Oh, how I
love Valentine's Day! Besides Christmas, it is my favorite time of year. And other than chocolate, cards, and flowers, nothing says Valentine's Day more for me than a delicious meal:) So this one is easy. If you're eating in this year, simple and accessible ingredients are sure to produce a fantastic result. On the menu:
Spinach & Feta Stuffed Chicken breasts, with asparagus and brown rice with a
Chocolate Creme Brulee custard (for dessert).
Ding, ding, ding...we've even got dessert on the list and you can make this at home in a jiffy!
For your stuffed breasts you will need:
Two boneless skinless chicken breasts
Two scallions, chopped
One cup of fresh or frozen spinach (if frozen, chopped & drained)
1/2 cup feta cheese
In a saute pan on medium high heat, saute you spinach and scallions until soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once cooled, mix in your feta cheese.
Slice your chicken breasts horizontally, center of the side to form a little pocket to place your filling. Stuff each breast with about 1/2 cup of your mixture. Place both breasts in a pan or on a lined cookie sheet in an oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. While you're waiting on your chicken breasts you can go ahead and get your brown rice ready.
If you are not a fan of brown rice, I think that after you try this recipe you will be! I have been using this for our family for at least the last 12 months. I originally came up with it to please my no-brown-rice-for-me-please protesting family. This recipe did the trick!
No-fail brown rice:
2 cups of water
1 cup of uncooked brown rice
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
2 chicken stock boullion cubes
In a medium saucepan, add rice, water, salt, pepper, olive oil and bouillion cubes and bring to a boil. Cover pot on place on low heat for the next 30-35 minutes. And perfecto!
Next go ahead and grab two handfuls of your fresh asparagus. Chop off the bottom four inches of the ends and you're ready to go! (I know that four inches seems like a lot but trust me, you don't want eat those ends. They can taste very "woody"). Add them to a saute pan that is already on high heat, and saute for two minutes in olive oil and them turn the pan off, but leave it over the heat, add 1/4 cup water to the pan and a lid and let it steam for another two minutes. Remove from pan, and immediately serve on the plate.
For our Chocolate Creme Brulee custards, add a heaping 1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to 2 cups of heavy cream in a medium saucepan. Stir and heat over medium heat until your chips are completely melted.
Add your chocolate cream mixture:
5 egg yolks, 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract that has been whisked together.
You will want to add the warm cream 1/8 of a cup at a time, whisking while you add, to temper the eggs (and to keep them from scrambling by the heat of the milk on you;)
Next, fill about 6 small ramekins with the chocolate cream custard mixture. And place them into a large 11x15 baking pan. Fill your 11x15 pan halfway with warm water to give your custards a smooth and creamy texture. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes and allow to cool to room temperature before placing in the refrigerator to chill. Allow 3-4 hours to chill before serving. Garnish with fresh berries. Bon Appetit!
Whether you're staying in or waiting till the weekend to celebrate, this meal is sure to sweeten up anyone's day. So get in the kitchen, get out your apron, pull this recipe up and take a hack at it. You never know....you just might impress yourself!
Happy Valentine's Day to One & All!
xo Chemeeka
