The Candid Cook - Fajita Stuffed Chicken

Some things just look so delicious you have to try them at least once. That's what happened with me when my friend, Terri, posted a video of how to make these babies on Facebook.

If you want to see the original video (and to give credit where credit is due, here's the link to the video on Buzzfeed). However, I tweaked a number of things from the given recipe to reflect our family's tastes. I felt like the amount of seasoning the recipe called for was way over the top, so I reduced them to a reasonable amount. Also, I cut back on the cheeses a bit as well. I wanted them to be cheesy, but I didn't want the cheese to overpower all of those yummy peppers and onions. These babies are so full of flavor that I recommend my version over theirs any day. 

Fajita Stuffed Chicken Breasts

(Each stuffed breast is actually 2 servings, so keep that in mind when deciding how many to prepare for your family meal.)

Chicken

3 chicken breasts, trimmed

salt

garlic powder

chili powder

cumin

Filling

1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 c. sliced onions

2 cups chopped bell peppers (I used mixed colors)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 oz. cream cheese

2 oz. colby jack cheese (grated or cut into small cubes)

2 oz. pepper jack cheese (grated or cut into small cubes)

Before you start cooking, you're going to want to do as much prep as possible. Chop your veggies, shred/cube your cheeses, and trim your chicken. Then take each chicken breast and slit it down the side so you have a place to stuff that delicious filling. 

Next we're going to gently flatten the chicken breasts just a little bit. This helps make it easier to stuff, and will also help ensure that the chicken is completely cooked through without having to burn the outside. To do this open the chicken along the slit, and lay a sheet of plastic wrap on top.

Then, with a meat mallet, firmly (but not too hard!!) flatten the chicken until  it's the same thickness throughout. The final thickness will depend on how big your chicken breasts are, but mine are usually about 3/4 inch thick. 

Finally, remove the plastic and flip the chicken over. It's time to season the outside of the chicken, Sprinkle with garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, and a little bit of salt. Rub it in gently and set the chicken aside.

Now it's time to get cooking! Heat your olive oil in a non-stick frying pan (one that has a lid, preferably), Add your onion and saute' over medium-high heat until your onions start to lightly brown on some of the edges.

Add your chopped peppers. Isn't that beautiful??

Season with salt and pepper and cook until peppers start to get tender. (Keep in mind that the pepper will continue to soften while the chicken is cooking, so don't overcook the veggies in this step!)

Transfer veggies to a medium mixing bowl and set the pan aside (off the heat) to use again in a minute. (Do not wash the pan!!) 

Add cheeses to the pepper mixture while it's still hot. 

Stir together until well blended. Not all of the cheeses will be melted, but that's okay. It'll all melt together while you're cooking the chicken.

Now it's time to stuff the chicken! With the seasoned side down, place 1/3 of the filling in the center.

Fold over and repeat the process with the other two chicken breasts.

Look at the pan you cooked the peppers in. It should  have traces of olive oil and seasoning in the bottom,. That's excellent. Place it over medium heat and it get nice and hot again. Add an extra drizzle of oil and swirl it around if you think you need it to keep the chicken from sticking. Then, carefully place the stuffed chicken into pan. (I find it easiest to transfer the chicken with a large flat spatula and a fork holding it together.)

Cover and cook for 3 minutes,

Uncover and cook another 2 minutes. 

See how some of the "guts" are falling out a cooking in the pan? 

That's totally fine. It's amazing, actually.

Once it has cooked for a total of five minutes on one side, it's time to flip it - carefully. You might lose a little more filling, but try to keep as much of it in as you can. Now it's time to repeat the pattern: 

Cook covered for 3 minutes

Uncover and cook 2 more minutes

Remove the pan from the heat and let the chicken sit in the pan till you're ready to plate it. 

Once you take out your stuffed breasts, you'll see some leftover peppers and cheese in the pan. Whatever you do... do NOT throw it away. 

It's Delicious. 

(And yes, that's with a capital D.)

Now you have two choices: 

1) You can reward yourself for all of your hard work cooking dinner and eat it straight out of the pan. I won't judge you.

2) You can share with your family by putting a little on each plate. 

As you can see here, I was nice to my family and shared the joy. 

These are soooooo addictive! It's one of those meals you'll be remembering for days...

The Candid Cook - Best Black Beans Ever

We were visiting our family in Louisiana when I was introduced to this amazing concoction. Fortunately, my sister in law had me eat a bowl before she told me what was in it. This just might be the last black bean recipe you'll ever need. Yes, there's curry in it. But don't think you're eating curry. Yes, there's also pumpkin and coconut milk. Don't judge until you've tried it. It has the creamiest sauce ever, and the flavor... Fantastic!

