#HomeMadeisBetter

Cheese stuffed Chicken with Jerusalem Artichokes and Brussel Sprouts

Super Jenn Things to Eat! , , ,

This evening it started to rain, finally. It’s chilly, and there is nothing better than a good hot fresh meal. I was given some Jerusalem Artichokes, and I really wanted to try a new recipe with them. Paired with that I pan friend some Brussels and baked one of my favorite chicken recipes.

The height of the meal is one of my favorites. A stuffed chicken breast with all my favorite things – Cheese, Peanuts and Bacon! (This dish does need to bake for about 40 minutes, so it’s a good idea to start with the chicken and then prep and cook everything else once it’s in the oven) You must cook the bacon first, and while it cooks you can chop your peanuts and shred your mozzarella cheese. It’s best if you can cut a pocket to tuck the ingredients into, but if not then make sure you have some kitchen twine to tie it up with.

The Brussels are easy. Just wash them and trim the bottoms off. Heat some Olive Oil over Medium heat. Toss in some salt and pepper and the Brussels, tossing to coat. Let them cook, tossing every few minutes to turn.

The Jerusalem artichokes are pretty simple as well. These funny little root veggies are sometimes called sunchoke. I personally like to peel them, but it is not necessary. The recipe that I tried tonight called for fresh ginger, some sherry, and a dash of S&P.

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Cheese Stuffed Chicken (these measurements are for four servings)

Ingredients:

  • 4 chicken breast halves (2 to 2-1/2 lb. total)
  • 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (3 oz.)
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
  • 6 slices bacon, crisp-cooked, drained, and crumbled
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • Paprika

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Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Skin chicken, if desired. Using a sharp knife, make a pocket in each breast by cutting horizontally from side to side, leaving edges intact. In a bowl combine mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, peanuts, and bacon. Spoon filling into pockets, packing lightly (pockets will be full). Place chicken, in a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Lightly sprinkle chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and paprika.

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  • Bake, uncovered, for 35 to 40    minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the chicken registers 170 degree F.

Gingered Jerusalem Artichokes – (these measurements are for four servings)

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound Jerusalem artichokes, peeled, if desired, and cut up
  • 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
  • 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
  • 1/4 cup Marsala, sherry, or apple juice (I used Dry Sherry)
Directions:
In a large skillet cook and stir artichokes in hot butter over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add ginger; cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat; stir in Marsala. Season to taste with salt.
Start to finish – about an hour. Easy and delicious! Enjoy!
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Table Runner

Super Jenn Jenn is Crafty! , , ,

Today I was a little intimidated to bring out my sewing machine. My machine that has had at least 3 generations of use. The one that I haven’t touched for over 4 years. Thankfully because I am so diligent in making sure my things are put away properly (Thanks Daddy!) all the pieces were there and in working order with little (to no) searching.

Off to Joanne’s i go to find some holiday fabric from their fabric sale.  I chose complementing patterns that were not over the top holiday patterns. Amazingly enough I even remembered to get thread while I was at it so I would have something that matched. I was proud of myself. I bought 1/3 of a yard of each fabric.

So home I go, and I pin my fabric together. Like Sides to Like sides. Run about a 3/8th seam around the edges, leaving a small gap to be able to turn it. As I was sweing along, the machine warmed up, and so did I. The bug never goes away. I felt the energy from decades of love for the craft surround me and within 10 minutes – I was done.

I turned my fabric right side out, and ironed it very carefully. All that was left was a quick sew of the gap. Ran in Iron over it a few more times, and onto the table it went!

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So to celebrate I made some Chocolate Chip Cookies! (From Scratch, of course)

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Pumpkin Spice EVERYTHING!!!

Super Jenn Things to Eat! , ,

During the time of year, Pumpkin spice is Everywhere. Among with the posts about how yummy it is, comes equal posts about how many fake ingredients major manufacturers put in it. In my attempt to eat a cleaner life, I sought out a way to have a Pumpkin spice that I knew all the ingredients put into it. No corn syrup of any kind, so it does have an expiration date!

Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 1 and 1/2 cups water
  • 3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions:

  • In a medium saucepan, add water and both sugars. Simmer on medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves, about 4 minutes.
  • Turn the heat down to low and whisk in cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and pumpkin puree. Simmer for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not allow the mixture to come to a boil. Once you add the pumpkin the mixture will thicken quite a bit, don’t be fooled! Continue to let it reduce a little.
  • Almost ready
  • Remove from the heat and strain through a mesh strainer lined with cheese   cloth or a very thin, clean tea towel
  • Cheesecloth and strainer set up
  • Allow the syrup to cool to room-temperature before stirring in the vanilla extract. It’s important to note that it won’t really taste right until the Vanilla is added. If you are using a real vanilla extract and plan on giving the syrup as gifts, be aware that there will be alcohol (very small percentage) in it since it’s added after the cooking is done. Store in a mason jar or airtight container. The syrup will last for 1 month at room-temperature or 3 months in the refrigerator.
  • Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Homemade Bread

Super Jenn Things to Eat! ,

About six months ago, I made the decision to stop purchasing bread. I found that I was throwing away about 3/4 of the loaf due to mold, and just simply not being able to eat it fast enough.

I absolutely LOVE PB&J, and knowing that, my delightful Mother sent me a few jars of Jam she made. So here I have been sitting and waiting until I have the time to make some bread. Since it is a bit of a new en devour for me, I like to make sure that I have enough time to make sure I do it right. Hopefully as time goes by, I will get more confident with my bread-making skills.

Finally the day had come! I had an entire afternoon to do nothing but bake. I found a very simple recipe and followed it the best I could.Since I do not eat much bread, and it tends to go bad on me, I like to freeze half of it. This time, I divided it and froze half of it right away, before letting it rise. As soon as it was mixed, kneaded and ready to let sit, I cut it in half. I rolled the dough up in parchment paper, and placed in a plastic bag – labeled of course.

 Bread to freeze

The other half went according to plan, and after a few short hours I was finally able to enjoy a slice of homemade bread, fresh from the oven and topped with a bit of my Mothers yummy Jam

. Fresh Bread

Indredients:

  • 1 (1/4 oz) package of active dry yeast
  • 2 1/4 cups warm water
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons canola oil
  • 6 1/4 – 6 3/4 Cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

  • In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt, oil and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
  • Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. (This is the point where I halved it.)  Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. (either more oil, or butter can be used. I like to use butter) Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.
  • Punch dough down. (some people suggest letting it rise and punching it down more than once to let it mix more thoroughly
  • )  Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide dough in half. Shape each into a loaf. Place in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.
  • Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each).

Fresh from the oven