A Scrumptious Winter

 

 

 

No caption needed, right? ;)
 

When you're a cook and baker like I am, a long frigid winter can make your kitchen a winter cooking and baking play ground.  We normally have mild winters here in the North Western corner of Arkansas and we don't usually have any deep freezes until January. So January and February are our hibernation months ;)  Too cold to go out and play outside, so we watch a lot of movies, do a lot of crafts, and I  cook and bake ALOT!
Well this year our deep freeze seem to have come down the pipe about a month early. Since the first week of December we have had unusual cold/icy/snowy weather. Don't get me wrong I love the winter. It's peaceful, and the world seems calmer. When the winter storms roll on through and leave a significant blanket of snow or ice, our entire local region usually comes to a stand still. Our first big storm in December once again brought this absolutely hilarious video into circulation on FB which mocks the anxiety of local folks when a snow storm is forecasted for our area. Gotta get the bread and milk gave some much needed winter time entertainment. No school for the kiddos and unless you have 4 wheel drive our law enforcement really recommended to only get out on the roads if you absolutely had to. Some years I literally pray for snow in order to have a day or two off to get caught up with all the loose ends in life. However some years, like this year, I am literally praying that the storms somehow miss our area because we have had way too many days in captivity, and too much opportunity to cook and bake for someone like me. There's just something about a dutch oven simmering full of beef stew or broccoli cheese soup and the smell of corn bread or cinnamon rolls baking as you are looking out your picture window as the snow flakes are falling and the wind is the music in the trees.


Hearty beef stew and cornbread, the winter kitchen dynamic duo.

After I have set up this wonderful wintry kitchen description for you, notice something is missing? Like who's going to gobble up all this warm comfort food that is being pumped out of my kitchen? Well my husband, myself, the grandkids and sometimes my daughter usually are the recipients of the majority of the winter menu. Usually after our winter hibernation (heehee) we roll into spring a little chubbier than before we partook of our first savory winter day meal. Being that  is just the beginning of January and seems that we have been in doors with sub freezing temps the majority of December, I plan on doing my husband and myself a huge health favor and attempt, once again, the low carb cooking direction. Oh, no worries, I will definitely be sharing a whole lot of my absolutely sugary, fatty, and scrumptious dishes and baking goodies, but today I am going to share one of my favorite combos that is definitely on the lower end of the scale as far as carbs go. Once again, being that I am a rookie blogger, I am sharing something that I am  confident in and definitely a recipe for you all who don't have a lot of cooking experience. I want to put confidence in  people who need a trophy to put on their dinner table! Cooking is rewarding and it is so necessary, so why not have fun with it and each meal that you cook will get you one step further in believing in your cooking potential, which is SO much more than you can imagine. Cooking IS for everyone. I'm sharing a super easy, but one of our families favorite.
                    
                       Bacon Wrapped Chicken and 3 cheese stuffed mushroom and zucchini

I don't know how to cook in small quantities. Something I am working on after so many years of cooking in very large amounts. It's usually just hubby and me now. Any hoot, recipe amount will feed probably 4 with some leftovers. We had it for dinner, and tomorrow we will def have it for lunch. Saves me a lot of time the following day when I "double" my recipe.

 

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast

6 chicken breast, medium size

1 lb of bacon

Garlic powder

Onion Powder

Salt & Pepper

Cut your chicken breast in thirds or quarters, depending on what size you want your chicken. You will find out that there are a lot of cooking choices that I will leave up to you. There are issues in cooking where there is definitely no compromising, but there are a lot of decisions that are up to your cooking and taste preference. The more you cook, the more you learn what your preferences are, and where you can compromise. The package of 1 lb bacon had about 14 strips, so I cut them right in half to make 28 strips. I had 24 pieces of chicken after I cut them up so it worked out just about perfect.

After cutting the chicken breast, I sprinkled the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic power, onion powder, and distributed all over the chicken. Take a strip of bacon and wrap each piece of chicken. Lay in baking dish "bacon end" side down (no need for toothpicks). I baked them in the coolest vintage Le Creuset baking dish that I found at a garage sale. Only Paid $10.00 for set of 3! Gotta love the garage sale finds!

Bake at 350 degrees for right at 30 minutes. Just be sure to check on it after 20 minutes. Using the cast iron enamel ware it seemed to bake quicker than usual, and also you don't want the chicken dry. These yummy chicken bacon wraps are absolutely delicious with different sauces such as BBQ, Honey Mustard, or Ranch.

 

We loved the stuffed mushrooms that we have eaten at Olive Garden and other restaurants.Several years ago I decided to put together a cheese filling that was similar to some of the restaurant versions. After a few attempts, not failed attempts, just different attempts, I found the perfect combination that makes  a delicious and easy "puffy" light cheese filling.

 

Three Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms and Zucchini

Cream cheese, softened, 2 - 8oz. packages

Grated cheddar cheese, 1 cup

Parmesan  cheese 3/4 cup to 1 cup (Here is one of those that is up to you)

Butter, softened - 1/2 cup

1 to 2 eggs, I use 1 but if you want it fluffier you can use 2

4 green onions, chopped (optional)

Garlic 1-T - I use the chopped in a jar (optional)

Salt & Pepper to your liking

Mushrooms (package had right at 20 large)

Zucchini -2 medium

 

I use my Kitchen Aid counter top mixer but if you don't have one you can use an electric hand mixer or even just old fashioned elbow grease :)

Mix cream cheese and butter till mixed well. Add egg(s) and mix on medium till it is incorporated and mixed very well. Add cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, green onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Once mix well. Place aside.

 

My sweet husband is the one who chose these mushrooms. He knows  after numerous times of having these scrumptious delights that he likes the nice big plump mushrooms. You can really stuff them if you grab the larger one. Smaller mushrooms are cute though and make great appetizers.

 Wash your mushrooms and remove the stems. Be careful with the mushrooms as they are delicate and you don't want to split them or your filling will ooze out. Wash your zuchinni, cut off the "butt", slice down the middle long ways and gently scoop out SOME of the meat of the zucchini. I use a teaspoon to do this and I don't take a whole lot out. I LOVE zucchini and want to be sure that I have a nice hearty stuffed zucchini. In the summertime you can find the overgrown zucchinis. Those are fun to use, stuff. Makes a your summer dinner table look so beautiful.

  Next, and the fun step, "stuff" your mushrooms and zucchini with the cheese filling. I use a teaspoon and just stuff both with a moderate amount. Remember the filling will puff up quite a bit and then will deflate after it cools. Much like a soufflé.

 

You're ready to throw these babies in the oven! Bake at 350 degrees right at 25-30 minutes. They will be fluffy and brown on the top. I like my veggies not too done, so sometimes depending on how much I have filled them, I take them out just a little sooner. I also put just a tad of water in the baking dishes before baking with the zucchini. They tend to dry out a little.

And there you go! A delicious low carb easy peasy dinner. Can't believe I chose to share a low carb recipe for my first attempt at recipe sharing on my blog.