Florentine Bacon Wrapped Chicken —>> Chicken Manicotti

Tags

chicken, healthy food, manicotti, picky eaters

Photo Courtesy of Food Network

Since my son was born this April, cooking with two kids has been HARD.  Although I have always loved baking – the honest truth is that I am not a great cook.  So these past nine months, my hubby rose up like a fine man and decided to do the cooking.  You can imagine what I was thinking then when he went out of town last week and I was left to feed us by myself.  Here’s what that looked like:

It was 3 o’ clock.  The time when I know I must defrost some form of meat and make it into a meal.  Having NO idea what would be for dinner in the next few hours, I decided it would be chicken thighs.  I defrosted some chicken and prayed and asked God that there be something good on my cooking DVR shows that would involve chicken!

I turned on my DVR around 4 o’ clock and was very happy to find Rachael Ray make a recipe in.. yes 30 minutes!… with chicken!  And looked yummy!  Florentine Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken.  Except I hate prosciutto… but I had some bacon to substitute.  And she used ricotta cheese in her recipe… and I didn’t have that.  A quick google search fixed that – I could substitute tofu instead!  And I had that!  Phew. That was settled.  Now we could eat.

Can I just say it was amazing?  My daughter gave it 10 stars and 10 thumbs up!  On top of that – Rachael Ray’s filling made way more than I could stuff my chicken.  So I saved the filling and made Chicken Manicotti (recipe below) the next night – which was double yum!  Manicotti has been a childhood favorite of mine, but this time I found a way to make it my own.  My parents came in and loved both dishes too!  They didn’t even know there was tofu inside, replacing the fat of ricotta cheese with 7 grams of protein!

My kinda meal!  Great one night and transformed as another meal the next!

Here’s the recipe for:

Florentine Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 box frozen spinach, defrosted
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• 1/2 cup tofu
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• A few grates nutmeg
• 6 chicken breasts
• 6 slices bacon
• 3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Wring out defrosted spinach in clean kitchen towel.

Toast nuts and combine with spinach in a bowl, mix in cheeses, garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Cut into and across but not all the way through the chicken breasts, opening them up like a book with a sharp knife. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Fill each with a small mound of stuffing. Flap chicken breasts back over stuffing and wrap each breast with prosciutto to seal them, carefully covering the whole breast. Brush chicken all over with some extra-virgin olive oil and roast 18 to 20 minutes until cooked through.

 

Chicken Manicotti

Ingredients

6 Chicken Thighs

12 Manicotti Shells

Spinach, Tofu, Pine Nut, Parmesean Cheese Filling from Above Recipe

Tomato Sauce

Fresh mozzarella (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Get a medium sized bowl filled with shallow ice (prevents shells from breaking).

Boil Manicotti Shells for about 8 minutes or until al dente.

Carefully remove each shell from water with tongs and place in ice to cool for approx. 5 min.

Stuff shells with filling.

Pour tomato sauce over top of shells.  Put strips of mozzarella cheese over top (optional).

Bake for 30 minutes.  Yum!

 

Deel of the Week: RELAXAMAT

I discovered a new website today called, tanga.com.  It’s pretty useful.  They have sales ranging in all different categories for men, women, and children containing just about anything you can think of.  Featured today in their Health and Beauty section for only $17.99 (originally $69.99) plus $4.99 S&H is a quality looking Acupressure Relaxation Mat.

If the pointed plastic looks uncomfortable to you, the effect is actually the opposite.  The company claims that when the product is used “regularly for 20 to 40 minutes, you enable your body to release endorphins which in turn stimulates the release of oxytocin, the feel-good hormone. As a result, your body relaxes and releases stress, promoting restful sleep as a result of relief from stressful back and neck pain.”

My husband’s cousin introduced acupressure devices to me last year.  Knowing first hand that acupuncture works, I know that acupressure works too.  I have seen other mats such as these sold frequently and have always been intrigued.  This brand states that they use no glue and no chemicals to manufacture the RELAXAMAT – and it has a 5 year warranty.

For $23 (incl. S&H), I’d say it is a great deal if you suffer from excess stress and/or back and neck pain.  Try it out and let me know if you did!

Update 03/04/2019: This RelaxAmat is not easy to find and is not very big. But click here to see Amazon’s latest one that gets 4.5 stars for being very effective… and only $19.99 with FREE shipping!

