Country Ham & Manchego-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Howdy!

The wedding countdown is on.  Less than 2 months away, we're starting to chip at what we have left to  do bit by bit.  The past week or so, my engagement ring has been at the jeweler's in order to get the bands molded.  I almost feel naked without it!  Like men are just gawking at me like I'm a single woman.  Hehe, I'm pretty vain aren't I?

The end of this quarter of Culinary School is almost upon us.  And I'm definitely ready for the break.  The middle of the month is also my last day at my day job at the pharmacy.  I've worked there for 7 years and it'll be hard to say good-bye.  But I know I've been lifelong friends and it won't be good-bye to those people.  But it also marks the day I'll be moving on.  Really getting on.  I'll be able to work at the restaurant more, especially since I'll be switching to Day-time classes for the next quarter.  Nights and weekends were alright, but I'd be there double the time.  Day-time classes allow me to finished faster (and cook more!) - as well as being able to work at the restaurant more often. 

But all in all, everything is great - except for the fact I've cut myself twice in the past two weeks.  Once on my pinky (sliced the sucker right open) while cleaning my knife - and the second time was just this past Sunday at work - with a bread knife.  Not pretty.  And by the time I went to the Immediate Care Center (my stubborn ass went the next day instead of right after work), it was too late to get stitched up.  So I'll just have to suffer with the battle wounds for now.

Anyway, this is an easy weeknight dinner that's tasty and quick!  Let's get at it!

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
2 pieces of country ham
2 slices of manchego cheese (or cheese of your choice)
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or olive oil)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Wrap your chicken breasts loosely in plastic wrap.  You want it loose enough that they'll be able to comfortably expand, but not too loose that they're "expand" in little pieces all over your kitchen when you smack the crap out of them.

Take a meat mallet or bottom side of a pan and get to smacking.  Flatten the breasts to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness.

Remove plastic wrap from chicken breasts.

Place a piece of country ham on chicken breast.

Place a piece of manchego cheese on top of country ham.

Using butcher's twine or toothpicks (these are more ideal), wrap the chicken breast around the ham and cheese.  If I had toothpicks handy, I would have used those, but the twine sufficed.

Place the flour in a shallow dish.  Season with salt and pepper.  Dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess flour.

Heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet under medium high heat.  Place the chicken in the pan, seam-side up.  Cook chicken until you get a nice golden crust, about 3-4 minutes.  Flip chicken over and cook for an additional minute.

Transfer chicken to the oven to finish, about 10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165F.

Serve chicken with barbecue sauce (or sauce of your choice) and side of your choice.  We paired this with macaroni and cheese for a nice comforting meal!

Grilled Grilled Ham & Cheese

For some reason I wanted some grilled corn too...

Happy Friday!  It's been an extremely long day and I'm ready to kick my feet up and put in a Netflix movie.  And I might just be in a cruel enough mood to make Andy watch a chick flick with me.  Yes, the perks of domestic bliss.

I grew up eating grilled cheese, but never understood why it was called "grilled" cheese.  I mean, I only knew of it being cooked in a frying pan - never a grill.  Then I saw Nick from Macheesmo do this.  And I was instantly inspired to do the same! 

Ingredients:

Bread
Cheddar cheese
Spinach
Ham slices
Softened butter

There's not really much to this.  And you don't necessarily have to use the ingredients I did - it's just the sandwich I was feeling at the time.

Light a charcoal grill. 

Butter one side of two slices of bread.  Place one slice on the grill, butter-side down, over moderate heat and top with cheese, spinach, ham, and another slice of cheese.  Then top with remaining piece of bread, butter-side up. 

Grill for about 2-3 minutes, or until grill marks appear and side is golden brown.  Flip over and grill for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Slice in half and enjoy!

Seriously, this was awesome.  Even better than actual grilled cheese.  Don't believe me?  Try it out and let me know!

Have a great weekend guys!  I'm super pumped because we're getting a new couch!  Yeah, you know you're getting old when you can be excited about furniture! 

Blueberry & Avocado Spinach Salad

Happy Monday guys!  Anybody do anything exciting?

Again, we were pretty lazy.  Andy had to go into work yesterday night for some end of the month reports, so I sat around the house catching up on some Netflix action.

It's also August!  Boy has this year flown by!

I thought I'd start the week with something light.  I usually take my lunch to work 99.9% of the time, and this is just a glimpse of the sort of thing I take with me!

Ingredients:

1 Avocado, cubed
1/4 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
a few slices of ham, chopped
1/4 cup blueberries
1 cup spinach
juice from 1 lime

I'm one of those weird people that prefers their salad undressed most of the time.  And plus, the avocado is creamy enough that it adds a faux dressing feel.

Combine avocado, tomatoes, ham, blueberries, and spinach in a large bowl.  Toss until mixed well. 

Squeeze lime juice over salad and toss again. 

Dig in!

Quick and easy lunch any day of the week!

Do you bring your lunch to work?  What sort of things do you take with you?



Well, I'm off to get some cleaning done around the house - since I let myself be lazy all day yesterday!  Have a great start to the week guys!

Bowties w/ Ham & Peas

This was an extremely easy recipe. I'm not usually a big ham person, but Andy is, so sometimes I have to be unselfish and please him. I know, I'm a saint. But it actually turned out quite scrumptious and we both cleaned our plates in a matter of minutes, Andy of course, going to seconds. If you're looking for something quick and tasty... search no more.

Ingredients:
adapted from Time in the Kitchen's blog

1 box bowtie pasta
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 lemon, juiced
1 package pre-diced ham
1 package frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste

Set a pot of water to boil. Drop in pasta and cook until al dente, about 8-10 minutes.

While you're waiting for the water and pasta, heat a large saute pan and melt butter. Add flour and stir until beginning to slightly brown. You want to cook out the "flour-y" taste and get it somewhat nutty.

Add cream and stir until starting to boil and slightly thicken.

Turn the heat down just a tad, and add in lemon juice and parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a microwave safe bowl, cook the peas for about 1-2 minutes. Just to warm them through. Then add to pan with sauce, along with ham.

Drain the pasta and add to cream sauce. Mix until everything is well-combined and serve hot! Top with fresh parmesan cheese, if desired!


This was great because it's such a simple, comforting meal. The cream sauce was light and the peas and ham compliment eachother so well. I like this also because it's very versatile. You could definitely switch up the vegetables and protein, as well as just having the pasta and cream sauce by itself. Enjoy!