Bertolli Fontina and Bacon Stuffed Chicken Breast

I am in the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, and I will sometimes get emails about products they want people to try. I don't like to be greedy so I told myself I would only opt in to get a product if I really wanted to try it. Well this Bertolli sauce was definitely one I wanted to try. I absolutely love Bertolli products and have never had a bad experience with them. So when I got a box in the mail with this sauce I absolutely took a second to do a happy dance in the kitchen.

Included in the package were some recipe ideas. I wasn't quite sure what to make, when the fiance pointed to this one. Boy am I glad he did. It sounded complex but it really wasn't. On with the show.

4 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/4 lbs)
1/2 cup shredded fontina or mozzarella cheese (about 2 oz)
2 slices bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled
2T finely chopped fresh basil leaves
1T olive oil
1/2 cup Italian dry bread crumbs
4 cups baby spinach leaves
2T water
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 jar Bertolli Four Cheese Rosa Sauce
8 oz fettuccine, cooked and drained

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Make deep 1 inch long cut with knife parallel to cutting board, inside each chicken breast half to form pocket.
3. Combine cheese, bacon, and basil in small bowl.
4. Evenly stuff pockets with cheese mixture, then press edges together to seal.
5. Brush chicken with olive oil, then dip in bread crumbs, turning to coat.
6. Arrange chicken on baking sheet (which I covered with aluminum and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray).
7. Bake 20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.
8. Meanwhile, cook spinach, water, and garlic in a skillet over medium high heat until spinach is wilted.
9. Stir in sauce and heat through.
10. To serve, arrange hot fettuccine on serving platter (or directly on plate as I did), then top with sauce mixture and chicken.

Now, as you see above, this recipe does not call for any extra seasoning, such as salt. This had me a bit concerned as I think everyone has had their share of bland chicken. I was not confident that the Italian seasoned bread crumbs would be sufficient in flavor to make up for the naturally devoid of flavor chicken breast.

Also, bacon. Yeah. I am some kind of a scientific anomaly, a rare human, one of only .0003% of people on earth who do not like bacon. I could happily live out the rest of my life without ever eating another piece. Also, I rarely eat meat anymore except for when I have company over. I gave in for this recipe with the chicken alone, the bacon was like a whole different level of sin! So I was really really tempted to leave the bacon out, but in the end I am SO Glad I kept it in. For one, surely the fiance would never speak to me again had he found out that this recipe called for bacon and I didn't use any. Secondly, I was still quite concerned with the lack of additional seasoning as I mention above.

As usual, we start with the bit players in this culinary production.
After turning on the oven to pre-heat, I started with the bacon.

Holy dirty stove Batman! Yikes. Sorry about that.

Then I went on to slice the pockets into the chicken breast. This really was not as hard as I thought it was going to be.

Once the bacon was done it was time to put together the filling.

Hahaha half cup of cheese I mock you! Surely a HALF cup of cheese is never enough cheese! So as you see here I went a little over the recommended amount. It's in my DNA. I cannot help it.

That mix was then tossed together into a bowl,

and stuffed into the waiting chicken breasts. Even using almost twice the amount of cheese, I was able to stuff all of the filling into these breasts.

They were brushed with olive oil, doused with bread crumbs, and placed on the baking sheet.

Into the oven they went, while I went to work on the rest of the meal. I got the past in the boiling water and prepped the skillet for the sauce.

Speaking of the sauce, here it is in all it's glory. I am not usually a fan of any jarred pasta sauce outside of the regular tomato based ones. But as always, Bertolli did not let me down. I am telling you folks, if you see this on the shelf, BUY IT. You will not be disappointed.

Put the spinach, water, and garlic in the skillet and cook until just wilted.

Then you add the sauce. Cook until just heated through. If you like you can turn the heat off, or keep it on the lowest setting. At this point everything else is coming together so the sauce shouldn't have time to get cold either way.

Take the chicken breasts out of the oven.

And don't be shy to take an extra moment to admire their beauty. Ahhh the smell of these...

Don't leave your windows open while cooking this unless you want the neighbors to come barging into your house demanding a plate.

I mean, look at these!

Arrange the pasta on a plate, and spoon some sauce over it.

Place one of the breasts over the pasta, and serve. Now this is a huge serving here, but I wanted to use this much to get a nice picture. I need not to have worried, as the fiance devoured this entire plate almost without interruption before sitting back with an expression of bliss on his face.

As I mentioned, I was very impressed with this sauce and would definitely buy it. It was not overly salty as some sauces tend to be. Also, the cheese and bacon add the perfect amount of salt to the breasts. Combined with the fresh flavor of the basil it adds a wonderful taste to the chicken while keeping it moist.

Enjoy!

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie & Cast Iron seasoning tip!

So months ago, we went on a camping supply shopping frenzy. Well, not necessarily ME, it was more Mr See Marie Cook who went through this spell of temporary insanity. Of those purchases, there were two I was truly looking forward to getting. A cast iron skillet, and a cast iron dutch oven.

Of course, between buying those things, and now, our world was shaken up and tipped over like a snowglobe. Losing jobs, selling a house, starting a business, and moving have all taken the top priority, and now the dust is starting to settle. I have used the dutch oven, but have just recently gottten around to digging out the skillet.

A few weeks ago Brad said that he wanted something cozy, some comfort food to match the gloomy weather outside. Well, I happen to know one of his all time favorite old school dishes is chicken pot pie. What a perfect opportunity to use my skillet.

