For Friday nights i often do a roast with all the trimmings but yesterday I decided to make these chicken breasts with a slightly unusual stuffing and The Family loved them !So here is the recipe......

ROAST CHICKEN BREASTS with ALMOND STUFFING
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4-6 Chicken Breasts(filleted but not skinned)

Stuffing
4 ozs ground almonds
1 oz breakfast oats,soaked in 3 Tbls milk until soft
1/4 cup of butter,softened
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Stuffing

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and place in the fridge,covered ,until firm.
Place stuffing under the loosened skin of the chicken breasts.Roast in a shallow pan for between 15 to 20 mins(depends on size of breasts used) at 400f(200C).Remove from pan and keep warm.
Add a little stock or water to pan juices and reduce,stirring,over high heat to make a gravy.
NB I sometimes add 1Tbls red currant jelly to the pan juices to enrich the gravy and add taste.

With it I served...

Marinated mushrooms
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Ingredients
4 cups water
3 Tbls white wine vinegar
2 tsp salt
1 lb white button mushrooms
1/4 cup olive oil
10 black pepper corns
3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
2 Tbls chopped parsley
2 Tbls chopped spring onionsBoil water, put half of vinegar & salt in water. Put mushrooms in and boil for 2 minutes. Do not cook for longer. Take mushrooms out of water and put in a mixing bowl. Heat rest of vinegar, oil and pepper for 5 minutes. Pour over mushrooms through a sieve. Add garlic, parsley and spring onions. This must be made the previous day.

Lemon Pilaf
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Serves 6

3 cups cooked rice
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green onion
6 tablsp. butter
1 tablsp. grated fresh lemon rind
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper

Prepare rice according to package directions. Saute celery and green onions in butter in large skillet until tender. Add rice, lemon rind, and seasonings. Toss lightly. Cook over low heat about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally


For dessert we had a pawpaw cake I,de baked earlier in the day.....Pawpaw Cake
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1/4 c. butter
1 c. sugar
11/4 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. mashed pawpaw pulp
1 beaten egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Add well beaten egg and mashed pawpaw. Sift together flour, soda, and salt. Stir into the creamed mixture. Add vanilla and pour in an 8 inch square pan or two round layer cake pans. Bake at 375o F for 50 minutes. When cool, frost with cream cheese thinned with milk, or with any simple white frosting. Decorate with pawpaw slices.

Hope you all have a good weekend
love Julie