Stuffed and Poached

Welcome to my first blog of the new year. At the request of many friends, I've decided to start posting what I've been eating in my quest to shed a LOT of pounds. This blog will come out once per week and will usually contain one recipe, one technique and a haiku (don't think I'd be letting you off without a little of my favorite poetry). I may add some short exercises or restaurant tips here and there but the major posts will be once per week. Feel free to email any culinary questions or comments to me. Keep your negative comments to yourself.

This week, I'm sharing a healthy recipe and a culinary technique. I hope you will enjoy it.


Stuffed Chicken Breasts

What you need:

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Light, spreadable cheese
• Canadian Bacon
• Your Veggie of Choice (mine is Asparagus)
• Butter
• Salt & Pepper
• Non-stick Spray
  

I guess this will be a technique AND a recipe. Don't feel like you have to follow this exactly. I like asparagus. You may not. This works great with broccoli and many other veggies. My rule for stuffing chicken is usually this:

• a thin spreading of cheese
• a thin sliced meat
• a veggie

Now let's get started.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.


2. Place the chicken breast flat near the edge of the cutting board. Place your hand over it so the thickest part is under your fingertips and the pointed tip of the breast is under your palm just before your wrist. Have your SHARP kitchen knife in your other hand. Press down on the chicken breast so it plumps out. Don't be afraid to push hard. It firms up the meat and makes the knife run through it cleaner. Now you place the blade on the chicken breast somewhere between the cutting board and your hand. There is not much room to work with so please be careful here. you are going to slice into but NOT through the entire breast. Just run the blade longways down the breast to create a slit. Bring the thick part of the blade back to the top of the breast and slip it into the cut you just made. Slowly cut again. You are basically cutting it so it will open like a book. Once you're a little more than 3/4 of the way through the breast, open it and lay it flat so the interior section is facing up. Repeat for all chicken breasts that you need to filet.


3. Salt and Pepper both sides of the breast.

4. Spread the cheese over each breast. Do yourself a favor. If you're using a tub of cream cheese or other light, herb spread, take out a Tbsp for each breast and put it in a bowl. Don't keep spreading it on the chicken and dipping the knife back in the tub. This will cause contamination of raw chicken into the rest of the unused cheese and it can cause salmonella. You don't want that. Discard any cheese that's left in the spare bowl and get ready to stuff.

5. Take one slice of canadian bacon (two halves) and layer it on the cheese so it doesn't hang outside of the edge of the chicken breast.


6. Add your veggies. Again, be careful that the veggies don't hang outside of the edges of the breast.


7. Fold the empty side of the breast over the side with the layers.


8. Heat a pan over med-high heat and melt the butter. I use butter for a few reasons. One is that I'm not dousing the chicken in oil/butter the way they do in restaurants. I'm using it because it browns the meat better and slicks the pan better. You're fine to use it sparingly and the unsalted variety works great if you're watching sodium.

9. Add the breasts to the pan and brown for a few minutes on both sides.



10. Transfer breasts to a baking tray sprayed with non-stick and place in the oven for 25 minutes. I know you'll ask so I'll explain prior to that...you could move the pan from stove top to the oven (if it's the oven-safe variety of pan). However, by the time you're done browning, the butter will be pretty dark and it will splatter and mess up your oven. In addition, it may burn further and ruin the flavor. Do yourself a favor and transfer to a clean baking pan.


11. Remove and serve.




This is a favorite, simple recipe. You can stuff with prosciutto or any variation of ham. It's up to you to determine calories. Weigh each chicken breast and know that they are estimated to be around 35 calories per oz. If you buy Schneider's brand Canadian bacon, 1 slice is only 15 calories. The link here shows 12.5 calories but the package in my fridge says 60 calories for 4 slices so it's 15 per slice. Either way, it's a win-win.

The herb cheese is where you need to be careful. I choose a spreadable cheese for stuffing meat. Sliced cheeses melt and run out in the pan. These spreadable cheeses adhere to the meat and you get full flavor when eating them. The cheese pictured in the blog here is Alouette Light Garlic & Herbs. It's 50 calories for 2 Tbsp. You can get away with a single Tbsp for this recipe. If you can find laughing cow cheese wedges, they are awesome! Just use one wedge per breast. That's 35 calories per wedge. They have a garlic & herb variety that tastes great. You may have to soften it slightly in the microwave.



So there's my recipe for the week. It's quick, simple. You can stuff the chicken breasts after bringing them home from the store, stick them in foodsaver bags and freeze them. I cook three on Sunday and take half of a stuffed breast for lunch for the following six days. One six ounce breast made exactly as I've done here is only 281 calories. Eating half per meal gives you 141 calories. Not bad and I'm all about how flavorful this is.

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Technique of the Week (1/10/2010)

How to properly poach an egg.

Here's what you need:

• An egg, or several
• White Vinegar
• Water
• A shallow glass or tumbler
• Paper Towels
• Slotted Spoon
• A Whisk
  

In some of the images above, you may have noticed that other pan on the stovetop. That is my poaching pan. It's a shallow pan that I feel is perfect for poaching eggs. Here's how it's done:

1. Start off by filling the pan 3/4 full of water. Place that on a burner and bring to a full boil.



2. While you wait for the boil to happen, crack one egg into the shallow glass and keep it close to the pan.

3. Once the water hits the boiling point, lower your heat level to low (mine is #2 on the dial). You want the water to roll slightly but not boil. Now we're moving on to the acrobatic part.

4. Use the whisk to spin the water to create a centrifuge-like effect.


5. Here's where you need to be QUICK and GENTLE. You need to submerge the bottom of the glass slightly to the left of the center and slowly pour the egg into the whirlpool you've created. You'll see how the spinning will push the white inward and keep everything together. The vinegar also causes a clotting effect to solidify the whites quicker. If you don't use vinegar and the whirlpool effect, your egg will look look like a fireworks display when it hits the water and slowly spreads outward. Trust me.

6. Timing is essential. 2 minutes if you like your eggs runny. 3 minutes for medium and 4 minutes for a firm yolk. I prefer the three minute version. USE A TIMER! YOU CAN'T GUESS THIS!!! In those three minutes, you can toast an english muffin and layer it with canadian bacon for an eggs benedict if you wanted. When the egg is poured properly, it will look like a floating cloud. (see below)



7. Remove the egg with the slotted spoon. Place it over the paper towel and lay it down. Fold the corners of the towel over the egg and lightly dab the top of the egg to remove excess moisture. Place the egg where you want it and enjoy. Just roll it slowly off the spoon to it's final resting place before serving. If you're not careful, you'll blow the whole thing wide open and it's messy.





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Weekly Haiku


Yummy stuffed chicken

Which came first, chicken or egg?

Protein is Protein