Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Ricotta, Pesto, and Sun-dried Tomatoes

This dish came together because I just happened to have all four of these ingredients in the refrigerator and I needed to make dinner. I had made the sun-dried tomatoes a few days ago without any plan for them other than letting Eric snack on them. I had a little ricotta that needed to be used before it expired, and I happened to pick up the pesto at the store on a whim. It all just came together into one delicious dinner.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoon ricotta cheese
2 tablespoon mozzarella, shredded
2 tablespoon Parmesan, grated
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes*
3 tablespoon pesto**
pepper, to taste
1 egg white
3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I usually make my own by crushing saltine crackers)

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8x8-inch pain with cooking spray.

With a mallet, thin the chicken breasts to a 1/4-inch thickness. Mix the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and pepper together in a small bowl. Spread half the mixture on each chicken breast and roll the breasts up tight.

Place the egg whites and breadcrumbs each in a different shallow bowl. Dip the chicken rolls in the egg then in the breadcrumbs, coating it. Set the chicken breasts seam side down in the baking dish. Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

*I make my own sun-dried tomatoes out of cherry tomatoes. If you're using sun-dried tomatoes out of can, you'll want to chop them up.

**I use Knorr pesto mix to make my pesto. But you can use jarred pesto or homemade.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Black Bean and Sausage Stovetop Casserole

I spent Memorial Weekend in northern Michigan with my parents at their river-side cabin. Sadly, Eric had to work and couldn't come. My mom doesn't really like to cook, so I told her I'd do all the cooking for the weekend because as you all know, I love it. I introduced my parents to some of my favorite recipes such as my tomato and artichoke chicken (my mom's favorite), turkey burgers with avocado sauce, zucchini chips, and roasted chickpeas. I tested out some new recipes on them too: baked parmesan tomatoes, Alfredo green bean casserole, orange chocolate chip cookies, and this black bean and sausage.

I would like to thank Martha Stewart for this recipe. I only changed a few minor things. It was simple yet full of flavor and incredibly filling.

Parents didn't have a large skillet at the cabin so I used a stock pot.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 ½ cup carrots, diced small (I used baby carrots)

2/3 cups yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves minced

1 pound sausage (I used bratwursts but next time I think I'll use something spicier) 

2 cups chicken broth

2 can black beans (15.5 ounce each), rinsed and drained

Pepper

Directions:

Cut the sausage into 1 inch pieces. Heat oil over a medium-high in a large skillet and add the sausage. Cook until all sides are brown. Remove from pan and transfer to paper towel-lined plate. Add the carrots and onions to the oil and cook until the vegetables soften. Season with pepper. Add garlic and cook until golden brown.

Pour in black beans and broth; bring to a boil. Add the sausage back into the pan, reduce heat to a rapid simmer, and cook until the carrots become tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat and serve.

I think this was my dad's favorite recipe. After dinner he kept picking at the pot, first eating all the sausage, then the carrots, and finally the beans.

Enjoy!

~Krissy