Recipe(tried): Cheesy-Basil Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Sugar Glazed Roasted Carrots, Diced Potato

Hey Y'All!

It's taken me til today to recuperate from the game...I ran some errands early this morning and when I went into Walmart's I found 2 wonderful cooking magazines in the rack...one of them is Cook's Country from the editors of Cook's Illustrated and the other one is Everyday with Rachael Ray.

I am going to subscribe to them because they are very informative and contain loads of yummy recipes. In fact, tonight's meal is from the Cook's Country Magazine. Be warned though, the meal is just like one served at a good restaurant. It was utterly delicious...the combination of the carrots and the potatoes with the chicken was incredibly tasty. The chicken was very tender and full of flavor and the carrots roasted in the oven came out tender and delicious!

The meal was easy and fun to prepare and clean-up was a breeze. These recipes are certainly keepers at our home! For dessert I served something very light from Publix called Heavenly Indulgence.

I hope y'all try these recipes soon, you won't be disappointed!

Happy Cooking! Gina

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CHEESY BASIL-STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS
Source: Cook's Country Magazine, March 2006
Servings: 4

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (whole-milk cheese will provide the creamiest filling; the part-skim will be grainy)
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine cheese, 2 Tbsp. basil, cream, lemon juice, 2 tsp. garlic, 1/2 tsp. salt, and pepper to taste in a medium bowl.

Cut pocket in thickest area of chicken breast. Gently work the knife back and forth until the pocket extends down into most of the breast. Stuff with 1/4 of the cheese filling. Seal in the filling by threading a toothpick through the chicken end to seal. Transfer chicken breasts to a 13x9-inch baking dish and spread tops evenly with mayonnaise.

Combine bread crumbs, reamining garlic, remaining 2 Tbsp. basil and 1 Tbsp. oil. Sprinkle crumb mix over chicken, pressing lightly to adhere.

Toss tomatoes with remaining Tbsp. oil, 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper to taste. Arrange in baking dish around chicken.

Bake until crumbs are golden brown and thickest part of chicken registers 160 degrees on a thermometer, about 25 minutes. Serve.

***I cooked mine for 35 minutes.

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SUGAR GLAZED ROASTED CARROTS
Source: Cook's Country Magazine, March 2006
Servings: 4-6

1 1/2 lbs. carrots, peeled and cut into 2 by 1/2 inch pieces
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. ***I cooked mine at the temperature of the chicken alongside the chicken in the oven.

Toss carrots, melted butter, sugar, salt and pepper til thoroughly combined. Place carrots in a single row on pan and begin to roast until carrots begin turning brown on bottom, about 15 minutes.

Remove pan from oven, toss carrots to re-distribute, and continue to roast until tender about 3 more minutes.

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DICED REDSKIN POTATOES

I use Reser's brand...these are rosemary and roasted garlic diced redskin potatoes.

I drizzle olive oil on a skillet and cook them over medium high til a brown crust forms on bottom and then I flip them over and cook until they are golden brown.

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HEAVENLY INDULGENCE
Source: Publix Apron's
Servings: 8

1 quart strawberries (rinsed)
5 kiwi fruit (rinsed)
1/4 cup strawberry syrup
1 15 oz. angel food cake
3 4 oz. cups vanilla pudding
whipped topping

Remove stems from berries and peel kiwi; cut both into bite-size pieces.

Combine with strawberry syrup in a medium bowl and combine thoroughly. Chill until ready to assemble dessert.

Remove cake from all packaging. Place cake on serving platter and split cake using sharp knife, in half horizontally.

When ready to serve, spread pudding over bottom half of cake. Spoon half of strawberry mixture, reserving syrup, over pudding. Top with the other half of cake. Spoon remaining strawberry mixture including syrup, over top of cake. Serve with whipped topping.