Almond Stuffed Chicken with Couscous and Green Beans with Bacon and Toasted Almonds

I love to cook, but I also work full time, so a lot of week nights when I come home, I don't really feel like spending hours in the kitchen. Crazy, I know. This is the perfect weeknight meal. Easy, quick to prepare, delicious, and healthy. Well, sort of. I did saute the green beans in the bacon fat after I cooked the bacon......but you could drain the pan and just use a teaspoon or two of olive oil if you are watching your diet. This meal also uses relatively few ingredients. You might already have these in your kitchen now!

Almond Stuffed Chicken

adapted from Cooking Light magazine

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 wedges of Laughing Cow Garlic and Herbs cheese
• 3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
• 1/8 cup slivered almonds
• salt and pepper
  

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the filling by combining the cheese, parsley, and almonds in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Next, prepare your chicken. If your chicken breasts are thick, you can butterfly them (cut them in half horizontally, but not all the way through) and stuff them that way. If they are thin cut like mine, you can make roll ups by spreading the filling on top of the chicken breast and fold it over. Either way, lay each chicken breast out on a cutting board.

3. Stuff the chicken by spreading it over the top of the chicken (if using thin chicken breasts) or stuffing it in the middle (if using butterflied chicken breasts). Fold the chicken over and secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Transfer to a foil lined baking sheet. Cover the chicken with foil (to prevent the toothpicks from burning) and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through.


Meanwhile, prepare:

Green Beans with Bacon & Toasted Almonds

• 1 lb fresh or frozen steam in the bag green beans
• 2 slices center cut bacon
• 1/8 cup slivered almonds
  

1. Cook the green beans in the microwave according to the package directions, but make sure you cook them at the minimum time given since you will later saute them.

2. Next, cook the bacon in a large pan until crispy. Remove to a plate covered in paper towels to cool and drain. Do not drain the pan. If there is a lot of fat in your pan, remove some but leave a tablespoon or two for sauteeing the green beans.

3. Lower the heat to medium low and add the almonds, and toast them for a couple of minutes. Once they are toasted, add in the green beans and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste.




As for the couscous, just use your favorite brand and prepare according to package directions. I used Marrakesh Express chicken and vegetable flavor.

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Warning: If you bake these cookies for family or friends, they may beg you incessantly to make them again.

I baked these to bring for the worship team, childcare workers, and staff at my church yesterday. I got lots of compliments! These really just came out of a desire to bake and I used whatever I had in my pantry. These cookies were totally gobbled up and described as "ridiculous". Not really sure what that means, but I think that's good!

I have to give all the credit to Jenny over at Picky Palate. I used her recipe for Send Me to the Milky Way cookies as my "base", and just added whatever I had in the pantry as mix-ins. It always works out great and yields a delicious, chewy cookie. Feel free to experiment with this recipe yourself!

A few more tips... I always underbake my cookies a little bit by using the minimum time given in the recipe. They will look "doughy" in the center, but after they sit on the cooling rack for it bit, they become the perfect consistency (at least to me). Finally, my last "secret" is really good vanilla. I swear by it, and it makes the biggest difference in all of my baked goods.

Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Cookie base recipe adapted from Picky Palate

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks softened butter
• ¾ Cup sugar
• ¾ Cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 ¾ Cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt (you may want to cut this to 1/4 if your macadamias are salted like mine were)
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks (I used Guittard semi sweet chips and Nestle Chocolate Chunks, since that's what I had in my pantry)
• 1 cup chopped salted Macadamia nuts
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer cream the butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined, scraping edges with a spatula. In a separate large bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with the chocolate and nuts.

2. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until cooked to your preference. Let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to a cooling rack.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

These cookies are simply delicious. The macadamia nuts and white chocolate are perfect with the buttery vanilla flavor of the cookie. The secret is to use a really, really good quality vanilla. Trust me, it makes all the difference! I also always bake my cookies for the minimum time given on the recipe. They always come out perfectly golden brown and chewy that way. Make these cookies today... your friends and family will thank you!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
10 ounces white chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped into chunks

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 F. In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt with electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, beat well. Stir together flour, and the baking soda; gradually add to butter mixture,beating until well blended. Stir in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. (Edges are golden brown and center is set.) Cool slightly, remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool completely.