No More Leftovers, Please!

We've been eating a lot of leftovers here lately. And I don't do well with leftovers (just ask my mom). There's just something about 'em. The taste, the texture, everything. They don't mesh well with my hunger after a long work day....unless it's soup or pasta. That's about all the leftovers I can take.

Well, I broke the leftover streak tonight with this fabulous recipe. I wanted a dish that would combine both my meat and veggie - and this is it!! Butterflied organic chicken breasts stuffed with a flavorful spinach and feta conglomeration - nummo! And I had everything in my pantry. How perfect is that??

Again, this recipe is incredibly adaptable. Turkey may be used in place of chicken....feta can be replaced with goat cheese....add some caramelized shallots for another twist....you get the picture. That's the beauty with a recipe like this. Tweak it to your family's tastes, and watch them gobble it up.

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Photos and Recipe by A Toast to Taste

Ingredients Needed
1 Cup Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained (you may use fresh as well, just saute down)
1/4 Cup Toasted Pine Nuts
1 tsp Capers
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
Juice of Half a Lemon
1/2 Cup Feta Cheese
Couple shakes of Red Pepper Flakes (depending on your tastes)
Salt and Pepper to taste

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Salt and Pepper to taste
4-6 Toothpicks


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Add spinach, toasted pine nuts, and capers to a medium size mixing bowl.



Add the remaining ingredients and stir together to fully combine. Set aside.



Next, butterfly your chicken breasts. Start by laying one flat on a cutting board and with the edge of a knife parallel to the cutting board, begin cutting down the length of the side of the breast. Carefully slice the breast in half, almost to the other edge. Keep that edge intact and open the breast along the fold. Breasts should look like this once complete:



Once breasts are butterflied, place between two sheets of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to pound them out to about a quarter inch thin. Or, if you have a meat tenderizer, use that instead of the rolling pin.



Next, place about 1/4 cup of the spinach mixture over each piece of chicken, then carefully roll them up and secure tightly with a toothpick. Place in a baking dish, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, and bake for 30 minutes.



Remove and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!

Testing 1, 2, 3

The sun is out today! What a difference it makes.

I'm just playing around with my new camera.

Oranges.....make me think of long summer days and sun-tanned skin....

Easy Street

Would you believe it's possible to make an amazing appetizer out of just these three ingredients above?? Well, you betta believe it!

I think it's always important to have an easy appetizer recipe in your back pocket....something that takes less than 10 minutes to throw together but looks like it took an hour, and leaves you feeling a little like Ina Garten repeating, "How easy is that?".



These are my favorite recipes. Often enough when I entertain in my home I serve these, and continually get requests for the recipes. So, we'll begin here, with the Goat Cheese and Fig Spread on Rye Crisps. This is a winner. Easy, tasty, and looks fabulous on a serving platter. And the best part is that this recipe is so adaptable. Don't have fig spread? Use your usual orange marmalade, or blackberry preserves. Don't like rye bread? Use french bread instead. The options are endless.

I'm not sure it can get any easier. You must try this. As soon as possible.

Goat Cheese and Fig Spread on Rye Crisps
Recipe and Photos by A Toast to Taste

Ingredients Needed:
1 loaf of thinly sliced Rye Bread
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
4oz Chevre Goat Cheese, plain, at room temperature
1 jar Fig Spread

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat rye bread slices in olive oil and place on baking sheet. Lightly sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and crispy.



Let crisps cool. Spread each crip with about 1 tsp of goat cheese. Place small dollop of fig spread on top of goat cheese. Repeat process for each crisp. Serve on your favorite platter, and watch them disappear faster than you can say goat!




Hurry, go throw a party!

Use Your Noodle

My husband and I just inherited this charmer below. Isn't she a beaut? Yes, it's the original pasta machine that has been in my husband's family for eons of years. His mother is 100 percent Italian. That means my Scandinavian version of spaghetti and meatballs doesn't quite cut it around here. If ya know what I mean!



So, we asked for pasta making tools this Christmas - and boy did we get them. I have always been a little intimidated by the idea of making my OWN noodles. I mean, what's wrong with the box of noodles you can buy at the grocery store for $1.49? Boil the water, dump 'em in, and 10 minutes later you've got a meal fit for a king. Right?? Well, sort of. Ladies and Gentleman, I gotta admit, homemade noodles are dreamy. The clouds will part and the angels will be a singin' when you eat these. I'm not kidding. And my husband approves. Amen.

We made our first batch of noodles the day after Christmas. And I don't think I'll go back to the boxed stuff. Ever. The process is easy. Trust me folks. And it's so worth the time.

We may just have a new "Day after Christmas" tradition brewing....



Homemade Noodles
Adapted from The Pasta Machine recipe booklet

Tools Needed:
Food Processor
Noodle Cutter
Pasta Machine

Ingredients Needed:
1.5 Cups All Purpose Unbleached Flour
1 tsp kosher salt
2 Large eggs
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp olive oil

Add flour and salt to the food processor, pulse a couple times to gently mix. Next, with the food processor running, add the eggs, one at a time through the feeder tube. Then add the water and olive oil until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 2-5 minutes, adding water if it seems too dry or a little flour if it's too sticky. The dough will become smooth as it is kneaded.

Place the ball of dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let sit for about 20 minutes.

Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Pat each piece into a 4"x4" square and lightly dust with flour. Clamp the pasta machine onto the counter and set the roller to 0 or the widest setting. Pass the dough through the rollers three times, setting the roller to a thinner setting each time. And if you're picky, cut off the rough edges of the dough with the pasta cutter after each time. Finally, you will pass the dough through whichever cutter setting you'd like - fettuccine, spaghetti, etc., depending on your machine.

Once noodles are cut, add to a pot of salted boiling water and cook for approximately 2-3 minutes. Fresh noodles do not need long to cook. Drain pasta, add your favorite sauce, and enjoy!

Makes about 1lb of pasta.

A New Beginning

A New Beginning.

My husband and I sit down every year the end of December and write out our goals for the coming year. Instead of resolutions, we concentrate on moving forward, accomplishing tasks big and small that will give us a sense of fulfillment. A purpose for being here. For the past two years, "start food blog" has been on my list...and for the past two years it has repeatedly been carried over to the new list, followed by my laundry list of excuses as to why I did not get it started, "I didn't have time", "We just got a new puppy", "I don't have a good camera to take pictures", and on, and on.

So, 2011 is my year. A New Beginning. I have to do this. I spend so much of my life cooking, experimenting, entertaining, shopping, gifting, and planning that I need to share it. I am constantly thinking of food, and revel in all the things food does for us. Food brings us together. It nourishes us. It makes us happy. Food is love.

I hope you find my recipes and ideas useful, simple, but, most of all, fun. I look forward to sharing a little piece of my life with you right here on these pages.

Here's to 2011, A New Beginning, however you do it.


Best,
Aanya