Chicken in White Wine Sauce

About three weeks ago, I decided I wanted to make some sort of chicken in a wine sauce. When I decided that, I was thinking I was going to make something like the Coq au Vin I made months ago and loved. Apparently I wasn't really feeling it because it stayed on my menu planning list for almost three weeks. Then, tonight, I got inspired and ended up creating something completely different, but very delicious. We both loved this - it managed to be both light and hearty at the same time and bursting with flavor.

Chicken in White Wine Sauce

Serves 2

Prep Time - 10 minutes

Cook Time - 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

4 oz egg noodles

4 chicken legs

flour, seasoned with salt & pepper, for dredging

1 TBSP butter

1 TBSP olive oil

1 shallot, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

3/4-ish cup white wine

3/4-ish cup chicken stock

1/2-ish cup whole milk (or other dairy liquid)

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1/4 tsp dried chives

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat oil & butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge chicken legs in seasoned flour. Add to pan and brown on all sides. Transfer to cookie sheet and continue cooking in the oven until the sauce is done.

Meanwhile, cook egg noodles to al dente (to have them done around the same time as the sauce, drop them after you put the chicken in the oven).

If your pan is dry, add more olive oil. Add shallots & garlic and cook until the shallots begin to soften.

Add wine to de-glaze the pan and let cook until the alcohol has burned off and liquid has reduced by at least half. Add stock, parsley, & chives, and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add milk (I used some leftover whole milk, but I think any dairy you have on hand would do the same thing) and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Season with salt & pepper to taste. If the sauce doesn't get as thick as you'd like, feel free to thicken it with a cornstarch & water slurry.

Spoon the sauce over the egg noodles and chicken. Top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Feta-Stuffed Chicken

I like feta cheese, but I don't have many recipes that use it, and most that do only use a small amount. So, I'm always looking for ways to use up whatever I have left. Sadly, I often end up letting some feta to go to waste. Then, one day, I got the idea that I could use it to stuff chicken. So, after looking around my kitchen, I came up with these feta-stuffed chicken breasts.

Feta-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Serves 2

Prep Time - 10 minutes

Cook Time - 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 chicken breasts, pounded thin

3-4 oz cream cheese, softened

feta cheese, to taste (I think I probably used about 1/4 - 1/3 cup)

1/2 tsp oregano

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt & pepper

flour, for dredging

1-2 TBSP olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Mix together cream cheese with feta, oregano, and garlic. Put about 1/2 of the mixture on each chicken breast and roll up. Secure with toothpicks, if necessary.

Season some flour with salt & pepper. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour. Shake off any excess.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts to the pan and brown on all sides. If necessary to ensure the chicken is fully cooked, transfer to the oven and cook for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Marshmallow Crunch Brownies

How do you make a brownie better? You add peanut butter, of course. And, if you want to make it even better, you add rice krispies and marshmallows. What you get is brownie heaven. I remember my grandma making something similar once or twice when I was younger, and really loved them, so when I found them on a blog I read frequently, I was super excited. You must make these now.

Marshmallow Crunch Brownies

Recipe by Peabody, modified

INGREDIENTS

Brownies

1 cup butter, melted (no substitutes)

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp vanilla

Topping

7 oz mini marshmallows

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 TBSP butter

1 1/2 - 2 cups rice krispies

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix together all brownie ingredients. Pour into 9 x 13 pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until just done.

Remove brownies from the oven and sprinkle with the mini marshmallows. Immediately return to the oven and bake for another 3 minutes. Remove immediately.

While the brownies are in the oven, mix together the topping by doing the following:

Place the chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly, until melted. Remove from heat, add the rice krispies, and stir. Let cool for about 3 minutes and then spread over the brownies. Allow to cool completely and then chill. Serve cold.