Baked Cheesy Chicken Rolls

First, to give credit where credit is due, I got this recipe from this website and you will find the original there. I once again made this recipe my biatch by changing it to things I actually had in my fridge or could actually eat. Without further ado, INGREDIENTS!!

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts 

A cup or two of breadcrumbs, just as much as you need
4-8 oz of goat cheese 
About half a head of broccoli 
1 clove minced garlic and olive oil for sauteeing
3 egg whites
About a cup of marinara sauce

Here I should mention what I changed. This recipe calls for spinach, not broccoli, but wouldn't you know it, I threw away my spinach mere hours before I made this and forgot to buy more. It also calls for 8 chickens but I didn't want to make that many because it's just me and what do I need all that chicken for. It calls for ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses but again, I am allergic to all that, and it calls for fresh basil for topping and why bother buying it if I'm just going to use it for one thing? Anyway, all of that is in the link, so if you want to make it with spinach and cow cheese instead, follow that link. 

To start out with you pound the pieces until they get thin. I can't tell you what you are supposed to pound it with, I used a mug. It kind of worked out, I managed to cut some pieces off that way but who is counting. Then you put the breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl (I used a pie tin) and add in a bit of cheese. Next! You chop up the broccoli into pretty small pieces. Put it in a saucepan with olive oil and garlic (I also used balsamic vinegar because I thought it was the olive oil until I started pouring it) and saute it for a few minutes. I had mine in for about ten, but that is because I dropped my entire bottle of olive oil on the floor and that's how long it took me to clean it up. Anyway, then put it in a bowl with goat cheese until it looks good and two egg whites (I got yolk in there too but it turns out absolutely fine) and mix mix mix. 

Delicious, delicious filling. You should have a lot more of that, this picture was taken with the leftover stuff after I had stuffed all the chickens. 

Have the last egg white in another shallow bowl. Lay out each piece of chicken, throw a spoonful of filling on it, and roll it like you've never rolled before!! Dip it in egg white then roll it in the breadcrumbs and put it in a greased pan. If you are making a mess, you are doing it beautifully. Check it  

 The first one is the chicken with the filling on it and the second one is what it should look like when you are done breading it. 

As I said, I had extra filling leftover so I breaded that also and put it in with the chickens. You bake it on 450 for 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Don't put the chickens too close together or the sides won't get crunchy. After it's cooked, DON'T TURN OFF THAT OVEN!! Pour some marinara on top of each of them and you can opt into putting more cheese on top. I swear if I had used as much cheese as the original called for I would be in the hospital with a severe allergic reaction. It was kind of ridiculous. Anyway, bake for a couple more minutes, then pull it all out and enjoy!

This is what it looked like after I had put it in the fridge because I forgot to take pictures beforehand. 

I have to say this was a really great dish. It was really delicious and not too time consuming my SO MESSY!!! Your counter will be a real pigsty by the time you finish with this. But it's really yummy. And stuff. The end. 

"One Pot Wonder" Chicken Lo Mein

I looooove Chinese food and lo mein is my favorite of all the meals. I found a recipe on pinterest for chicken lo mein and I decided to try it out. I followed the recipe almost to the letter (and anyone who has read my blogs know that by almost to the letter, I really mean the new recipe is almost unrecognizable). Have the ingredients!

Ingredients

• ½ lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small chunks
• 12 oz. whole wheat linguini or fettuccini, broken in half
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut in thin 3 inch long strips
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cut in thin 3 inch long strips
• 1 bunch green onions, white part sliced and green part cut in 3 inch long strips
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• ½ cup water
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Add the chicken, then the pasta, then the remaining ingredients to a large stockpot and cover. Bring to a boil. Stir and reduce to a simmer. Cook covered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook until most of the liquid is gone and the chicken is cooked through.

I changed the vegetables because I can. I used water chestnuts, baby corn, carrots, snap peas, and probably that's it. Otherwise, I used all other ingredients except corn starch because I forgot to buy some and red pepper flakes, because much to my shame, I could not open up my bottle. I swear the lid is glued on. Anyway, everything else was more or less the same (again, I'm lying). For any of you that clicked the link and took a look at the first picture there, it looks so nice and neat and easy. Well, it took me 30 minutes to prepare the veggies and then I simply could not get it to look as nice as that picture. 

 Later on, I added that face to the pot of ingredients. I swear there is chicken in there, it's just at the bottom hiding from everyone. It's shy. So this is just the veggies. 

And this is all of it. It really looks yummy, doesn't it? Also, instead of cooking this in a hot pot, I used my crock pot. I figured the principle was generally the same so it would all be fine. Well...