The original recipe can be found here, but you know me... I can't leave any recipe alone. I didn't make major modifications, but here is the new recipe which includes my edits.

Pumpkin and Coconut Black Beans (and Rice)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced (optional)
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1 lb dried black beans, rinsed
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp curry powder
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp cumin
1 bay leaf
1 can coconut milk, unsweetened
2 tsp salt
6 cups liquid (I use either 4 cups chicken broth and 2 cups water, or 3 cups vegetable stock and 3 cups water)
Cilantro (for garnish)
Plain yogurt or sour cream (for garnish)

Heat oil in frying pan. Add diced onions and sauté until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add diced peppers and cook until onions are starting to brown (carmelized). Add garlic and cook one more minute. Remove from heat.

A couple of notes on the ingredients: 1) Rinse your black beans. Don't skip this step. Not only will it clean them, but it may even cut down on the whole "beans give you gas" thing.  

2) Don't cheap out on your coconut milk. Read the labels, and you'll be surprised what some companies add to their product. This is the brand I like to buy because there's only three ingredients listed on the can. 

Now that you've got good ingredients, let's more on. In the crock pot, place the cooked veggies, rinsed black beans, pumpkin, tomato paste, curry, red pepper, cumin, bay leaf, coconut milk, and salt. 

Mix gently, then add the liquid. Stir one more time, and put the lid on. The mixture will look lighter than expected, but it will darken as the beans cook.

Cook on high for 6-8 hours until the beans reach desired tenderness. Remove the bay leaf (in you can find it!!) and serve with rice. Garnish with yogurt or sour cream and fresh cilantro if desired. 

Or, if you're impatient like  me you can also eat the beans by themselves in a bowl with a little sour cream and Chalula pictured above... mmmm mmmm good!

The Candid Cook: Double-Decker Tortilla Pizzas

Remember those homemade tortillas I was blogging about a couple of weeks ago?  Well, I made some the other night for dinner and we ended up with a bunch leftovers.  We didn't get to them fast enough a couple of days later they weren't soft enough to eat for my taste.  However, I didn't want them to go to waste.  

Solution?

Double-decker tortilla pizzas!

This was all that was left by the time I thought to snap a picture.  I simply laid out a tortilla, spread it with our usual pizza sauce (which I'll have to post the recipe for here someday), and sprinkled with cheese.  Then you  repeat: lay, spread, and sprinkle!

If you had any pepperoni or sauteed mushrooms and peppers you could add that to the middle, too.

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted in the middle.  (I do think I under-cooked these a little, by the way, so your cheese should be lightly browned on top.)

I fed this to the younger kids while the adults had black bean and chicken enchiladas... yum... It was a win for everyone that night!

Jalapenos & "Flatbread" Sandwiches

I have a secret love.  It's kind of a new thing for me.  You see, I've been a sissy all my life when it comes to hot and spicy foods.  Jalapenos are as tough as I can get, and even that's a new development.  It all started when my neighbor made stuffed jalapenos and brought them to my house.  Ever since then, I have loved, loved, loved stuffed jalapenos.  But I don't make them often.  They're really not that healthy.  However, we were having a "family fun night" last Friday to relax and enjoy each other since things have been so hectic around here lately.  Since I had just gotten jalapenos in my co-op basket the day before, guess what I made?

First you slice the jalapenos in half and scrape out the seeds.  (It's a good idea to wear gloves for this part.)  Then I fill each half of jalapeno with neufatel cheese, since it's "1/3 less fat than cream cheese".

Then I wrap each stuffed jalapeno with a slice of bacon and place it on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  You can see how concerned I am with the "fat" at this point, right?  (My neighbor actually makes hers with turkey bacon, in case you're interested in trying it.)

Bake it at 375 for about 20 minutes or so till the bacon is done and the peppers are crisp-tender and voila!  Deliciousness that explodes in your mouth.  Admit it - you're a little jealous.  These look delicious, don't they?  They were.

Since this treat was really only something that Ben and I would enjoy, I decided to try something new for dinner that the kids would like, too: flatbread sandwiches.  They sell these things at restaurants all over the place - how hard can it be?

I decided from the beginning that I wasn't going to try to recreate Middle Eastern or Mediterranean flat bread.  That seemed too much like work at 4pm on Friday afternoon.  However, I could make my usual yummy bread dough, and just roll it out flat, right?  So I did!  Then I baked it at 350 or so till it looked done.

See how thin it is?

Using my electric knife, I trimmed the ends off and cut it into sandwich sized sections.  The I sliced each section in half through the middle so I could make a sandwich out of it.

By the time I remembered to take a picture of the sandwiches, this was all that was left! 

These are definitely going on our menu again.