Archive for February, 2008

Maria’s Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Monday, February 25th, 2008

Last night I mixed up this recipe for stuffed chicken breasts. This is a recipe that was submitted to the allrecipes.com site by Maria Fontana. It was fabulous and extremely easy to make. It did result in lots of left over stuffing though, so tonight I made some manicotti with the leftover cheese stuffing. I served these chicken breasts with some penne pasta, brussels sprouts and a side salad.

Maria’s Stuffed Chicken Breasts

* 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
* 1 (15 ounce) container Ricotta cheese
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
* 1 clove minced garlic
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese
* 1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Place chicken breasts between pieces of plastic wrap and pound until uniform and flat
  3. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. In medium bowl, combine Ricotta cheese, spinach, garlic, eggs and 6 ounces of the mozzarella cheese.
  5. Mix well and stuff chicken breasts (I did this by adding the stuffing to the top of the breast, folding the breast in half and then securing with toothpicks)
  6. Place breasts into 9×13 lightly greased baking dish.
  7. Pour spaghetti sauce over breasts and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese
  8. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear
  9. Remove toothpicks before serving (the chicken will retain its shape after cooking)

Yield: 4 servings

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Baked Boneless Pork Chops In Mushroom Sauce

Monday, February 25th, 2008

A nice little recipe that I fixed up for the GF the other weekend. It was greatly enjoyed by both of us and very easy to make. I served it with a side of sweet potatoes and lima beans.

Baked Boneless Pork Chops In Mushroom Sauce

* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons paprika
* 1.5 teaspoons salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 2 lbs. boneless pork chops
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 minced small onion
* 1 cup minced green pepper
* 1.5 cups diced mushrooms
* 2 cups milk
* juice of 1 lemon

Directions

  1. Mix 1/4 cup flour, paprika, salt, and pepper together in bowl
  2. Dredge pork chops lightly in mixture
  3. Brown pork chops on both sides in a skillet with butter
  4. Transfer to shallow baking dish
  6. Add onions, green peppers, and mushrooms to skillet and sauté until onion is soft and golden
  7. Stir remaining 1/4 cups flour into skillet along with milk
  8. Stir constantly cooking until sauce is smooth and thickened
  9. Stir in lemon juice and pour sauce over pork chops in baking dish
  10. Bake uncovered in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour

Yield: 4-6 servings

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Butch Walker – Leavin’ the Game On Luckie St.

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Butch Walker is back with a 2 disc live album just released today on Valentine’s Day. The album, “Leavin’ the Game On Luckie St.”, was recorded live at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA on April 20, 2007. The concert was recorded for a DVD that will be released in March and, this is the album version of the performance.

I was at that show and this album really captures the energy and excitement that was present that night. As always Butch demonstrates during this show what separates mere musicians from real performers. He is able to grab the audience and have them at his mercy and in his complete control throughout the entire show.

The sound on the album is awesome. The Tabernacle itself had pretty poor sound quality up in the balcony where we were sitting, but the mix that was recorded sounds great. Butch is an incredible live performer and always intermixes his song performances with various musical improvisations and crowd interactions. There are some nice instances of “Story time with Butch” in which he talks about some of the songs and their inspirations and background. These are always fun moments in his shows. And of course there are some great crowd sing-a-long moments which is a staple in almost all of his live shows.

This album also marks the beginning of him changing up how he releases his albums. Before he has always worked through a major label, but this release represents him commiting to switch to independent releases. This album is only available for download as mp3’s. Currently you can get it here through Amazon.com for the bargain price of $6.99. That is almost 2 hours of entertainment for only $7. Give it a listen, and pick it up. You will not be disappointed.

This will be a busy year for Butch. He has just released this live album today. Next, he will be releasing a live DVD, followed by a new band project called 1969, and then ending up with a Butch Walker album of new material entitled “Sycamore Meadows” before the end of the year.

Update: For a limited time, you can also download this record for free from Butch’s new provocatively titled site. It is via a strange little flash widget from Musicane.com so YMMV (I could not get it to work with Firefox).

Oh, and one of the best descriptions I’ve seen of a Butch Walker live show is written up here at RockNWorld.com

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