141.6…Baked Southwestern Chicken Breast Rolls

I was excited to try the weekly recipe from Great News Cooking School as soon as I saw it. Stuffed chicken? Sign me up! I like anything stuffed: pizza, breadsticks, my belly….you name it!

Last night’s dinner was fun to make and even more fun to eat: Baked Southwestern Chicken Breast Rolls with Poblano Green Rice.

Let’s get cooking! Get all your ingredients out.

Don’t be scared…I know it looks like a lot of ingredients but it’s not too bad, plus a lot of the prep work can be done ahead!

Here’s something you can do ahead: roast the poblano chilies for the rice. Here’s the easiest way to do it: line a baking sheet with foil, cut open and take the seeds and core out of the chili and press it down so it’s flat on the baking sheet.

Stick it under the broiler for a few minutes until it’s black. Keep an eye on it though!

Once it’s done, wrap the foil around it and let it steam for at least 10 minutes:

Then pull off all the skin and you’re done! That’s how I roast my red peppers too. This step could definitely be done ahead of time.

Let’s move on to the chicken. To make the filling, melt some butter and sauté some onion, jalapeno and turkey or chicken or pork sausage for a few minutes.

Toss in some red bell pepper and corn and cook for another minute.

Cool completely and add in fresh breadcrumbs and cilantro. (This step can be done ahead too!)

Back to the rice…..mince some garlic in a food processor.

Add some onions, tomatillos, jalapeno and the roasted poblano chilies. Pulse to chop. Add cilantro, romaine lettuce leaves and green onions and puree.

Add enough water to make 4 cups total and give it a bit of salt.

Now the base for the rice is done. Feel free to do this ahead of time as well.

Pound your chicken and divide the filling you cooked earlier on to each chicken breast, roll it up and place it seam side down in a baking dish.

To make the sauce that goes over the chicken, take some hot pepper jelly…

….heat it up with some butter and add to a pan with white wine and cornstarch. Bring to a boil and thicken.

Top the chicken with the sauce and bake!

For the rice, heat some oil in a pot and add the rice. Sauté for a few minutes.

Add the poblano chili mixture and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat and cover for about 20 minutes.

Just in time for the chicken to finish!

Note: I forgot to put the breadcrumbs and cilantro in the stuffing mixture so I just added them to the top of the chicken in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Look at how resourceful I am when I screw up! :)

Rice is done!

And dinner is served!

I served the chicken and rice with some roasted corn. Another winner!

Baked Southwestern Chicken Breast Rolls (Serves 4)

Original Recipe: Phillis Carey, Great News

Printable Recipe

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup chopped onion
2 tsp. minced jalapeno chili, seeded
1 mild Italian sausage link, pork or turkey or chicken, casing removed
2 Tbsp minced red bell pepper
¼ cup thawed frozen corn
1 Tbsp minced cilantro
½ cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs or crumbled cornbread

Glaze:
1 tsp. cornstarch
¼ cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp unsalted butter melted with ¼ cup hot pepper jelly

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim chicken and pound between two sheets of plastic wrap to an even ¼-inch thickness. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion, jalapeno and crumbed sausage. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until sausage is completely cooked, breaking up sausage pieces and stirring often. Toss in the red pepper and corn and cook 1 minute. Cool completely and toss in the cilantro and breadcrumbs or cornbread.
3. Divide filling evenly among chicken breasts. Fold in sides and roll chicken up to enclose filling. Transfer chicken to a shallow baking dish, seam side down.
4. Stir cornstarch and wine together in a small saucepan. Whisk in the melted butter and hot pepper jelly. Cook over medium heat until sauce is bubbly and thickened. Spoon over chicken rolls. Bake chicken for 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, basting with sauce every 10 minutes. Serve chicken with cooking juices.

 

Poblano Green Rice (Serves 6 to 8)

Original Recipe: Phillis Carey, Great News

Printable Recipe

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 cup chopped onion

12 oz tomatillos, husked and quartered

4 poblano chilies, roasted, peeled and seeded

1/2 jalapeno chili, seeded and chopped

1 bunch cilantro, stems cut off at rubber band

3 romaine lettuce leaves, torn up

3 green onions, sliced into 1 inch pieces

Enough water to make 4 cups liquid

1 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 cups long grain white rice

1. Drop garlic into running food processor and process until minced. Stop machine and add the onions, tomatillos, and both chilies. Pulse to chop. Add the cilantro, lettuce and green onions. Pulse to chop and then puree. Add enough water to make 4 cups total; stir in salt and puree.

2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the rice and sauté until rice turns white and some of the grains turn golden, stirring often. Add the green salsa carefully to prevent splattering. Bring to a boil, stir and cover; lower heat to low and cook 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Fluff with fork and serve.

 

This came in the mail and I brought it to bed with me:

Oh, Pioneer Woman….you are a genius.

Breakfast was a fabulous burrito: egg beaters, leftover poblano green rice and salsa. I had a side of strawberries:

I took the kids to school and went to Cardio Muscle class.

Lunch was a giant salad:

I thought it would keep me full for a long time. Nope. After I picked the kids up from school, I made a snack:

An English muffin with pasta sauce a string cheese nicely broiled in the toaster. Great snack!

It’s about time to make dinner. I have a 5 mile run (!!!) tomorrow with Team in Training. Good night!

What are you up to this weekend?

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