Queen ala Chicken

So, moving in with Alex has been slightly more stressful than I might have hoped.  He griped about having to hang my earring rack and the giant antique mirror in the bedroom and about how much stuff I brought to his house and how much of his house I changed, etc etc etc.  And I of course felt all stressed out about how much work I was doing and how much change was taking place for me.  Anyway, the house is still in transition (read: a mess.) and I am swamped with homework since I didn't do any studying this weekend, but I decided not to let that bother me.  And so, this evening I conquered something new that has always (ALWAYS.) freaked me out.  I cooked raw meat.

Now, this may sound silly, but keep in mind that I have basically been a vegetarian for the last ten years, except for the occasional Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich, which is my own weird personal weakness.  And since I am only 25 years old, that means I stopped eating meat at age 15.  Don't get me wrong- I can cook.  I make tons of different vegetarian meals using a variety of fake meats.  I make an amazing cajun shrimp pasta with red peppers and mushrooms that just about catalyze your body into a food coma.  And I have even done a shredded chicken fajita for Alex and Isaac every once in a while, but that chicken came in a can.  And I didn't have to touch it. Tonight, wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, I made Feta and Pesto Stuffed Chicken Breasts.  As in, I trimmed off the sticky white fat, cut and enlarged the small pocket for the stuffing, sutured the giant chasm with a toothpick and then cooked the four stuffed breasts in a little olive oil on the stove top.  Impressed?  You should be.

** Not my actual chicken breast.  Picture mine with green beans and angel hair parmesan on the side.  Yum!

In case this sounds like an amazing meal, and you are salivating like one of Pavlov's dogs just reading this, allow me to share this delightful recipe with you.  Mix 1/2 cup reduced fat feta cheese crumbles with 2 TBLS of pesto and pepper to taste (about 1/4  tsp.).  Set this mixture aside for the stuffing.  Now take your chicken breasts.  (You should have purchased 4 5oz. breasts.  However, if you're like me, you don't always read the recipes very closely and so you just buy the first 4 pack of chicken breasts you see, which happens to be much larger than 5 oz. These will work, you just have to cook them longer and be prepared for a very breasty meal.)  Trim any big chunks of fat off with a sharp knife.  Those buggers are slippery and sticky, so be careful.  Then cut into the side of the breast (the thickest side) but don't cut all the way through.  You just want a pocket to hold your feta-and-pesto-goodness.  Enlarge the hole by cutting back and forth or using your fingers if you prefer.  Stuff the breast with approx. 2 TBLS of the stuffing mixture.  Now for the craftiness of it all-- using a toothpick, suture that baby closed like you were basting a quilt.  Top them with a sprinkling of pepper.  Heat a TBLS (or so) of olive oil in a large nonstick pan on medium heat.  Cook the breasts until browned and cooked through, generally 7 minutes.  If you got the big breasts, then for goodness cook them longer!  There should be NO pink when you cut the meat open. Finally, sprinkle fresh basil leaves over the top of the chicken and serve.

I served it with frozen green beans and Pastaroni Parmesan Angelhair.  We had oreos dipped in milk for dessert and then took a long walk down to see the houses that have already been decorated for Halloween.  Are people decorating their yards up where you live?  My favorite so far is a giant pair of Wicked Witch of the West legs with the ruby slippers on them peeking out from under a house.  Now we have all retired to do homework.  I can hear Alex quizzing Isaac on the study guide for his science test tomorrow in the family room.  I'm in the office/study that still has some boxes of school supplies strewn across the floor, staring at my open Educational Psych textbook, and feeling lucky.