Chicken Breast Stuffed with Gorgonzola and Mushrooms

I have a picky palate and therefore need a little more oomph than just plain chicken breast with a side of some vegetable. Give me a sauce or breading…or in this case, stuff that chicken breast.

I made Chicken Breast Stuffed with Gorgonzola and Mushrooms on a whim one night while looking into my cabinets for what I had on hand.

Chicken Breast Stuffed with Gorgonzola and Mushrooms

• Take a regular chicken breast and use a knife to slice a pocket through the middle part of the breast.
• Slice pieces of crumbly gorgonzola cheese and lay them inside the chicken breast pocket.
• Slice mushrooms and lay them inside the chicken breast pocket on top of the cheese.
• Close the chicken breast pocket by folding the top flap back over the cheese and mushrooms. Securing with cord or toothpicks was not necessary.

• Place the chicken breast on a foil lined baking sheet.
• Drizzle with garlic olive oil (regular olive oil will do) and season with salt and pepper.
• Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes or until top is golden. Check for doneness.

I topped my chicken breast with balsamic caramelized onions and served steamed green beans on the side. Yum! A meal created on a whim turned out to be a nice dish that I will make again and again in the future.

Credit: Recipe and photos by me.

{Roundup}: Some Lovelies for the Day

Brighten your Thursday with some pretty things!

Credit: (1) At Your Beak and Call Media Case in Penguin via ModCloth, (2) Pink colored diamond in a rose gold setting via TLC Weddings, (3) From fallen tree to end table via apartment therapy, (4) Great table arrangement via elizabeth anne designs, (5) Old San Juan, Puerto Rico via White on Rice Couple, (6) Adorable collar on Dexter the Miniature Australian Shepherd via Daily Puppy, (7) Gluten Free Cinnamon Cream Cheese Rolls via Our Best Bites, (8) Vintage 50s/60s Travel Trailer Bird House by BirdhousesByGlenn via Etsy, (9) Dior eyeliner patches via Lash Card

Enjoy!

Helpful Household Hints

Everyone has their own household tips and tricks that they’ve picked up over the years. Maybe you’ve learned a great way to do something from your mother or your grandmother. Maybe you read a handy tip in Good Housekeeping that you’ve kept in your arsenal.

Well, I have a few tricks up my sleeve too and I thought I’d do a little series of Helpful Household Hints to share them with you guys.

Helpful Household Hint #1: Extending the Shelf-life of Nuts

Nuts are expensive and I usually take awhile to finish a package. I don’t want them to go to waste by going rancid. So, to keep nuts fresher a little longer, I put my nuts in the freezer. The great thing about freezing nuts, is they don’t freeze like liquids do. Just take the bags out of the freezer and the nuts are ready to go. No defrosting needed.

What tricks do you use around your household to make life a little easier or to fix the boo boos once they happen? Please share!

Credit: Photo taken by me.

Fun at the OC Fair

The fair, whether it be the county fair or the state fair, is a time-honored summer tradition around the country. Growing up in Wisconsin, we had the Wisconsin State Fair. Now living here in southern California, we have the OC Fair.

Both are basically the same thing. Overpriced games and rides. Overpriced food in quantities big enough to feed a small family. Exhibits filled with the talents of amazing locals. Lots and lots of vendors offering crazy products for sale. Don’t forget the cute and fuzzy farm animals.

I was unaware, but apparently the theme of this year’s OC Fair was “Let’s Eat!” That’s a pretty appropriate theme when you can’t walk 2 feet without running into another colorful booth selling Fried Oreos or Fried Klondike Bars or even Fried Kool-Aid! I happened to read some stats today that said 2011 fairgoers ate 2,000 Fried Frog’s Legs, 3,000 Chocolate-Covered Corn Dogs, 10,000 Funnel Cakes, 10,000 servings of Fried Avocados, 75,000 Texas-Size Turkey Legs, and 125,000 servings of Totally Fried Kool-Aid. That’s a lot of balls of Fried Kool-Aid!

We certainly partook in some of that gluttony. That’s what the fair's for, isn’t it?

{My love’s fair dinner. A “Texas-size” turkey leg.}

  {My love had been talking about getting a “Texas-size” turkey leg for days, but barely could finish any of it.}

{My fair dinner. “Colossal” onion rings.}

{Me in front of the booth selling “Totally Fried Kool-Aid”.}

  {Alpacas. The black one is kind of creepy and kept staring at me and my camera.}

{A super cute baby angora goat stepping in its food dish.}

  {A big ol’ pig. Love the “Elvis” curl to its lip.}

{Love me some cows…happy cows come from California Wisconsin.}

  {My favorite! Adorable baby goats.}

{In the car after the fair showing off my winnings.}

  {The prize we brought home for Madison is the same size she is!}

Credit: All photos taken by me at the OC Fair. Food statistics via an OC Fair press release.

Adele…

Yippee! We are going to Adele’s concert tomorrow in San Diego. I am pretty excited. It should be an ah-mazing show!

You can follow this link to the video as well.

Credit: YouTube.com

My Second Favorite Cookie

Ah, to finally have coconut in my cabinet meant I finally got to make one of my very favorite cookie recipes (only second to these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies). I stumbled upon this recipe in some magazine or newspaper long, long ago. Over 10 years ago. And it has been in my recipe clipping book ever since.

