Pizza Stuffed Chicken

I love pizza. Who doesn't? So I revamped a Rachel Ray recipe I saw on TV the other day to make a pizza stuffed chicken breast. It's awesome. Cheesy and salty, with a yummy basil tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts (I made 2)
Pepperoni slices (diced into smaller pieces), about 1/4 cup
Mozzarella cheese, shredded, about 1/4 cup
1 TBS olive oil

Chicken broth, 2/3 cup
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp basil
2 gloves garlic

Directions:

1. Make sure your chicken breasts are trimmed of excess fat and connective tissue.
2. Rinse and pat dry.
3. Carefully cut the breast in half, so that it is butterflied. To do this, place your knife halfway down the breast on the long side and cut towards the far side. Do not cut all the way through. It should look like this picture when you're done.
4. Place a small amount of the pepperoni and cheese on one side of the open breast. Leave chicken exposed on all sides of the filling.
5. Fold the piece of uncovered chicken back over the top of the filling.
6. Secure the open side of the breast with toothpicks. (Imagine you are sewing the chicken with the toothpicks.) I seasoned my chicken on the outside with an Italian seasoning mix for extra flavor.

7. Heat your olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Once warm, add the breasts to the pan and cook about 3 minutes on each side.
8. Transfer your chicken to a broiler pan (or something else that elevates the meat off the bottom of the pan) and bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes or until the chicken is done.

9. While your chicken is baking, pour the chicken stock into the skillet you just used.
10. Add your tomatoes and spices. Simmer, uncovered until the chicken is done.

I served this with pasta and topped the pasta with a little bit of leftover filling. Yummy!

Ham Alfredo

We are huge pasta fans in my house and this one always gets rave reviews. Tonight, everyone ate two plates full of it and licked their plates clean.

Yum!!!

Ingredients:

1 pound ham (pre-cooked)
1 pound pasta of your choice (I use penne)
4 TBS butter
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
3/4 cup parmesan
3/4 cup mozzarella

1. Chop the ham into small chunks. Preheat your oven to 325.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and fry the ham and garlic over medium high heat.
3. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet and melt it. Reduce the heat to medium.
4. Add the flour to the ham and butter in the skillet and stir until the butter is all absorbed by the flour.
5. Add the milk to the skillet and stir slowly, keeping the heat on medium.
6. Add the cheeses and whisk until the cheeses are melted.

 

7. While the sauce is thickening, boil water for pasta. Cook the pasta according to box instructions, reducing the cooking time by one minute.

8. After the pasta has finished, drain it thoroughly and add to the sauce you just made. Stir together until the pasta is covered.

9. Sprinkle with a little extra parmesan and mozzarella, then bake at 325 for 10 minutes to melt the cheese. 

Serve and enjoy! You could add peas or asparagus to this for some vegetables.