Chicken Rolls with Fantana Cheese

I had left-over Fantana cheese and was not sure what to do about it.  I saw an Italian recipe with veal which also used Fantana.  I did not have veal at home and didn't want to go buy it.  I had already thawed out some chicken breasts for dinner and thought I should try it on the chicken instead.  The recipe looked simple to make, but it actually took me some time to prepare it.  However,  it was very good and sure nice to serve to friends.

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts
2 Shallots, sliced
Fantana cheese, sliced
Red cabbage, shredded
Red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Toothpicks
Some flour

Directions:

1. Slice chicken breasts thinly across and pound it with meat mallet.
2. Heat oil in pan, saute cabbage for 10 minutes, and add salt.
3. Add red wine vinegar and cook for another 10 minutes or until sauce is dry.
4. Start layering chicken breasts with a piece of Fantana cheese, proscuitto,and cooked cabbage.
5. Roll chicken breasts tightly and secure with a toothpick. Sprinkle some flour on top.
6. Add some oil in a hot pan.
7. Saute onion until fragrant.
8. Add in the rolled chicken, saute and turn occasionally.
9. Pour in some white wine and continue to saute until chicken is thoroughly cooked
10. Serve immediately when it is still warm.

Low Fat Chicken Pot Pie

I saw this recipe from a local TV show "View from the Bay" and made it on the day I was too busy to cook It's different from the usual way I make my bake-a-meal dish.  I added more vegetable, and it looked and tasted like a chicken pot pie but with less than half of the calories.

Ingredients:

1 Sweet potato
1 Leek
4 Carrots
1 Tbsp whole wheat flour
3 Cloves of garlic
2 Cups low sodium chicken broth
2 1/2 Cups chopped chicken breast
1 Red bell pepper1 Cup frozen peas
1 Cup Portobello mushrooms, rinsed and peeled
1 Cup half & half (fat free)*
1 Premade crust
1 Tbsp Dill
1 Tbsp Italian Parsley
1 Tbsp Canola Oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degree Fahrenheit.
2. Rinsed and dice all vegetables and chicken.
3. Heat pan with canola oil.
4. Add potatoes, leek, and carrots and stir for 5-6 minutes.
5. Stir in flour and minced garlic.
6. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 15 minutes.
7. Pour into a baking ware when it's done.
8. Roll out the crust and flatten it.  Cut into a few strips.
9. Place the cut strips on top of the cooked mixture.
10. Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.

Notes:

I added more vegetables than the original recipe had called for.  I used non-fat milk instead of half and half.
It's a little sweet for our taste to use sweet potato.  Next time I would use potatoes instead and maybe add some curry powder for a different taste.

Japanese Chicken Salad - Ban Ban Ji 棒棒雞

We like to buy roasted chicken from Costco.  We always have left over chicken breasts.  I usually use it to make chicken salad.  This is the recipe I saw from a Japanese cooking show. This is a little different than the oriental chicken salad I made but it is very good.

Ingredients:

1 Cooked chicken breasts (see note), sliced
1 Cucumber
1 Tomatoes

Mixed sauce: (These are just estimate, adjust sauce to your prefer taste)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame paste
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 green onion
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp minced ginger
Some hot sauce

Directions:

1. Shred or cut cucumber into thin slices.
2. Cut tomatoes in half first then thin slice it.  Place around the plate.
3. Put shredded cucumber in the middle.
4. Place sliced chicken breasts on top.
5. Pour sauce on top of chicken and serve.

Note:  If you don't have left over cooked chicken breasts, here is the original recipe from the show on how to prepare in advance:

Place 2 pieces of raw chicken breasts in cold water.
Add a few of pepper corn.
Boil for 20 minutes in medium heat
Let cool off, slice chicken breasts.

Bake A Meal (BAM) - Chicken and Green Peas

If you want a nutritious meal but do not want to spend too much time in the kitchen, "bake a meal". or BAM, is definitely the way to go.  I usually put everything onto a baking pan, turn on the oven, and leave the kitchen to continue my other chores at home until the food is done baking.  I am happy that the food was still delicious enough, and  my kids and husband served themselves directly onto their plates like a dinner buffet.  This saved time and cleaning up the dishes afterward. Here is one of the BAM I often make:

Rosemary Chicken , potatoes, green peas with onion.

