Foodie Friday: Chicken Rollatini, Stuffed Spaghetti Squash,Lemon Ricotta Cookies

As you can probably tell based on last weeks Foodie Friday recipes, I'm pretty much obsessed with any type of cheesy ,buttery dish (I'm pretty sure I was meant to be a southern belle), This week I tried out this Chicken Rollatini recipe which is basically an inside out Chicken Parm minus the frying . It was a big hit with the whole family. This would be a good way to disguise veggies for those of you that have picky eaters to cook for :)

INGREDIENTS:

4 chicken breasts pounded thin

1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp grated Parmesan

3 egg whites

1 package frozen spinach(squeeze out all of the water)

6 tbsp ricotta cheese

6 oz shredded Mozzarella

1 cup marinara sauce or fresh tomato topping

FRESH TOMATO TOPPING:

2 cups cherry tomato sliced in half

2 cups fresh spinach

1 tbsp chopped garlic

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pound chicken breasts until they are thin enough to roll ( wrap them in saran wrap when you pound them to avoid the mess) and sprinkle with salt and pepper

2. Mix breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp of Parmesan cheese in a bowl and set aside

3. Whisk egg whites in a separate bowl and set aside

4. In a third bowl mix frozen spinach( with all of the water drained out of it),1/4 cup parmesan cheese,mozzarella cheese,ricotta cheese, and 3 tablespoons of your egg whites

5. spread mixture on the chicken breasts (thin and evenly)

6. Fold chicken breast over and secure with a 3 toothpicks ( each end and the middle)

7. Dipped the rolled up chicken into the egg mixture then into the bread crumbs

8. Bake at 450 for 25 minutes

9. Remove from oven and cover with sauce and more cheese if wanted . Broil until cheese is bubbly

I skipped the jar sauce and made a tomato mixture while the chicken was cooking

1. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a skillet

2. Add chopped garlic and tomato

3. Once the tomatoes have cooked down ( about 4 minutes) add the spinach and stir together so the spinach can wilt. Top your chicken with this mixture for a fresher alternative to marinara sauce

The  later part of the week I was having a pretty bad POTS flare up and didn't feel like being creative or having to cook an elaborate meal. Plus I had a few leftover ingredients from the chicken that I made earlier in the week. I've been wanting to try out Spaghetti squash for a while and bought one last week . So since I had the spaghetti squash and leftover cheese, sauce, and tomato I decided to try to throw something together. Here's a picture of my little concoction which turned out pretty good I must say :) It's so weird how much this squash looks like a bowl of pasta when you serve it

INGREDIENTS:

1 spaghetti squash cut in half

cherry tomatoes cut in half ( I prob used about 2 cups)

mozzarella cheese-as much as you want to top it with ( you've prob already figured out that my philosophy is the more the better)

a few tablespoons of marinara sauce

dry italian seasoning

garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut the squash in half  . I cut it across the middle but I think it would cook faster if you cut it length wise ( top to bottom)

2. Drizzle each half with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder

3. Place halves flesh side down in a pan with a few inches of water

4. Bake for 30-45 min at 350 . the squash should feel soft and it will be easy to scrape the "noodles" out of the squash with a fork

5. Mix the tomato, Italian seasoning, and marina into the squash (it'd prob be even better with fresh basil or oregano)

6. Top with cheese and broil til bubbly

A few years ago for Christmas I put together a Family Cookbook for my Great Grandma. I collected recipes from all the women in my family and used www.tastebook.com . The book is bound in a beautiful hardcover  and the format is really cool because you can insert photos and stories for each recipe. For example every year we go to my Great Grandparents and the boys pick the apples with Grandpa and the girls spend the day in the kitchen with GG (great-Grandma)baking  lots of goodies ; pies, breads, applesauce, apple crisp ect. So when I put my Great Grandma's apple pie recipe in the book I mentioned this tradition and inserted a photo of her baking and next to the apple sauce recipe there is a photo of my brother climbing the apple tree to get the highest apple. It turned out to be a great gift that we all still use. I would definitely checkout the website if you have a mom, aunt, sister or grandma that you want to give something special and sentimental to for Christmas. 

So the purpose of the long ramble about the cookbook is that I remembered my cousin putting in a recipe for lemon ricotta cookies and since I had ricotta left from the chicken recipe and some lemons on hand I decided to try them. I will admit I was a little leery of how ricotta in a cookie would turn out...imagine a lemony Madeline with a glaze on time...yummmm!

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

15 oz ricotta cheese

4-5 tablespoons lemon juice

1 lemon zested

1 stick of butter softened

GLAZE:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 lemon zested

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.In a bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt. set aside

2. In a large bowl combine butter and sugar and mix with an electric mixture until fluffy

3. Beat in eggs one at a time

4. beat in ricotta, lemon zest, and lemon juice

5. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients

6. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop spoonfuls of batter onto cookie sheet

7. Bake @375 for 20-25 minutes until edges are golden brown

8. Leave cookies on hot baking sheets for about 20 minutes before transferring to cooling rack

9. Apply glaze to cookies using the back of a spoon

GLAZE INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mix lemon juice, lemon zest, and powdered sugar in a bowl with a whisk.

Enjoy these fun recipes and if you get a chance to try them let me know what you think  
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