Diary of the Unexpected Housewife

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Stuffed Chicken Breasts in Puff Pastry - WTF and WOW Recipe Wednesday

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Stuffed Chicken Breasts in Puff Pastry

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 box puff pastry

2 cups mushrooms finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1 ½ tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Mustard & Wine Sauce

2 heaping tbsp whole grain mustard

1 1/2 cups white wine (you can use cooking wine)

Preparation

To begin, if your puff pastry is frozen, thaw according to directions on the box. In a non stick pan heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté chopped mushrooms and garlic for 5 minutes. Add the freshly chopped parsley, salt and pepper and continue to `sauté for about 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.

Score Chicken breasts with a sharp knife making a pocket. Once the mushroom mixture has cooled, fill all 4 chicken breast pockets.

Using a little dusting of flour and a rolling pin, roll each puff pastry 'block' 18"x8" and 1/4" thick. Cut down the middle of each sheet, making a total of 4, 4"x18" strips. Place one stuffed breast at the bottom of one of the stripes of pastry. Starting at one corner roll so that the pastry overlaps, encasing the whole breast. Roll all breasts and place on a parchment lines baking sheet. Beat one egg and brush the outsides of each roll. Bake in 400 oven for 35-40 minutes. Pastry should be golden brown and flaky.

While chicken is baking begin the mustard and wine sauce. You may want to double this it is so delicious. Combine both ingredients in a non stick sauce pan. Over medium heat allow the wine to reduce by about 1/4. Turn to simmer and add 1/2 cup cream. Allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and fresh pepper to taste.

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Sunday, January 13, 2013

Cheddar Ale and Bratwurst Soup

Cheddar Ale and Bratwurst Soup

Ingredients:
1C yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
4C potatoes (optional)
1/2C carrot
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
10oz aged or sharp cheddar
1 tbsp butter
16-19oz Bratwurst
4C chicken broth
12oz ale
1C heavy cream
1/2C flour

Preparation:

To your slow cooker add chopped onion, minced garlic, shredded and chopped carrots and optional potatoes. If using potatoes, peel and slice into 1 inch cubes. Sprinkle with seasonings and shredded cheese. Pour in chicken broth and beer. Cover and begin cooking for 4 hours on high, or 8 on low.

Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium high heat melt butter. Add whole bratwurst, searing on each side. Remove, slicing into 1/2 inch discs. Return to skillet to sear on each side. Remove and slice each disc in half. Carefully add to slow cooker. Cover and continue cooking.

In your last 30 minutes of cooking, remove 1/2 cup liquid to a large bowl. To it add flour and heavy cream. Stir well. Return to slow cooker giving a good stir and replacing cover to finish cooking.

Serve hot.

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Friday, January 11, 2013

Freaky Friday Favorites

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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Crock Pot Crawfish Bisque - WTF and WOW Recipe Wednesday

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Crock Pot Crawfish Bisque

Ingredients

1 pint half and half

4 oz. Velvetta cheese, cubed

4 tablespoons butter, cubed

1 bunch green onions, chopped

2 cans of potato soup

2 cans of mushroom soup

2 cans whole kernel corn, drained

1-2 tablespoons Creole Seasoning

2 cups vegetable broth

1 package frozen crawfish tails, thawed

Preparation

Add all ingredients except crawfish to a slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Shortly before bisque is done, sauté crawfish tails in one tablespoon butter cooked through. Add to bisque, stirring to combine well. Serve with garlic bread.

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Sunday, January 6, 2013

Easy Chicken Leg Bake

I made a pretty tasty dinner last night. I just scavenged around the kitchen and put this together. It is a fairly inexpensive and easy meal to throw together. I had limited time yesterday because Encore was running a Clint Eastwood marathon. I guess I had forgotten exactly how fake blood looked in movies from the seventies. I had also forgotten how truly groovy the background music was in these movies . Another thing I had forgotten was just how funny the foot chase scenes were in some of Eastwood’s early movies (The Rookie is an excellent example). If you haven’t seen some his early stuff in awhile…pull up an empty chair and spend the day reliving his movies. If Play Misty For Me doesn’t totally creep you out, there is something very wrong with you.

Chicken Leg Bake

Ingredients

Six chicken legs

Box of Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice Original Recipe

Can of Cream of Chicken Soup

Cajun Seasoning Blend (I used Zatarain’s)

Salt and Pepper

Salad Kit of your choice (I used Pear and Gorgonzola kit)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray 9x9 with cooking spray. Pour uncooked (yes, uncooked) rice in the pan. Add the chicken over the rice and season with Cajun seasoning and salt and pepper. In a separate bowl add the cream of chicken soup, one can full of water and the seasoning packet from the rice and whisk together. Pour over the chicken. Cover tightly with two layers of foil. Bake for 2 hours. Serve with salad.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

A Weird Dream

I had the strangest dream last night. I’m not sure if it is just a symptom of making too much soup or a bad reaction to OU’s loss at the hands of A&M, but, no matter…it was just odd. In the dream I invented a new baby cradle. In actuality it was a giant ladle. I named it the Craladle. The Craladle is attached to a sturdy base so it could be rocked back and forth. It is made of shiny stainless steel, but the bedding can be pink, blue or yellow.

Yesterday, I also made some adjustments to a picture I took of some creepy baby statues at Statuary World. I call this masterpiece ZZ Tot.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Freaky Friday Favorites

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