Friday, March 23, 2012

Chicken Rollatini Stuffed with Zucchini and Mozzarella

I found this from skinnytaste.com... LOVEEEEEEE

Ingredients:
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups (1 medium) zucchini, shredded
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Romano cheese (or parmesan)
  • 3 oz part skim shredded mozzarella
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each
  • 1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
  • 1 lemon, juice of
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and fresh pepper
  • olive oil non-stick spray

Directions:

Wash and dry cutlets, season with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 450°. Lightlyspray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Add oil when hot then saute garlic a minute, or until golden. Add zucchini, 1/4 cup Romano cheese, salt and pepper and saute about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool. When cool, addmozzarella cheese and mix to combine.

Lay chicken cutlets down on a working surface and spread 3 tbsp of zucchini-cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one and keep seam side down.

Combine breadcrumbs and grated cheese in one bowl; in a second bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper in another bowl.

Dip chicken in lemon-oil mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down in a baking dish (no toothpicks needed). Repeat with the remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spraywith oil spray.

Bake 25 - 30 minutes. Serve immediately. Serving size is listed as one, but if you are having this as a low carb meal with a salad, I suggest you have two.



Friday, March 16, 2012

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

SO much better than any pita I've bought at the supermarket! For this recipe I used my KitchenAid Stand Mixer and a pizza stone. But it can still easily be done if you don't have either. The mixing can be done by hand and you can cook the pitas on a grill pan or right on the oven racks.


Ingredients:
2¼ tsp. instant yeast (1 packet)
1 tbsp. honey
1¼ cups warm water (105˚-115˚ F), divided
1½ cups bread flour, divided
1½ cups whole wheat flour, divided
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
Cornmeal, for sprinkling

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer*, combine the yeast, honey and ½ cup of the water. I found this easiest to combine if I stirred in the honey first, then added the yeast. Stir gently to blend. Whisk ¼ cup of the bread flour and ¼ cup of the whole wheat flour into the yeast mixture until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in bulk and bubbly, about 45 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap and return the bowl to the mixer stand, fitted with the dough hook. Add in the remaining ¾ cup of warm water, 1¼ cups bread flour, 1¼ cups whole wheat flour, olive oil and salt. Knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the ball of dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let it rise in a warm draft-free place, about 1 hour, until doubled in bulk.

Place an oven rack in the middle position. Place a baking stone in the oven (if using) and preheat to 500˚ F.

Once the dough has risen, transfer to a lightly floured work surface, punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Flatten one ball at a time into a disk, then stretch out into a 6½-7 inch circle. Transfer the rounds to a baking sheet or other work surface lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Once all the rounds have been shaped, loosely cover with clean kitchen towels. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, until slightly puffy.

Transfer 4 pitas, 1 at a time, onto the baking surface. (Note: These can be baked on a baking stone or directly on the oven racks. I use a pizza stone, but either method is fine.) Bake 2 minutes, until puffed and pale golden. Gently flip the pitas over using tongs and bake 1 minute more. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining pitas. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

*As always, anything mixed in a stand mixer can be mixed by hand.