Chicken Roll-Ups

It's been a long time since I've posted and I'm pretty excited about this one so I'll jump right into it.

1 bag of Spinach (about 10oz if doing fresh)
1 cup of Ricotta Cheese (can use sour cream or even plain Greek yogurt)
1/4 cup diced Bell Peppers (Doesn't matter if they are red green yellow orange or purple completely optional)
3 Mushrooms diced
3-4 cloves of Garlic
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
4 Chicken Breast pounded 1/2 inch thick
8 slices of Bacon
4-5 tablespoons of olive oil


Pre-heat oven to 375
Heat oil in a pan. Once hot add garlicand cook til aromatic. Add in mushrooms and peppers cook until tender. Add you spinach stirring until all the leaves have wilted. Tranfer to a bowl and drain off any extra liquids.
Add to your spinach the ricotta and Parmesan cheese. Stirring til combined
Lay the chicken breast out season lightly and spoon some of the mixture into each one. Roll chicken up and wrap 2 slices of bacon around each. Secure with a toothpick.

Place chicken in a baking dish in pre-heated oven for about 35-40minutes. Place under broiler for addition 5 minutes to fully brown bacon.


HINTS, TIPS, AND SUGGESTIONS:

• I used a cast iron skillet for this whole recipe. I sauteed my spinach and poured it in a bowl. Then pour about half a cup of white wine in the skillet while I rolled the chicken. (Thats why it's in the picture lol) If your using a baking dish you can still pour in the wine FYI
• When the chicken was done and the wine reduced I added a tablespoon of butter and spooned it over the chicken before serving. A tip I got from a friend, Darius. Please go visit his blog. Also used a little nutmeg to season my spinach
• If you're like me and don't care for bacon, feel free to omit that step. But please make sure to secure the chicken closed with baking string or toothpicks.
• They sell chicken breast already flattened out.
• Try this recipe with kale
• Also feel free to try different cheese. Parmesan is just my favorite.
• If you are a fan of heat, try adding paprika, red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper to the spinach mixture

Pasta Salad

This is my poor-man's meal. I always have the ingredients around so it's a quick light meal. I generally make this in the summer when it's to hot to do anything. The concept though is due to the Marco Polo salad I used to get from Marshall Field's. There is no real recipe but I will break it down as best I can. It's great to prep for summer pot-lucks or BBQ's.

box of pasta (macaroni, rotini, or spaghetti) cooked
half of a red, green, yellow, and orange pepper diced
1/4C of your favorite Italian dressing
half of a red onion dice
2-3 tbsp of minced garlic
oregano, parsley, basil to taste

You just combine everything in a large bowl and chill before serving.

Add crumbles of feta cheese, broccoli florets, or olives if you like. If you don't want to use the Italian dressing a use olive oil in its place.