Roasted Red Pepper and Cream Cheese Chicken Roulades

I was inspired by an appetizer that my mom has been making recently, marinated cream cheese. The marinade consists of roasted red peppers, onion and parsley, and it's wonderful on crackers. I started thinking it might be amazing stuffed into a chicken breast. I was right! This dish sounds fancy, but it's not that complicated and the cream cheese filling makes the chicken moist and delicious!

Roasted Red Pepper and Cream Cheese Chicken Roulades

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts
8 Ounces of Cream Cheese
1/2 Onion, Diced (Vidalia might be best for the sweetness)
7 Ounces of Roasted Red Pepper, Chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1 Tablespoon of Parsley, Chopped
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt and Pepper each
1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

Cooking:

Place your chicken breasts in a plastic bag and pound with a heavy pan or meat pounder (flat side only) until the chicken is approximately 1/3" thick. You want to even out the meat for cooking. Next, in a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese with the onions, roasted red peppers, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Once the cream cheese mixture comes together, spread an approximately 1/2" thick layer on each breast. Next, carefully roll one side of the chicken into the other, trying to keep majority of the cream cheese mixture inside. Secure the roll with either cooking twine, tooth pick or skewer. Season the outside of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In an ovenproof skillet, pour in your olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Place your chicken breasts in the skillet, turning occasionally to brown it on all sides. You want to sear the exterior meat to add color and seal in the juices. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Once your chicken is seared on all sides, cover the pan with aluminum foil and place a thermometer into the meat. Cook until 165 degrees. Remove the pan from the oven and serve!

A Chocolatey Twist on my Grandmom's Poundcake

We have passed this simple pound cake recipe down three generations, if not more, and I thought about humbly trying to improve upon the classic. I loved it! The cream cheese addition makes the cake wonderfully moist. Even after a week, it was still delicious!

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1-1/2 Cups of All Purpose Flour, Plus a Bit More for Flouring the Bundt Pan
1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
1 Pinch of Salt
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Stick of Butter, Room Temperature
2 Eggs
1 Package of Cream Cheese
1 Cup of Milk
1/2 Package of Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (Or chop your favorite dark chocolate bar into chips and add instead)
2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Paste

Cooking:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together all the dry ingredients (sugar is always considered a wet ingredient.) In your electric mixer, put in the stick of butter and the sugar and cream together on medium speed. Add the eggs, then cream cheese, then milk. Blend until smooth. Slowly add in the sifted dry material, a little at a time, to the wet mix, until it's all incorporated. Add your chocolate chips and vanilla paste, blend until just incorporated. You do not want to over mix. Meanwhile, take your bundt pan and smear the entire inside surface with butter, then put in a bit of flour and shake around the pan until all inner surfaces are coated in flour. Pour your batter into the bundt pan, and place the pan in the center of the oven. Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until the sides start to pull away from the pan and a knife comes out of the cake without any batter attached (you will see some melted chocolate on the knife, which is fine, but you don't want any wet batter on the knife.) Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes, run a knife around the sides and the center of the pan, then place a cake plate on top of the pan, and flip the cake out. It should release easily if the pan was evenly floured. Serve hot! To store the cake leftovers, I recommend covering and placing into the refrigerator. A cold slice can sometimes make a delicious breakfast treat!

Local North Ga Smoked Trout Spread

On our last visit to the farmer's market, my husband picked up some North Georgia Smoked Trout, of which he cannot seem to get enough. Feeling inspired to do something a little different, I experimented and came up with this spread. I was so tickled with the results. It's creamy, tangy and delicious, but best of all, super easy!
It's great on onion flatbread, or crackers, or even little toast points. I had some the next day on toast with a fresh tomato sliced on top, it was so good!

Ingredients:

1 Fillet of North Georgia Smoked Trout
1 Package of Cream Cheese
1 Tablespoon of Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon of Buttermilk
2 Chopped Green Onions
1/2 Teaspoon of Lemon Zest
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Preparation:

Remove the skin from your fillet and toss into the food processor with all the other ingredients except Salt and Pepper. Puree until a smooth, spread consistency, then add salt and pepper to your liking.