Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Mozzarella by Mia P. Manansala @MPMtheWriter

I am all about the quick and easy recipes that still manage to be delicious and filling. These prosciutto-wrapped chicken thighs topped with mozzarella are probably the MVPs of my pandemic cooking: it only has three ingredients, the ingredients are easy to source and reasonably priced, the raw chicken handling is minimal, I don’t have to chop anything, and my picky husband loves it.

As someone whose love language is food, that last one is a huge deal for me. Served with a green vegetable (we’re partial to roast asparagus) and a carb (we usually go with potatoes, but a large hunk of garlic bread is also lovely), you can have an impressive meal on the table in about 45 minutes.

Prosciutto-wrapped chicken thighs with mozzarella, roast asparagus, and garlic bread

Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Thighs with Mozzarella

Serves 2, recipe easily scales up

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken thighs

2 oz prosciutto

Sliced or grated mozzarella

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Rinse and pat chicken dry, then lay in lightly greased baking dish.
3. Separate the prosciutto and wrap 1-2 pieces around each thigh
4. Lay 1-2 slices of mozzarella or generously sprinkle shredded mozzarella on top.
5. Cover dish with foil (I forgot to do this and the cheese got a little too brown).
6. Cook in oven for about 35 minutes, removing foil halfway through cooking time.
7. Enjoy with your choice of sides!

*I wouldn’t substitute breasts; you need the fattiness of the thighs to release the juices it cooks in.

Cast of Characters

Rinse and dry the chicken thighs, then lay in a lightly greased baking dish

Wrap chicken with 1-2 pieces of prosciutto

Top with mozzarella

Cover with foil and cook in a 400 degree oven for 35 minutes. Remove foil halfway through. These didn't have foil, so are overbrowned.

That’s right, you don’t need salt, pepper, or any other seasoning. The prosciutto and mozzarella provide more than enough saltiness and flavor, and the juicy thighs create a luscious sauce you can spoon over your sides. I like to slide in a tray of asparagus that’s been tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper when there’s about 10 minutes left in the cooking time so I can have a veggie side done at the same time as the main dish.

What are your favorite dishes that are easy to make yet impressive enough for a dinner party? Let me know in the comments!

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Pork Chops or Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mustard Sauce #Recipe @PegCochran

 

 

This is a Weight Watchers recipe that I adapted to suit what I had on hand.  Yes, I'm back to counting my points after indulging myself over the holidays!  This was so delicious, you'd never guess it was "diet" food.

 I didn't have pork chops but had defrosted chicken thighs.  What to do with them?  It was easy to substitute the thighs for the pork chops in this recipe although I did have to adjust the timing and the technique.  It was no less delicious for it! 

Word to the wise:  When I transferred the skillet to the oven to finish cooking the chicken, I stuck an oven mitt through the oven door handle to remind myself to use it.  It worked.  But then when I put the pan on the stove to make the sauce, I grabbed the handle with my bare hand.  Ouch!  I then put the oven mitt over the handle so I could grasp it without burning myself further.  Instead, I set the oven mitt on fire!  Fortunately it was easily put out.

 

 

2 or more chicken thighs, boneless chicken thighs or pork chops

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. olive oil

½ cup chicken broth

½ cup chopped shallots

2 TBSP water

1 TBSP Dijon mustard

¼ cup sour cream (reduced fat or regular)

 

Season meat with salt and pepper to taste. If using chicken thighs, you can leave the skin on or take it off.

 

Heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add meat and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through.  Note: thin pork chops will be finished in about 7 or 8 minutes. Since I was using chicken thighs, which take much longer, I browned the meat first and then transferred the pan to a 350 degree oven and cooked until they reached the appropriate temperature. (Timing will vary according to your choice of meat.)

 

 

Remove meat to a platter and keep warm.

 

Add shallots to skillet and cook until tender.  Add broth and scrape up browned bits from pan.

 

 

 

Stir in water and mustard and stir until it thickens slightly.

 

Off heat, add sour cream.   Put meat back in pan and coat with sauce.

 

 

 

 

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The plot thickens for American gothic writer Penelope Parish when a murder near her quaint British bookshop reveals a novel's worth of killer characters.

Penelope Parish has hit a streak of bad luck, including a severe case of writer's block that is threatening her sophomore book. Hoping a writer in residence position at The Open Book bookstore in Upper Chumley-on-Stoke, England, will shake the cobwebs loose, Pen, as she's affectionately known, packs her typewriter and heads across the pond.

Unfortunately, life in Chumley is far from quiet and when the chairwoman of the local Worthington Fest is found dead, fingers are pointed at Charlotte Davenport, an American romance novelist and the future Duchess of Worthington. Charlotte turns to the one person who might be her ally for help: fellow American Pen. Teaming up with bookstore owner Mabel Morris and her new friend Figgy, Pen sets out to learn the truth and find the tricks that will help her finish her novel.

 Amazon

Barnes & Noble 

 

Website

Roast chicken thighs with apples and cabbage #Recipe @PegCochran

This recipe comes from Taste of Home.  I've listed the original recipe but as you can see I cut this down for two people although I did use a half head of cabbage because I wanted to use it up. The original recipe is for green cabbage, but I thought red would be excellent and it was. I also omitted the melted butter (calories!), cut way back on the oil and subbed dried thyme for fresh, which I didn't have.

It was very tasty and not too heavy and perfect for a cold winter night after all the holiday excess.

 

Ingredients

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

salt to taste

pepper to taste

2 tbl. Olive oil

½ small head red or green cabbage cut into wedges

2 small apples, cored and cut into eighths

1 tbl. Fresh thyme

2 tbl. Apple cider vinegar

1 tbl. butter, melted

1 tbl. Chopped fresh thyme

 

 Preheat oven to 400°

 Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

Heat an oven safe skillet over medium-high heat.  Place chicken, skin down, in skillet and cook until golden brown.  Turn and cook 3 to 4 minutes more and remove from skillet.

 

 

Add oil to skillet and heat.  Add cabbage and apples.  Cook until golden brown, about four minutes.  

 

 

Return chicken to skillet, skin side up.  Sprinkle with fresh thyme and drizzle with vinegar and butter.  

Bake for 20 minutes.

 

 

Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Murder in the Margins has everything: England * Charming town * Book shop * Writer-in-residence * Duke & Duchess * Cute detective * Murder!

 

 Amazon

Barnes & Noble

The plot thickens for American gothic writer Penelope Parish when a murder near her quaint British bookshop reveals a novel's worth of killer characters.

Penelope Parish has hit a streak of bad luck, including a severe case of writer's block that is threatening her sophomore book. Hoping a writer in residence position at The Open Book bookstore in Upper Chumley-on-Stoke, England, will shake the cobwebs loose, Pen, as she's affectionately known, packs her typewriter and heads across the pond.

Unfortunately, life in Chumley is far from quiet and when the chairwoman of the local Worthington Fest is found dead, fingers are pointed at Charlotte Davenport, an American romance novelist and the future Duchess of Worthington. Charlotte turns to the one person who might be her ally for help: fellow American Pen. Teaming up with bookstore owner Mabel Morris and her new friend Figgy, Pen sets out to learn the truth and find the tricks that will help her finish her novel.

 Amazon

Barnes & Noble 

 

Website

 

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