This recipe makes a no-fail chewy chocolate chip cookie. The chewiness is what I like most about these cookies. I think it is the coconut that helps them stay chewy. If you are not a coconut lover like me, and I know there are a lot of you guys out there, I have been told that you can’t taste the coconut in them. If you are worried about seeing the coconut, you can purchase the really shredded kind or try omitting it completely.

Four-Star Chocolate Chip Cookies {Adapted by MissJillian from recipe below}

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (packed) light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-ounce package) milk chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut

PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees.

MIX flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

CREAM butter, sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer.

ADD the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

BEAT in the flour mixture gradually.

STIR in the chocolate chips, walnuts, and coconut.

 

DROP the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. I use a Silpat.

BAKE 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

PULL from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing with a spatula to a wire cooling rack.

Recipe makes about 54 cookies.

Enjoy!

Credit: Recipe from an unknown source adapted by me. All photos taken by me.

Inside the Dragon Fruit

Remember this guy?

We bought this dragon fruit to try something new. I had to find a video tutorial on how to cut it open. Luckily, it wasn’t too difficult. They sure are pretty on the inside. Amazing contrast of color!

To eat the dragon fruit, we took the pieces, blended them, and added them into margaritas. The outcome? Lots and lots of seeds in my straw and most likely I have a dragon fruit growing somewhere in my belly now. :)

Credit: All photos taken by me.

Craft Envy

I wish I had the kind of DIY talent it would take to make this light fixture.

This amazing wine bottle creation hangs in the We Olive & Wine Bar at The OC Mart MIX.

If you live in Orange County CA, I strongly recommend you check them out (especially on a Thursday for $1 Taco and $5 Sangria night from 6pm-8pm or on a Saturday for the SoCo Farmers’ Market complete with food trucks and live music from 9am-2pm). Fun times!

Credit: Light fixture found at We Olive & Wine Bar at The OC Mart MIX. Photo taken by me.

Nut & Berry Granola

{Homemade Nut & Berry Granola}

I’ve been on a granola kick lately. It happened on a recent trip to Trader Joe’s when I spotted some yummy Pecan Praline Granola. From that point on, it was all history and I’ve been eating and craving granola ever since.

{Trader Joe’s Pecan Praline Granola}

Last week, my friend Jessica whipped up a batch of her favorite granola recipe and it did not disappoint. In fact, I liked it so much that this weekend I made my own personal batch.

And because we were attending a dinner party that same evening, I was able to package some in a pretty canister and bring it as a homemade hostess gift.

Now on to the recipe!

NUT & BERRY GRANOLA

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of Rolled Oats
• 2/3 cup Raw Slice Almonds
• 2/3 cup Roasted Unsalted Cashews
• 2/3 cup California Walnut Baking Pieces
• 3/4 cup Shredded Sweet Coconut
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
• 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
• 3/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Dried Cranberries

Instructions:

1. PREHEAT your oven to 250 degrees.
2. MIX oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar in a large bowl.
3. MIX syrup, oil, and salt in a small bowl.
4. COMBINE dry and wet ingredients thoroughly.
5. SPREAD mixture on a large ungreased rimmed baking sheet.
6. BAKE for 1 hour and 15 minutes stirring with a spatula at 15 minute intervals.
7. ADD dried cranberries for the last 15 minute interval.
8. COOL, then package and eat!

*I added a little more coconut after the granola cooled just because I like coconut and wanted a bit more.

{See all the nuts, cranberries, and coconut? Yum!}

Credit: Recipe adapted from my friend Jessica’s adaptation of Alton Brown’s Granola recipe on Food Network. Granola pictured was made by me. Photos taken by me as well.

Candyfornia.

Last night (yes, on a Sunday), we went to see Katy Perry’s concert in L.A. at the NOKIA Theatre. I tried to be selective with the photos I chose to post, but as usual instead of “less is more” I went with my stand-by “more is more” route.

The concert was complete sensory overload. I hope some of the photos do that justice.

I’m always up for a good celebrity sighting, and we got a few of them at this concert. First we saw Perez Hilton down in the Nokia Lounge. Then Russell Brand showed up to watch his wife perform and brought Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise with him.

They were standing behind us the entire time surrounded by security. I have to say it was pretty distracting. Mostly because I kept wanting to check out Russell Brand’s reaction.

There were tons of props and amazing dancers throughout the show. In this song, the dancers were doing trapeze-cirque du soleil-style maneuvers that were mucho impressive. In hindsight, I wish I would have taken some video.

Katy Perry beat Lady Gaga in terms of wardrobe changes and I didn’t think that was possible. In the course of this song alone, Katy changed her costume well over 6 times!

It was a great show. I think anyone would be hard-pressed to leave this concert without being entertained.

Check out some videos I took too…sorry they are shaky. Recording video with my digital camera is not my strong suit. I just HAD to take video of California Gurls for my 4-year old niece back in Wisconsin in hopes of impressing her. She sings me the song all the time since I’m her auntie that lives in California. So sweet.

Video: Firework by Katy Perry

Video: California Gurls by Katy Perry

Oh yeah…that shriek at 1:41 is me. Those beach balls came out of nowhere and scared the living daylights out of me. :)

Credit: All photos taken by either me or my love. Videos taken by me. Katy Perry – The California Dreams Tour 2011 concert at NOKIA Theatre L.A. Live.