotle pepper if you are using one, lentils, and quinoa. You only need to simmer this for about 10 minutes. Everything is cooked, you’re just combining the flavors.

This is when I rough chop the frozen broccoli. 

Kielbasa Stew Finished

Stir in the frozen veggies, parsley, and fresh spinach. I happened to have a baby spinach, kale, and chard mix that I used.

Simmer for about 5 minutes to heat everything up and wilt the greens, and it’s ready to eat.

Try this soup with some homemade Cornbread for that finishing touch.

Enjoy!

Kielbasa Stew
Print Recipe

Kielbasa Stew

A hearty, somewhat smoky and spicy stew to warm you on a cold winter day, filled with nutritious vegetables, quinoa, lentils, and kielbasa sausage.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American
Keyword: kielbasa, soup, stew
Servings: 5 servings
Calories: 482kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Cutting board and knife
  • 4 quart sauce pan
  • Fine mesh sieve
  • 6 quart sauce pan

Ingredients

Lentils and Quinoa

  • ½ cup lentils
  • ½ cup quinoa
  • 2 ½ cups chicken stock

Kielbasa and Vegetables

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ pound kielbasa chopped
  • 1 cup carrots diced
  • ¼ cup yellow onions diced
  • 1 stalk celery diced
  • 1 each bell pepper diced
  • 1 each chipotle pepper or jalapeno pepper, diced, optional
  • 1 cup corn frozen
  • 1 cup peas frozen
  • 2 cups broccoli frozen, chopped
  • 4 handfuls spinach
  • ¼ cup parsley fresh, chopped

Sauce:

  • 1 can diced tomatoes in sauce 15 ounce can
  • 2 cups chicken stock

Instructions

  • Put quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse well. Sort lentils to ensure there isn’t any rocks.
  • Add rinsed quinoa, lentils and 2 ½ cups chicken stock or water in a 3 to 4 quart sauce pan on the stove over high heat, Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until done. Strain if there is excess liquid.
  • Prepare kielbasa and vegetables. Open tomatoes and get chicken stock. Measure out frozen veggies and spinach.
  • In a 6 quart or larger sauce pan, heat oil. Add kielbasa, onions, carrots, bell pepper, and celery. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the onions become translucent.
  • Stir in chipotle or jalapeno pepper, tomatoes in sauce, chicken stock, lentils and quinoa. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Rough chop the frozen (thawing) broccoli to bite size pieces.
  • Stir in corn, peas, broccoli, spinach, and parsley. Simmer for another 3 - 5 minutes to heat the frozen veggies and wilt the spinach.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Makes about 10 cups.

Nutrition

Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 885mg | Potassium: 1286mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 7464IU | Vitamin C: 68mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 6mg