The long awaited "Boyfriend Chicken"

And yes, I modified the recipe somewhat from the original, and yes, I know that there's a boyfriend chicken recipe in existence somewhere else. It's bad, poisonous, and shouldn't be cooked. This? The recipe you really want. (And if you're fighting with your boyfriend? This is a great aggression releaser, what with the pulverizing of the croutons, and the can of whup-ass you have to unleash on the chicken breasts...)

You're gonna need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 block cream cheese (fat content of your choice, but I can't vouch for that fat free crap.)
4 oz feta cheese (crumbled-up-like)
fresh basil (if you use dried, I'll find out where you live...)
fresh spinach (buy a whole bag, make the remainder into wilted spinach and garlic)
black pepper
salt (optional)
sweet roasted red peppers, minced/chopped
1 1/4 cups pulverized croutons (bread crumbs are for pansies)
1 egg
splash of milk
a bit of prosciutto or ham, if you're so inclined

Soften your cream cheese, and mix with the feta, black pepper, and a handful of minced basil leaves. Set this aside, and beat the bejesus out of your chicken breasts, so they're about 1/4 inch thick.*

Once the chicken breasts are flat, turn them so that the ugly side is up, and layer on some spinach leaves, about 1/4 of the cheese mixture (smushing it out, but not the whole way to the edge), some of the roasted red peppers, and if you're using it- the prosciutto. Repeat this process for all of the remaining breasts, and roll 'em up. Tuck the edges in, if possible, and toothpick the living daylights out of them if necessary.

Mix up your egg and splash of milk in a bowl, and dump your pulverized croutons on a handy plate. Dip/roll your chicken breasts in the egg mixture, then roll them in the croutons, coating evenly. Place them in a sprayed baking pan and cook for about 35 minutes at 375. (till the juices run clear)

I served mine with a simple risotto and wilted spinach. Tasty, easy, and you're good to go in less than an hour. The leftovers reheat fairly well, though if you really wanted to, you could freeze them too. (I think)

Mmm. Copes Corn.

So on Saturday, when I took my little trip to tourist hell, I swung by the nifty little Amish bulk food place. It's pretty much exactly like the bulk food place at the 3 family-owned grocery stores in town, but it was close to where I was going at the time.

-side note. I love having a bulk food place handy. Dried minced onion in a little tub? 1.21. Dried minced onion in a McCormic's container? 3.50 (for less onion!)Pasta, candy, odd types of flour, snack mix, couscous, oatmeal... pretty much whatever type of dry good you'd be looking for, they've got it in nice plastic bags, or little tubs. Oh, and it's ridiculously cheap. Good deal.

Anyway. While I was there I picked up some John Copes Dried Corn (honestly, the stuff looks and sounds bizarre, but is extremely tasty), and some couscous, and a few other things I needed. And this weekend I made some tasty treats.

Saturday I whipped up the "Fastest, tastiest lunch" (For there is fast, but there is not always tasty...

2 cups (1 can) chicken broth
1 healthy (really big) pinch of Mrs. Dash
1 cup Couscous
1 bag tuna

Boil broth with seasoning, add couscous and tuna. Take off heat. let it go for 5 minutes. Eat.

And today's masterpiece... Baked Dried Corn with Ham.

A little about John Copes Corn
It's corn, alright, but it's been dried and toasted. It's super sweet, and actually very nutty. You can soak it in hot water for an hour or so, and rehydrate it- and it's good that way, or you can make Baked Corn, which is one of my mom's favorite dishes. It's kind of a corn pudding... I added the ham, "fresh" corn, and onion...

1 package dried corn 7.5 oz(you can mail order- I don't see it too many places)
5 cups milk
4 eggs, beaten
2 really good pinches of dried minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar (you can always add a pinch more as you serve)
1 ham steak, cut into cubes
1 small can of regular corn, drained
2-3 tablespoons melted butter (I didn't think it really needed it, but it's in the original recipe)
Pepper to taste

Put the dried corn bits into your blender or food processor, and whiz it a bit to break up the pieces somewhat. Don't turn it all into cornmeal, but don't leave it like giant shards of toenails either. Put the corn into a large bowl, and mix with the salt, sugar, onion, milk, well-beaten eggs, corn, butter, and cubed ham (Ok, mix it with EVERYTHING) and pour into a sprayed/buttered casserole dish (2 quarts).

The original recipe says to cook this in a shallow casserole dish at 375 for 1 hour. I ended up doing it in a taller one, and cooking it till the top was brown, and the center was set for the most part. (When you jiggle the pan it still wiggles some, but isn't all liquidy.)

It's wicked tasty...