Chicken with Cranberry Almond, Havarti Stuffing

Once again we have another delicious chicken recipe.  The original (Rose Reisman) recipe called for Chicken Supreme with skin but I altered it to a light breading instead.  Some of the measurements are altered as the original recipe served 4 and I need it for 6.

My youngest lad has lately become somewhat fascinated with all things cranberry.  He wanted me to make this one last night but I opted for the Tomato/Olive Chicken combo in yesterday's post instead.

Tonight I gave in and made this one and it was absolutely delicious.  The sauce is delightful and the chicken combined with the stuffing is perfect.  If only they made a "light" white wine with few calories....oh to dream.

Again, easy to prepare, and fast.   All in about 45 minutes (with kids running up to the market to pick up ingredients I had run out of).   These measurements were to serve 6.

Ingredients
1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (six breasts)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup skim milk

Stuffing
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup toasted almonds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp olive oil
3/4 cup shredded light havarti cheese

Sauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup thawed concentrated orange juice
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Garnish
fresh chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
Make a horizontal slit in each piece of chicken to form a pocket for the stuffing, making sure not to slice all the way through.

To make the stuffing, in a food processor, chop the cranberries and almonds.  Add the cinnamon and olive oil and finally havarti and process for a minute or so.

Stuff into the chicken breasts and secure with toothpicks.

In a small bowl combine the egg and milk and scramble well. Dip each chicken piece in to coat and then coat with breadcrumbs

Lights coat a large non stick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium high heat.  Lightly coat all of the breaded chicken with cooking spray.   Cook for approx 3 minutes on each side of chicken until golden brown and transfer to a foil lined cookie sheet.  (spray sheet with cooking spray).

Place in oven between 20-30 minutes until an interior temp of 165 F is reached.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce by whisking the maple syrup, orange juice,  honey, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and Dijon together in a small saucepan.  Add the cornstarch and whisk well.  Bring to a boil reduce the heat and simmer for about a minute until just slightly thickened.  Spoon over the cooked chicken.  (It is delicious over rice as well)

Light Cinnamon Crepes with Fruit and Cheese. Scrumptious

We had the pleasure of having my parents here for Easter weekend this year.  This is the first time in 15 years that we've been able to spend Easter together so I was thrilled as were the kids.   Since we don't have them here very often I wanted to make a delicious brunch for them.  Of course we are still trying to stay "light" and I worked through some recipes lightening them up.  In addition to the crepes we also made a Chicken Spinach Frittata.  Recipe here

These were absolutely delicious!!!  I got to test my new crepe pan and play in the kitchen.  The filling light and scrumptious.  Fresh fruit finishes it up beautifully...  Ricotta cheese is spectacular with fresh fruit on it's own.  Add in a little crepe and it pushes it over to top in goodness.

Crepes. (makes approx 15)

These can be made a day ahead of time.  Everytime I've made crepes the first one always goes caplooey so I just toss the first one (actually one of the kids gladly accept it to taste test. )  You can cut the recipe by 3rds to reduce quantity of crepes

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
3 pinches of salt
2 1/4 cup buttermilk
6 tsp vegetable oil
3 large eggs (or 3/4 cups liquid egg replacement)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Filling
1 Tub Light ricotta cheese
2 oz light cream cheese (about 1/2 bar)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
3 cups of fresh fruit   (strawberries, banana, blueberries, raspberries, etc)


To make the crepes.
Combine the dry ingredients and mix well, set aside
In a seperate bowl combine the milk, egg, and oil.   With an electric mixer add the dry ingredients to the wet mixing gradually until smooth and combined.   Cover and refridgerate for 30 minutes

Lightly coat a non stick skillet or crepe pan with cooking spray and set over medium heat.  Using approx 1/4 cup of the batter, pour into the pan and tilt in all directions so the batter covers the pan.   Cook for approx 1 minute and lift the edges with a spatula to test.  Flip when the bottom is lightly browned.  I always use my silicone icing knife and a spatula to flip.  I am not a flipping master.  Set the crepes aside.   I use parchment paper to seperate the crepes.  I have tried plastic wrap (they get stuck together and hard to seperate the plastic),  wax paper (just doesn't work, paper gets soggy) and have ended with parchment paper being the best solution.   

For the filling, combine the ricotta, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a bowl, mixing with electric mixer until well combined.  Add the maple syrup and combine well.
Fold in half of the mixed berries gently.

To assemble, spread approx 1/4 cup (maybe a little more) of the filling onto each crepe and roll up.  Lightly coat a large non stick skillet with cooking spray over medium heat.  Brown the crepe on all sides for about two minutes.  Serve with the balance of berries.