Goat Cheese Stuffed Balsamic Chicken

Happy New Year! I think I have the perfect recipe to start off this year. This dinner tastes positively indulgent but is actually so simple and healthy! It's a fast weeknight dinner that actually tastes like a leisurely weekend meal, especially when you add a glass of white wine. I served it with a spinach salad with a simple olive oil, vinegar, and lemon dressing topped with some avocado and leftover goat cheese. There are only four main ingredients in this baked chicken dish and it only takes about 30 mins to prepare.

GOAT CHEESE STUFFED BALSAMIC CHICKEN BREASTS

2 chicken breasts

4oz goat cheese

2 shallots

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

Fresh or dried thyme

Preheat oven to 400 F. 

Finely chop shallots and place them in a pan with olive oil and begin to sauté over medium high heat. After a couple of minutes add the balsamic vinegar and cook until the vinegar reduced and starts to become sticky. Remove from heat. 

Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry. Slice from the side so that they open like a book. Spread chicken with goat cheese. Spoon half of the shallot/balsamic reduction onto the goat cheese, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme. Fold chicken breasts closed and place them in a greased baking pan. Bake for 20 mins. 

Once the chicken is cooked spoon the remaining half of the shallot and balsamic reduction on top of the chicken and serve. 

Hearty Chicken Soup with Dumplings

It's the week before Thanksgiving and the weather is finally catching up with the season, meaning it's finally time for those warm, delicious comfort foods we associate with autumn and winter. My favorite of these is definitely chicken and dumplings and I've had this meal in mind for a few weeks now, but wanted to refine the recipe a little bit before sharing it. When I made it last night it turned out perfectly, so I guess we're ready. Dumplings can be tricky and anytime I've tried other recipes the dumplings have disappointed me. The dumplings will rise quite a bit as they cook, so I roll the dough out and slice it into rectangles with a knife or pizza cutter, so that the dumplings will be thin and can cook all the way through.

When cooking a whole chicken, I always like to add the extra step of making a bone broth for those extra nutrients. (Then I can feel better about the less-nutritious dumplings part of the recipe.) I often do this ahead of time, cooking the chicken and then freezing the broth and the shredded meat separately. This allows me to simply combine all the soup ingredients and add the dumplings at the end. 

CHICKEN BONE BROTH SOUP

1 whole chicken

4 ribs celery chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 shallots, chopped

1 garlic clove

1 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 bay leaf

1 fresh thyme sprig

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

DUMPLINGS

2 cups all purpose flour, plus about 1/2 cup extra

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup milk

4 tablespoons melted butter

1 tsp salt

Rinse whole chicken in cold water, and pat dry. Place, breast down, in crockpot with 1 cup of water. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Remove chicken and pick apart, placing the large bones back in the crockpot, setting aside the meat, and discarding the rest.

Add 6 cups of water to the crockpot, along with the carrots, celery, shallots, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme sprig. Cook on low 6-8hrs. Use a slotted spoon to sift through and remove all the bones, bay leaves, and thyme sprig.

Place broth in a large pan over medium high heat and add the chicken, shredding into small pieces as you go. Bring broth to a boil while you make the dough for dumplings. 

To make dumplings: Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine milk and melted butter. Add to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine, adding extra flour a little at a time until the dough starts to form a ball.  Roll the dough out to about 1/4" thickness and slice into strips.  Cut or break off dumplings in approx 3" pieces and drop directly into the boiling soup, trying to spread them out so they don't pile up and stick together.

Cover, and return to the boil. Then reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes. (Pull out a dumpling to test, doneness. Once the dumplings are cooked through and not doughy, it's ready to serve.)

Serve topped with fresh parsley.

Spicy Moroccan Chicken on Pita

Moroccan food is as distinctive as it is delicious. I wasn't introduced to the concept of seasoning meat with spices like cinnamon and ginger until meeting a friend who was raised in Morocco and who frequently cooks the authentic food he grew up eating. While this recipe isn't a particularly authentic in presentation, it does include some of the unique flavors found in Moroccan cuisine.

This three-for-one post includes recipes for Moroccan chicken, eggplant chutney, and a delicious herb hummus. As fancy and flavorful as this meal is, it is really fast to prepare, especially since the chutney and hummus can be made ahead of time. 

Spicy Moroccan Chicken on Pita with Fresh Mint

4 servings

2 chicken breasts

Olive oil

Salt/ pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

Pinch cayenne pepper

4 pieces Middle Eastern flatbread, or pita

Fresh mint, chopped or torn

Cube chicken and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and other spices. Toss well with olive oil and leave to marinate for half an hour, or overnight. To prepare, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and add garlic. Cook on medium for a minute, then add chicken, stirring regularly to cook evenly. 

To serve, spread hummus inside pita pocket or on flatbread. Next add chicken, then chutney and sprinkle with fresh mint on top.

Grilled Eggplant, Tomato and Onion Chutney

Olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 small Japanese eggplants, or 1 small globe eggplant, diced (about 1 ½ cups worth)
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon lemon juice

Salt/ pepper

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on medium heat. once the oil is hot, add in the onions, plus a pinch of salt and pepper, and sauté for about 5 minutes until they start to brown and caramelize.

Add diced eggplant, plus a pinch of salt and a bit more olive oil, and sauté for a further 3 minutes, or until a they become tender and light golden-brown.

Add diced Roma tomatoes, plus another small pinch of salt and pepper, and sauté the mixture for about 10 minutes, or until everything begins to break down and resemble a jam or chutney, and is a deeper golden-brown.

Finally, add the garlic, and sauté for an additional 2 minutes; finish the chutney with the lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil to make it glossy and rich, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Herb Hummus 

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup tahini

1 clove of garlic

1 ½ tablespoons of lemon juice

½ teaspoon lemon zest

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon paprika

½ cup fresh parsley

½ cup fresh cilantro

Warm water or olive oil

Place tahini, garbanzo beans, garlic, and lemon in a food processor and process for several seconds until mostly smooth. Add spices, then parsley and cilantro, and add a tablespoon of warm water or olive oil if hummus is too thick. Process until mixture is very smooth. Add salt to taste.