Quick Chicken Roll-Ups

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or fillets)
1 package stove top stuffing
1 package shake and bake

Take chicken breasts and bang them (I know what you’re thinking, honey!) until they are flat. Coat with Shake and Bake. Mix stuffing in a bowl with 1 cup of water. Place stuffing on each chicken breast and roll up. Use a toothpick to hold and place seam side down on a baking sheet covered with tin foil. (This makes clean up a breeze!) Cook in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees and it’s done. Don’t over cook or it tends to dry out.

Cheddar Cheese Soup with Cauliflower

3 tblsp butter
1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups finely chopped cauliflower florets (about 1 small head)
3/4 cup diced green bell pepper (about 1/2 large) I often use red pepper or omit this altogether
1 medium carrot, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
3 tblsp flour
3 cups canned chicken broth
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cups grated sharp white Cheddar cheese (about 1/2 pound)
1/4 chopped parsley

1. In a 2-3 quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and saute until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the cauliflower, green pepper, and carrot. Increase the heat to medium-high and saute, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high, add the flour, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
3. Gradually pour in the chicken broth and whisk until slightly thickened. Blend in the mustard. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the soup, partially covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. A handful at a time, add the grated cheese and stir until it is completely melted. Increase the heat to medium high and bring almost to a boil. Sprinkle the soup with the parsley and serve hot.
Serves 4-6
For and interesting color contrast, garnish this all-white soup with some grated sharp yellow Cheddar cheese.
Enjoy!

Roasted Garlic Soup with Parmesan Cheese

26 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 tblsp olive oil
2 tblsp butter
2 1/4 cups sliced onions
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
18 garlic cloves, peeled
3 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
4 lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place 26 garlic cloves in small glass baking dish. Add 2 tblsp. olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. Transfer cloves to small bowl.
Melt butter in heavy, large saucepan over medium high heat. Add onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add roasted garlic and 18 raw cloves and cook 3 minutes.
Add chicken stock, cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan, add cream and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared a day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.)
Divide grated chese among 4 bowls and ladle soup over. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon into each bowl and serve. Serves 4.

Since we always celebrate the major holidays at our house, we are always looking for new recipes to try out. On Friday morning, we were flipping through the TV and stopped on Everyday Italian, a show we had never watched before. The hostess, Giada De Laurentis, was reviewing vegetable recipes. One of the featured recipes was a squash and pesto dish but unfortunately, they don’t publish the recipes on Foodtv.ca, so we had to go freestyle. The above picture is the result of our Easter squash dish that although it has many flavours in each mouthful, will probably become a regular in our house. Even our 12 year old liked it.
Take one large butternut squash (we used 3 small ones). Cut and cube it and boil it until soft. When cooked, put it in a food processor until pureed. (We don’t have a processor so we mashed it). Butter a rectangular baking dish and add half of the squash mixture and spead it over the bottom of the dish. Take some store bought pesto (or homemade if you are ambitious) and add a layer of that on top of the squash. Cover the pesto with fresh, grated parmesan cheese. Follow with a layer of the remaining squash and a layer of the pesto and cover with more parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the cheese is crispy. (We actually cooked it for 40 minutes and then put it under the broiler. Just be careful the cheese doesn’t burn.
As I said, each mouthful has a bunch of flavours but it is really tasty and a very different and distinct vegetable dish.