Stuffed Chicken, Smashed Potatoes & Zucchini

Can you tell that I cooked for a lumber jack tonight? Well, I guess a truck driver is close enough. It was me & my dad tonight so I wanted to make a big, hearty meal. With the help of Rachel Ray & some improv..I did :)

The recipe called for:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 oz of blue cheese crumbled
1 handful of spinach
1 handful of arugula
some salt & pepper
4 slices of bacon

Fun Fact: Publix meat counter is amazing. They only sold chicken breasts in a 3 pack so that'd mean I'd have to get 6, thereby spending upwards of $15 for these yard birds. Well Ben walked over to the counter & asked the deli man to make up a 4 pack for us....low and behold; he did, and gladly I might add.

$23 later I walked out of Publix with anticipation of my first full meal.

When I got home I saw that I would need to clean the kitchen before cooking in it. This is always a motivator to cook (not so much). Once everything was degreased from the breakfast my dad cooked earlier that day I began.

I wasn't exactly sure how to stuff a chicken breast & the recipe was not too specific on how to execute this maneuver either. So I did the best I could. Looking back & talking it over with the dad, I would've been better to horizontally slice the breasts, stuff, then replace the top portion & bake. Lesson learned.

The chicken portions were gigantically thick as well. The recipe called for only 20-22 minutes in the oven but these chickens were barely warm after 25 minutes. I did end up cooking them a little too long. I wonder if there are better tips for how to know when a chicken is cooked.

Smashed Potatoes:
These were yummy.

4-5 potatoes, boiled (skins on)
4 tbsp of EVOO or margarine
1/4 milk
4 stalks of chives
lots of pepper and a splash of salt

Throw everything together & break out the masher. This was my first time using a hand masher & I loved it! My dad was not a big fan of the lumpy potatoes but I thought they were perfect; especially since I had left the skins on them. Delicious & super easy.

Zucchini:
These were pretty good. My dad did help me out a lot on this dish...after an hour he was growing hungry & wanted to help me out (aka. speed things up).

Lots of EVOO
2 zucchinis
lots of dill
a dash of salt

We chopped the zucchini, combined it in a bowl with the seasoning, salt & some olive oil. We mixed them around until they were coated. (Another great idea; using the bowl instead of doing it in the skillet). I think we put too much oil in the skillet & over cooked the zucchini (Over cooking is a trend for me tonight). But overall they fit well with everything else.

Reviews: My dad did like potatoes & the blue cheese/spinach filling for the chicken & obviously the zucchini. The mom liked it all, but she's a mom & has to. I made a plate for Ben with some leftovers so lets see what he thinks tomorrow.

On a side note: Tonight was really the first time I enjoyed cooking. I usually just enjoy baking but I really got a lot out of cooking this meal. It was also nice to cook with my dad, even if he did kill my zucchini...