I had recently DVR'd an episode of Tyler's Ultimate on the Food Network. The topic of that episode was Chicken Pot Pie. Here is how it worked for me:
I was shocked to realize that I had no chicken stock in the house. None, not a drop. Luckily Mr Tyler Florence included his chicken stock instructions in the recipe. I love that man. Anyway...

Stock ingredients:
-1 whole chicken
-1 gallon cool water
-2 carrots, cut in 2 inch pieces
-2 celery stalks, cut in 2 inch pieces
-1 onion, halved
-1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
-2 turnips, halved (I did not use these as I did not have any on hand)
-2 tbsp dried thyme
-1 tbsp rosemary
-1 bay leaf

Chicken. Good. All right that's a line from the movie The Fifth Element that always makes me laugh. Oh, no one else knows what I'm talking about? ::ahem:: carry on...
You will need a large, heavy bottom stock pot for this. I believe this is one Brad's mom gave to him a while back. A lot of my often used items were gifts at one time or another from Brad's mom. A kitchen Goddess that woman is.

Veggies and herbs getting ready for a swim.

Now of course you will need to handle the chicken, and after handling and raw meats make sure to wash your hands thoroughly. Before handling the bird, I take off my ring...

Oh who am I fooling, this is just a chance to show off my gorgeous engagement ring! The man has good taste.

Of course I cannot chop carrots without snagging a few for the beasts. Carrots are their favorite.

Chop the carrots and celery into 2 inch pieces.

Half the onion and garlic head horizontally. Like so.

Put the chicken in the stock pot, and cover with the gallon of cool water. Add the veggies and herbs, then bring the pot to a boil.

I also had to add some salt and pepper. Couldn't help myself.

Bring that to a boil. Skim it well, then reduce to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 45 minutes, skimming any oil off that rises to the surface.

This is when, in my recipe, the box in the freezer that I THOUGHT was puff pastry was actually pie crust. Awesome. Well I figure in a pinch, I could use the pie crust instead. But in the end I decided to go with the good old Bisquick biscuit topping.

Once the chicken has cooked for 45 minutes, remove it to a platter to cool. At which point it looks a hot mess, but we will remedy that I promise.

Let the chicken stock continue to cook for another 15-20 minutes. This helps to condense the flavor. You should end up with about eight cups when you are finished, which is why the ingredients specify a gallon of water.

Ahhh Bisquick. You've saved me again. I made a double batch of the recipe on the box for chicken pot pie. Of course, I just made the dough portion of the recipe.

Now strain the chicken broth into another large pot. Discard the solids.

I pick out the cooked carrots, again, for the dogs. They had quite a treat that night for dinner.

When the chicken is cool, shred the meat and discard the skin and bones.

Picked clean.

This is the chicken I will be using for the pie.

And THIS is the chicken that ensures my dog's endless love for me. This is what they got on their kibble for dinner. Their eyes glazed over I swear it.

Now for the pie.

Ingredients:

-1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter

-1/2 cup all purpose flour

-Salt and pepper

-3 carrots, cut in 1/2 inch circles

-1 onion, chopped (next time I will dice them finely)

-1 box of frozen peas (though I used shelled edamame)

-1 tbsp parsley

-1/4 cup of shredded parmesan

Now wipe out the stock pot, and put it back over medium heat. Melt the butter in the pot.

Then add the flour a little at a time, whisking to form a paste or roux. Whisk until smooth.

Gradually pour in eight cups of the chicken stock. I did it one cup at a time. Whisk the entire time to prevent lumps.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Now, I cannot emphasize this enough, make sure to use plenty of salt! It's not often that you will hear me say that, but in this case it is crucial.

Run your frozen veggies under cool water for 2-3 minutes to thaw them.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

While the edamame thawed, I prepared the dough for the top of the pie. This is the recipe, which I doubled:

-1 cup bisquick mix

-1/2 cup milk

- 1 egg

Stir the ingredients together with a fork until smooth.

Set aside until you have the pie assembled in the skillet.

Now go back to the roux. It should be nice and thick. Fold in the chicken,

Carrots,

Onions,

and edamame or peas.

Stir to combine.

Spoon the mix into the skillet.

Get the bisquick mix, and spread evenly over the filling.

Sprinkle the top with the parmesan cheese, and sprinkle some pepper on as well. Makes it look a little prettier in my humble opinion.

Bake the dish for 30-35 minutes at 400 degrees. You want the top to be nice and brown, like this!

Isn't it pretty?

Nice and ready for it's close up.

I mean my goodness. At this point I heard Brad yell from the livingroom "Are you going to eat it or make out with it?!". Never you mind buddy boy...

Now, no matter how good this smells, how beautiful it looks, or how many men and children you have wailing about their growling bellies, you must let this set for at least 25 minutes. Otherwise you are going to cut into a soupy mess. That would really be a shame considering all the work you just put into it. I won't lie though, it was a test in patience and strength to go about our lives for the whole half hour I let this sit, pretending that it wasn't just right there on the kitchen counter.

After we could take it no longer, I cut into it...

Behold!

I will tell you, Brad thoroughly enjoyed this dish. Though he did use even more salt at the table. He enjoyed it so much, that this is the chunk that was missing when we were done.

And it was even better as left overs a few days later.

Since I want my relationship with my cast iron to be a very long and successful one, I know that I need to take good care of it. This requires some maintenance after every use. According to the pamphlet that came with this skillet, I was instructed to wash it out with warm water right after using it. A small amount of dish soap in a sink full of hot water is acceptable as well. Then dry it completely. At which point it this is what I have:

Then I sprayed it generously with a cooking spray, I used PAM.

Flip it over, and spray the backside also.

I let that sit overnight. Then in the morning I wiped any excess oil off, and put the skillet away.

Enjoy!