First, I overcooked the damn noodles. They are all mushy and gross. Also, that is linguine because I couldn't find lo mein noodles, and I hate thin noodles. I should have known better. Also Also, the soy sauce I used tasted weird. Also Also Also, it was too thick and not soaked up enough, so I added some water and it still looks nasty. And tastes nasty. I have a huge pot of noodles and veggies that are no longer edible. My life is disappointing, I was so looking forward to this and now I don't know what to do with it all. Anyone like gross noodles? 

Pulled Pork

One of my favorite meals is pulled pork. I learned how to make this by watching my ex make it. He liked to just throw things into the slow cooker, I don't even know what, and leave it at that for a few hours. I don't remember it ever turning out poorly. He also taught me how to pick the right pork: you choose a pork loin with a good amount of fat on it, because while it is cooking that will give it really good flavor. He also preferred to pick the premarinated pork loin (my favorite is lemon and garlic) because they're tasty. 

If you want to skip my thoughts, there is a quick and dirty set of ingredients and instructions at the bottom. 

I don't have pictures for every step because I just don't. If you can't figure out what the ingredients look like, that's not my problem. Oh burn. Anyway, the first thing I do is fill my slow cooker up with enough water to cover the pork and then some (til it looks good) and then I put it on low. I don't add any flavorers yet because I have no reason for that either. 
This time I used peppercorn pork loin. I have no idea what peppercorn is, it just looked good and it had "pepper" in the name. I love pepper. Also, the store was out of lemon and garlic. I should add here that is completely unnecessary to get a premarinated one, you can marinate it yourself or you can not marinate it at all. After all, you're eventually going to smother it in bbq sauce, so it doesn't really matter that much, right? Anyway, I let it slow cook for about two hours (arbitrary time limit, this is how long I was studying before I remembered I was cooking). Then I added green onions and garlic. I wish I had added these ingredients earlier because only the pepper and onion really soaked in. I recommend that if you do this, add it at least an hour earlier in the process, if not at the beginning.

Green onions. Man, those are delicious. I only used the bottom halfish because someone told me once that if I don't cook the top greens enough it's poisonous. I never looked that up, but it might be true. Anyway, I knew in this case that it wouldn't be cooking very long so I decided not to risk stomachache. As for garlic, I'm going to tell you to put as much in as you like. I used half of a head (is that what they are called?) for it because I looooooooooove garlic and I have serious doubts that there can ever be too much garlic. 
This is what it looked like when I added those:

Also added in there is oregano, pepper, and cinnamon. I added a lot of pepper because I love pepper. I really think the end product is delicious, but it turns out you don't need to add a lot of pepper to peppercorn marinade. Lesson for you guys.  I mixed it up a bit and then cooked it for maybe two more hours because my slow cooker cooks fast even on low. I pulled it out and cut it open to make sure it was not pink on the inside, and this is what it came out looking like: 

Gross, huh? 

The next step is to let it cook down enough to allow you to strip it. I pull it by hand instead of cutting it up because I like getting my hands dirty. Except for with raw meat. It's so slimy and nasty and gross feeling! I hate hate hate touching raw chicken, it is absolutely worse than having a spider crawl on you or having the texture of oyster in your mouth. *shudders* 

Pulling it! Do it with the grain, of course because it's easier. Put the pieces in a bowl and then SMOTHER IT IN BBQ SAUCE!!!! Pick whichever sauce you think will compliment the taste or whichever you like best, it really doesn't matter I don't think. I typically don't warm the sauce up first because I don't know how much I will use. Instead, I dump it in, mix it, and then microwave it. Then I serve it to myself on slices of bread because I prefer my nut and oat filled bread to any bun ever put into existence. It is literally good with everything. 

This is what it looks like when I finish with it:

I show the bbq sauce I used because I am really satisfied with the taste. It's a little bit sweet and really tempers the other flavors I put in. And it's thick, which is something I love in bbq sauce. 

Here are the ingredients:

Pork Loin of whatever size you want
Water, probably about 8 cups. Or more. 
Spices/herbs to taste (oregano and pepper are my preferences)
    I should add here that I put in a pinch or two of cinnamon to see what it was like. It didn't       soak in.
Onion (green onion is my favorite), I used four green onions
Garlic to taste, I used half a head but you can also use minced garlic or garlic powder
BBQ sauce, at least half of a bottle
Buns/Bready product

Put your slow cooker on low or high depending on how fast you want it cooked, add water and pork loin. You can add the garlic, onion, and spices at this time or after it has cooked for a couple of hours. Let cook until done (4 hours is enough for me), then remove from slow cooker and allow to cool. Strip the pork and place strips in a bowl. Add bbq sauce and microwave for about two minutes or until warm. Serve on your choice of bread or bun and enjoy!  
This recipe can take up to 8 hours, although mine took 4.5.