Source: tanga.com via Vanessa on Pinterest

 

 

 

Tasting Ancient Africa – Classical Conversations Week 13

Tags

africa, bananas, classical conversations, dates, instant soy protein, math, timeline

It’s an exciting time whenever a homeschool project brings together multiple subjects we are studying all into one and uses my daughter’s gift of creativity.  But when all of this happens by ACCIDENT?  Oh my word!  It is an absolute wonderful miracle that only God can be given the credit for!

It all started with a great week back at Classical Conversations as we entered Week 13 and the Age of Exploration.  Two moments in our timeline song include “Slave Trade in Africa” and “Songhai in Africa” – which are two of the most fun parts of the week to sing.  Naturally, then, I decided we would study about Africa in our Story of the World curriculum.  At the end of the lesson were two recipes using ingredients found in Africa – dates and plantains (we used bananas).  I thought to myself… “Do I really want to do this?”  “Will it be a good use of my time if they don’t turn out?”  I debated and debated.  Finally, I decided since we have been memorizing also in Classical Conversations, mathematical measurement conversions used in baking, that we would go ahead and try it.  Something inside me told me I wouldn’t regret it.

Wow!  Was I ever right!  Both recipes were not only delicious, but my daughter and I bonded SO well.  She was intently interested in how many teaspoons were in a tablespoon and in mixing thoroughly every ingredient.  We laughed, we talked about so many topics that we wouldn’t normally have.  It was WONDERFUL.  As we baked, I knew it was moments like these that are why I homeschool.  What time would I have with a baby to do extra baking if she were in school?  How would I ever know ahead of time what she was learning to coordinate our activities at home to reinforce her learning?  I just plain old wouldn’t.  An added element for me as a mom was being able to substitute a third of the flour with Instant Soy Protein so I knew both of these treats were not only healthy with fruits, but also that the carbohydrates were dramatically cut and I know my little sweetie will be growing while enjoying.

It was so nice to serve these to my ladies who gathered at my house later that evening.  Baking, math, Africa, memorizing our Timeline, Science, hearts connecting… does it get any better than this?  I treasure these years dearly.

Here are the Recipes:

Date and Banana Protein Bars:

Ingredients:

*1/4 cup butter

*3/4 cup sugar

*1 egg

*1tsp. vanilla

*2 medium bananas

*2/3 c. flour

*1/3 c. Instant Soy Protein

*1/4 tsp. baking soda

*1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

*1/2 cup chopped dates

*(Optional:  1/4 cup almonds)

Icing:
*2 tablespoons butter

* 1 tablespoon lemon juice

*1/2 teaspoon vanilla

*3/4 c. powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Cream together the butter and sugar.

2. Add the egg and vanilla.

3. Stir in the bananas and dry ingredients

4. Add the dates and almonds.

5. Bake in an 8″ x 8″ pan at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until edges are turning brown.

Date Protein Chewies:

Ingredients:

* 1 c. chopped dates

* 2 eggs

*1 c. sugar

*1/2 c. flour

*1/4 c. Instant Soy Protein

*1 tsp. baking powder

*1 c. pecans, ground

*1/4 c. powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In a blender, blend eggs and dates together.  Set aside.

2. In mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder, and pecans.  Add in egg mixture.

3. Pour into ungreased cookie sheets.  Press the mixture down so it will be as thin as possible.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Remove from oven and cut into bars while hot.

5. Roll into balls and then roll in the powdered sugar as soon as the chewies are cool enough to handle.

I would love any comments on how you reduce the sugar.  Next time I will try agave syrup and see what happens!  Who knows what other great things will happen because of an accident?

A New Year. A New Healthy You.

Tags

baby, pregnancy, shaklee, shaklee 180, weight loss

Before (March 2012) and After (November 2012)

How could I be wearing the clothes I had not worn since high school just three months after having my second baby?  People began asking me what I was doing to lose the weight so fast.  It was then I realized that health program I had been on really prepared my body to do what it should before, during, and after pregnancy.

Pregnancy with my firstborn was a different story – I gained more weight and it did not come of quickly. This time, Shaklee helped me lose 38 pounds.

I am so thankful a friend introduced me to Shaklee or my son would not be here today.  Not only was I able to manage my hypothyrodism, overcome fatigue, and become pregnant because of Shaklee, but I know that the program I used helped my baby to be nourished with nothing but health, and I gained no extra weight than what was necessary to bring him to health.

I truly see a difference in the healthy start between my children. My body is just a bonus.  They only see the doctor for well checkups.  Neither child has ever been on an antibiotic, and my oldest is six years old.

It can happen for you!  Join me! Make the New Year right!  You will lose weight, or your money back.  If you help 3 people, you get yours free!

Learn more at www.takeitoff4good.myshaklee.com.