Monday Recipe: Bruschetta and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I took the basic recipe from Kraft.com and switched it up a bit. I love this recipe because it's something different to do with boring chicken.

Serves 2-3. Prep time: 15-20 minutes. Cook time: 50 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 can of diced Italian style tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 tablespoons of dried basil
• 1/2 package of Chicken Stovetop Stuffing
• 1 package of boneless skinless chicken breast halves (3-4 per package)
• Italian dressing
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix tomatoes, 3/4 cup of cheese, and basil in bowl. Add stuffing mix, stir until just moistened.
3. Place chicken breasts into large freezer bag. Pound with mallet or heavy can until chicken is 1/4 inch think. Remove from bag, place top side down, and pour thin layer of dressing on chicken breast. Spread chicken with stuffing mixture. Starting at narrow wend, tightly roll up each breast. Put in baking dish seam-side down and repeat with other breasts.
4. Drizzle with dressing.
5. Bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with rest of cheese, bake 5 minutes more.

Crockpot Chicken Burrito Mess

This is a work in progress--someone on a message board I frequent suggested it without giving any specifics. I'd love any suggestions for extra/different ingredients.

Serves 6-8. I'm attempting to freeze half, not sure how that's going to turn out.
Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 6 hours.

Ingredients

• 1 pack of chicken breast tenders
  
• 1 can of medium salsa
  
• 1 can of corn
  
• 1 can of black beans
  
• large burrito flour tortillas
  
• other Mexican fixings: shredded cheese, sour cream, etc.
  

Directions

1. Put chicken in crock pot.
2. Add in salsa, corn, and beans. Be sure to drain the water from the corn and beans before adding it.
3. Stir.
4. Cook on low for six hours.
5. The chicken is now very tender and will shred simply by stirring it vigorously.
   
6. Serve as burritos on flour tortillas

The verdict? A teensy bit bland but still pretty tasty. Next time, I think I'm going to consider adding lime, chicken taco seasoning (you can buy the packets at Wal-mart, I use it for quesadillas), and perhaps canned diced tomatos and onions (the type you put in chili).

Crockpot Chicken Alfredo

I'm always looking for something new to cook in my crockpot and I came across this recipe. Here's my scaled down version of it.

Serves 4-6. Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 7 hours.

Ingredients

• Half a jar (7.5 oz) of alfredo sauce. Classico brand is very good.
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of pesto
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, or one clove of minced garlic. I'm lazy and buy the pre-minced stuff from a jar.
• 1 pack of frozen chicken breast tenders
• 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.
• 1/2 cup of Italian blend cheese

Directions

1. Pour the alfredo sauce into the crockpot.
2. Add milk and stir well.
3. Drop in garlic, butter, and pesto, and do not stir. I have no idea why not, but it worked for me.
4. Place frozen chicken on top of alfredo sauce.
5. Cook on low for six hours.
6. After six hours, remove lid, stir, and add cheese on top. Cook for one more hour.
7. Serve with pasta!