Ingredients:

1  Whole Chicken
3 Russet Potatoes, peeled and diced
3 stalks of carrots
1 Can of green peas, drain and discard liquid
1/2  a Yellow Onion
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
Garlic salt
Black pepper

Directions:

1. Rinse whole chicken and dry with paper towel.
2. Sprinkle rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper generously inside and outside of chicken.
3. Place diced potatoes, carrots, chopped onion onto baking sheet.
4. Bake at 350 degree for 35 minutes.
5. Add the green peas with the potatoes and cook for 10 more minutes.
6. Check the thickest part of the chicken (thigh area) to make sure the chicken is cooked. 

Note:

Put a sheet of foil on top of the baking pan before placing all the food to be baked to save cleaning up by just discarding the foil afterward.

Jambalaya

A little history of how I became a fan of Jambalaya first. I had a chance to visit New Orleans few years ago and loved it there. That was the first time I went to the South.  I took a couple of tours to see the plantations and houses there. As the tour guide explained how the life was back then.  It reminded me of some of the scenes from the movie "Gone with the Wind".  I could see and feel that era as I walked through the old houses. The kitchen, the rooms, the beds were just what I saw in the movie.

I was also able to enjoy different styles of the popular jazz musics there.  Both traditional and contemporary live jazz musics can be heard everywhere while dining at the restaurants on Bourbon Street and dinner cruise ship.  I experienced the mini Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street. I saw and crossed the famous Mississippi River which I had heard about it since I was a little kid.  The South is just very different from the West coast where I live, and that was an unforgettable trip for me.

The food I tried at the restaurants were the famous Creole and Cajun.  They are just excellent but honestly expensive to eat everyday. The restaurant owned by Emeril Lagasse was located in the French Quarter.  Unfortunately we arrived late afternoon from the airport and the earliest reservation we could get was 10:00pm. However, I was able to try some of the famous food from the South, like seafood gumbo, crocodile soup, crawfish etouffee, rice pudding,etc. The Jambalaya was also one of the dishes I tried there.  I love the food from the South very much that I even got a couple of recipe books from the local shops. 

I have a habit of trying to mimic the food I ate from traveling and learned to cook it  for my kids.  That's the way I introduced new food to my kids.  We all love to eat Jambalaya so much that whenever we go to Elephant Bar, that's a must order item from the menu. I started to look for the Jambalaya recipe online.  This recipe is from one of Rachel Ray's cooking show. It is so delicious that it has become my daughter's "must post recipe" onto the blog.   If you love Jambalaya, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed with this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 Tbsp Butter
1 lb. Chicken,cut to pieces
3/4 lb. Sausage,diced
1 Medium onion, diced
2 Ribs Celery,diced
1 Bell Pepper,diced
1 Bay leaf, diced
Hot Sauce
2 to 3 Tbsp All purpose flour
1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes in juice
1 can (14 oz.) Chicken Broth
1 tsp Cumin
1 round tsp. Dried Chili powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 lb. Medium Shrimps
2 Cups rice, cooked

Optional ingredients:
Salt and Pepper
Chopped Scallions, for garnish
Fresh Thyme, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat the pan with oil, add butter and chicken, saute for 3 minutes.
2. Add the diced sausage and saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add onion,celery, bell pepper,bay leaf and hot sauce, saute another 5 minutes.
4. Pour in all purpose flour stir and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add diced tomatoes, chicken broth,cumin,chili powder, worcestershire sauce and bring up to a boil.
6. Add the shrimps and simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Serve over cooked rice.
8. Add or decorate with any optional ingredients if desire.

Chicken Masala

I wasn't sure what to cook tonight until I saw the 2 bottles of Masala wine in the China cabinet.  I have not made this for a long time and I was rushing to make dinner.  It only took me 30 minutes to  finish cooking the whole meal.  I must say I am surprised that the chickens were very tender and delicious.  Here's how I made this:

Ingredients:

4 Boneless chicken Breasts
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbsp cooking oil
1/2 lb. of fresh mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup Masala wine

Directions:

1. Halves each chicken breast lengthwise into 2 thin slices. Add them to the milk and let them soak.
2. Flatten the chickens by pounding the chickens to 1/4 inch thickness.
3. Heat the pan and add cooking oil until hot.
4. Coat the chicken breasts with some flour and then add to the heated oil.
5. Turn to medium heat and cook for 5 minutes until golden brown, then flip to the other side and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
6.  Add the mushrooms and mix with the chickens and let them cook for another 5 minutes.
7.  Turn to low heat and drizzle soy sauce and the Masala wine around the pan and mix well with chickens.
8.  Cook another 5 minutes. Then they are ready to be served.

Notes:

I recall the restaurant I dined with long time ago served this with mashed potatoes and spinach. That's why I  served the Chicken Masala with mashed potatoes and stir fried spinach.