Wednesday Window Shopping: Jalapeño-Chicken Crescent Pinwheels

I have a confession to make, I haven't cooked dinner once this week.  Michael cooked dinner on Monday and Tuesday and I ordered take out tonight. I've been in a bit of a blue mood this week and when I am down I try not to cook.  I truly belive that dishes made with love taste so much better than dishes prepared while in a bad mood.  I'm hoping my mood lifts soon, I have a list a of great recipes I want to share.  Luckily, I cooked a few extra meals last week that I wanted to tell you about.

One of these recipes is one that I found on the Pillsbury website.  It is their recipe for Jalapeno-Chicken Crescent Pinwheels.  As usual I will just be posting my experiences with trying out this recipe, you can see the actual recipe on their website.

Now this recipe is supposed to be for appetizers, so I doubled it to feed my family.  I opted to leave out the onions and the cilantro to keep it simple for the guys' tastes.



I cut the chicken into bite size pieces.



Seasoned the chicken with Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder and Italian Seasonings.



Cook chicken over medium heat.



Combine chicken, cream cheese and jalapenos.  Yum, The fillling was tasty just like this, I ended up eating a few spoonfuls.





I first tried it according to their instructions.





But I found it to be really messy and I didn't like the way it looked.



So for the second half i just filled each triangle with the filling and rolled like a traditional crescent roll.





I thnk they turned out to be more pleasing to the eyes.



You can see the two finished products side by side here.




I give this recipe 4 starts.  It was very delicious, but it didn't make nearly as many pinwheels as the recipe stated.  It wasn't too spicy, I think the cream cheese helped to mellow it out some.

Mock Fried Chicken

I love eating  fried chicken. I don't love how unhealthy it is. I also dislike how when you fry it, your house smells like it for a week and the smell gets into your clothes and your hair.  I also hate dealing with the hot oil, it always ends up popping and burning me a little.  Plus I am never sure on how to dispose of the used oil. For these reasons I never make fried chicken.

I was very happy when I was able to discover a way to to enjoy the taste and crispiness for fried chicken without actually having to fry in on the stove.  I love making this with Panko bread crumbs but it can also be made with regular bread crumbs.  I used spicy mustard this time for extra flavoring, but that can be changed out depending on your mood. For a more Asian flare you can use soy sauce. If you are looking for an extra kick you can add hot sauce.

Ingredients
2 egg whites
2 tbsp spicy mustard
1 ½ cups Panko bread crumbs
2 lbs chicken breast tenderloins
Seasonings to Taste
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 F. Coat dish with cooking spray



Preheat oven to 450 F. Coat dish with cooking spray

Whisk together egg whites, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic powder





In a shallow dish season Panko bread crumbs with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Form an assembly line.



Dip chicken into egg white mixture.



Coat chicken with bread crumbs





Add to baking dish.




Cook for 15 minutes
Turn chicken to other side and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until crispy and golden brown





Nutritional Information
Calories: 293.5 Total Fat: 1.4 Cholesterol: 110 Sodium: 547.5 Total Carbohydrate: 18.1 Dietary Fiber: .8 Sugars: 1.5 Protein 50.8

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Awesome Chicken

We eat a lot of chicken in our house and I am always trying to find new ways to cook it, to keep my family from getting bored.  I made this stuffed chicken breast dish for the first time a few months ago. Since it was my first time making it, I didn't make extras. My hubby was very disappointed. This dish is his new favorite meal and it received a "10" rating. He like it so much that he asked for me to make it again two days later. He named the chicken "awesome!".  I hope you enjoy it.

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Servings: 6
Ingredients

6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1/2 cup Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
4 1/2 oz Canned Green Chilies
1/2 cup Crushed Tortilla Chips
3 tbsp Melted Butter
Salsa for garnish
Seasonings to taste
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder





Preheat oven to 400 F degrees

Now my favorite part of preparing this meal (especially after a stressful day) is pounding the chicken breast to 1 1/2 inch thickness. Next you season the chicken with the salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.



Next sprinkle pepper jack cheese (about 2 tsp) in the center of the each chicken breast.



Next add the green chilies (about 2 tsp.)


Now we roll up the chicken breast and place each piece seam down in the baking dish.


Lightly coat the top of each chicken breast with melted butter.


Top each piece of chicken with the crushed tortilla chips. (You can skip this step if you are watching your carbs)



Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until thermometer reads 170 F





I like to serve with black beans and rice with a dollop of salsa on top.



Nutritional Info Per Serving
Calories 246
Total Fat 11.6 g
Cholesterol 54.5 g
Sodium 315.8 g
Total Carbs 12.3 g
    Dietary Fibers 0.8 g
    Sugars 0.0 g
Protein 21.8 g