Yesterday Ryan and I spent the day together - no Bar Method, no work, no errands, just time together at home. We watched The Following season premier on demand and Weeds all day and cooked a delicious dinner: Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast. The recipe is from my favorite recipe blog, Skinnytaste. I love Skinnytaste recipes because they are delicious, healthy and so easy to make.
The Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken recipe on her blog had a serving size of 8 which is just too large for me and Ryan alone. My friend Allie made this recipe a few weeks back and froze the extra chicken, which is a fantastic idea. But with us moving next week, I didn't want to freeze the leftovers and ruin them in the move, though I'm sure the first weekend in the new apartment when we have no groceries or time to cook I will wish I had the leftover chicken! The recipe is all fresh ingredients, dill, spinach, onions, garlic and chicken but it is an extremely difficult recipe to cut in half and make less because the serving for 8 calls for 1 egg as a wash before breading the chicken. How do you split an egg in half? Well, you could either split the recipe and use only half of the egg wash, or, you can make a flax meal egg. Now what the heck is a flax meal egg - well it's a vegan substitute for eggs. Now I have never made one but in order to split this recipe in half perfectly, I was going to experiment...and it paid off! The flax meal egg was the perfect consistency for an egg wash, the breading stuck to it and it tasted exactly as an egg wash would. And it was cheaper then buying eggs for recipes.
So, how do you make a flax meal egg? You take 1 TBSP of flax meal and 3 TBSP of water. Whisk together and let it sit in the fridge for a minimum of 5 minutes before using. This allows the meal to solidify into the consistency of an egg. My advice is to make the flax meal egg before you prep anything else for your recipe so it is ready to use right away! The above measurements are to replace 1 egg in a recipe, so for the chicken, I split this in half to be 1.5 TSP and 1.5 TBSP of water!
I also made the recipe gluten free by using Schar's gluten free bread crumbs. They didn't brown and crisp as well as regular bread crumbs, but the taste was perfect and it looked pretty (and presentation is half the success)!
The link to Skinnytaste Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken is below and I also outlined the steps with photos from last night's dinner, which splits the recipe in half with a flax meal egg and gluten free bread crumbs. This is really easy to make and Ryan and I will certainly be making this again. Skinnytaste Buffalo Stuffed Chicken also looks amazing and that might be our next recipe for Sunday night family dinner! I have to start practicing making larger serving sizes though because we just ordered our first ever dining room table for our apartment so I know my mom and dad and brother will be popping by for diners. I'm sure my mom is relieved that someone else can start hosting family dinners and holidays :)
Skinnytaste: Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Servings: 4
Weight Watchers Points: 5
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/03/spinach-and-feta-stuffed-chicken.html
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup onions (chopped)
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp. scallions
1.5 tsp dill
2 tbsp parsley
5 oz. frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
2 tbsp fat-free ricotta cheese
1.5 tsp flax seed meal
2 tbsp water (1 tbsp for flax meal and 1 tbsp to be added after it has set)
3 tbsp gluten free bread crumbs
1 pound chicken breasts, 4 pieces (pounded thin)
salt and pepper
1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a baking pan with spray.
2. Whisk together flax meal and 1 TBSP of water. Place in fridge and let sit until ready to use.
3. Heat a sauce pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and onions, garlic and scallions. Cook for 1 minute.
4. Add spinach, dill and salt and pepper to the pan and cook for another minute.
5. Remove spinach mixture to a bowl.
6. Mix ricotta cheese and feta into spinach mixture and set aside.
7. Lay chicken breasts on baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Add 2 TBSP of spinach and cheese mixture to the center of the chicken.
9. Roll the chicken and place seam side down on the pan. Repeat with all pieces.
10. Remove flax meal egg from fridge and add remaining TBSP of water. Whisk together.
11. Brush flax meal egg on chicken and then roll in bread crumbs. Place chick back on baking pan. Repeat with remaining chicken rolls.
12. Spray the top of chicken rolls with spray and place in oven.
13. Bake for 25 minutes.
14. Remove from oven and serve.
Enjoy!
Today the temperatures are dropping again in NYC and it started to snow this morning. I had an amazing bar method class this morning with Amanda K. I could barely walk to the subway let alone actually sit down without my glutes continuing to shake. My arms were shaking during warm-up, my thighs were burning for all 3 sets of thigh and for the first time in awhile, my leg was shaking during seat work. It felt so good to shake and burn and Amanda pushed me deeper to each of the routines and even helped me stretch deeper than I thought I could. The class was small so there was a lot of individual attention which is sometimes very scary, but I loved the focus that she gave each of us. She helped us correct our form, helped us get lower and deeper into our thigh sets and this made all of the stretching that much more rewarding and intense. A good mood comes from a good work out so my mood is lifted today, despite freezing temperatures, snow and re-routed subways. So thank you Amanda for pushing me today and making it very difficult to sit without my glutes being in a lot of pain!
XO
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