Bacon & Gouda Stuffed Chicken Breast

Before I give you the easiest stuffed chicken recipe you will ever make, I want to talk to you about my dream last night. If you don’t already know this about me, I have a prodigious fear of zombies (Though, surprisingly, I dug Zombieland). It isn’t quite so much a phobia that gives me panic attacks and fainting spells, but I do have vivid nightmares about them. Not only are they extremely terrifying, they are also reoccurring.

It all started my first year in college, around the time school was letting out for the winter holidays. I went and saw my first ever zombie movie at the AMC Tysons Corner 16. It was Resident Evil 3, and it was only the beginning. At first the zombies looked like your typical human being in my dreams. The post-apocalyptic landscape was industrial and familiar, only without cars and them walking down the highway, staring straight ahead with vacant eyes. Whenever I walked near one they seemed to come out of their trance and would tell me to get away or they’d bite me. They knew what they were, and although they looked like any average Joe or Jane I’d meet on the street, I knew what they were also.

After three years, they’ve progressed and evolved into different images. Sometimes they were rotting and bloody, and I would usually have something to defend myself with. Sometimes they looked demonic and beautiful; they were sentient, articulate, and even more horrible to deal with. It’s the conscious, unearthly looking ones that terrify me the most, and they’re the ones that are often the zombie part of the zombie nightmare experience.

(c) Link

For a while I thought they symbolized my need for control of my own life and destiny, or not wanting to become part of the crowd that followed everything I was against. This morning's took on a new feel to it that was different from the others. I was uprooted from my home, because they could easily go in and out of buildings as they pleased. There was a secret government agency involved, where technology was exceedingly developed and they were about as helpful as a griddle skillet for a soup recipe. I spoke with them and I ran from them in this vast hotel with many halls, windows, and rooms. I was alone against the world, and I woke up with my heart thudding so hard against my chest and tears in my eyes. It took a few minutes until the pounding in my ears subsides. At least it was light enough I could see my room clearly with the morning light, and since my stomach was telling me it wanted pancakes with its grumbles I figured it was time to get up anyway.

As I was preparing and eating my first delicious creation of the day, I started thinking about my latest nightmare, and I was struck with such an enlightening realization that there was actually a very logical explanation to these dreams.

I was hungry.

The dreams started when I began exercising and losing weight, and they became more graphic the more restrictive I became with my lifestyle. I think it was my subconscious telling me that it was wrong for me to go to bed hungry, that these awful nightmares were a way of encouraging me to give what my body wants and to nourish its most basic need. Zombies are particular and picky; only the freshest human will do. Although it is very clear I’m eating more throughout the day (and not gaining weight, despite my constant fear of doing so), it still isn’t enough to satisfy my body completely, whether it’s feeling contentedly full at that moment or not.

And I think it does have to do with self-control, if only a little. I think I was (or still am) afraid of giving in to what I wanted and needed, and that my body had more control over me than I believed it should. But really, what is the distinction? The Body isn’t a separate entity from the the Mind and Spirit, and I shouldn’t be treating it like it is. It should be nourished, loved, and respected just as much as the other two without criticism, exceptions, or regulations. The amazing thing about the physical body is that it knows what’s what before anything else that is a part of you. Everything else beyond the five senses can be physically manifested because even your own mind knows that before You do. Fascinatingly confusing stuff, am I right? Hopefully my future dreaming endeavors, whether they are zombie-filled or not, will be brighter, gentler, and kinder from now on.

Until then, here is a recipe anyone can do and do it well. Stuffed chicken breast is such a versatile dish in how it’s prepared, what it’s stuffed with, and how the overall dish will end up looking on a plate. I like to stuff it with various cheeses and greens, and serve it over a bed of rice with another vegetable as a side. But you can stuff it with apples or other fruits also. You can bread it, glaze it, marinade it, and possibly fry it. You can top it with a sauce or crust it with herbs. This is such a great dish for those who want a nutritionally balanced meal without compromising flavor... and their wallet.

Bacon & Gouda Stuffed Chicken Breasts

4 Chicken breasts, butterfly-cut and pounded out
9.5 oz Pork belly pieces (or bacon), thinly sliced
4 oz Smoked Gouda (or 4 deli slices), thinly sliced and halved into crescents
4 Garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. Herb de Provence
Olive oil, for greasing the pan

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Place the large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and cook the pork belly until it is crispy with a satisfying crunch.
Remove the pork belly pieces from the pan and allow cooling until they can be safely handled.
Add the cheese and bacon to one side of the butterfly-cut chicken breasts and sandwich the stuffing with the other side.
Lay the chicken breasts next to each other on the pan and evenly garnish with the garlic, remaining bacon pieces, and Herb de Provence.
Back for 45 minutes and serve hot.

Serves 4.

Visiting Penzeys Spices

You know how can you tell you are a foodie? When going to a specialty food store is probably more exciting than your birthday. 

In fact, I’m probably borderline fanatical, obsessed with the gastronomic world and all it has to offer. If you put me in a bookstore, I search for the cookbook section and will stay there for hours. If there is a gluten-free restaurant nearby or a new Morri-friendly product on the shelves, you bet your bottom dollar I’m going to give it a try. My morning routine consists of reading the latest posts from the amazing food bloggers I follow. I watch the Cooking Channel zealously, and think of ways I could alter the recipes to my lifestyle. I dream of food often, and I daydream of my future in the restaurant business. My philosophies are directly linked to cooking, and the aromas that come from the kitchen smell more glorious to me than the most expensive perfumes money can buy.

My Uncle’s girlfriend was the one who recommended this store to Mama Dazz and me, and if any of you foodies are ever in the Falls Church area, Penzeys Spices is an awesome place to visit.

This store, while simple in design and execution of display, is a jaw-dropping sight to behold. You walk in to shelves upon shelves upon shelves of spices, organized by type and how it can be used. There’s a baking section to your right, with various extracts and cocoa powders and citrus peels. To your left is a plethora of spices from A – Z, including three types of cardamom and even more cinnamon types. There are cheese seasonings, chili powders, sausage spices, and more. 

Mama Dazz and I walked out with seventeen distinct spices and combinations in our quaint brown paper shopping bag, all of them Morri-friendly to boot! My favorite by far was the “Balti” blend, smelling exactly like the Bangladeshi home across the street and a scent I had always wanted to incorporate in my cooking. We also got Italian herb blend, Greek seasoning, Turkish seasoning, Chili 3000, Tsardust memories, powdered rosemary, whole cumin seeds, various pepper powders, and natural wasabi (not pure wasabi, but still interesting). Already my mind is swimming with ways to use them, though I don’t want to use them just because we have them on hand. I want to put them in with dishes that make sense, like the Greek seasoning with the falafel and lamb kabob dish I have planned later in the week or Tsardust memories in a meat and cabbage combination to go with a bowl of borsch I want to help the boyfriend make. 

The Frenchman (with the accent and everything) behind the counter let me take a few pictures of the store, and he is quite a nice gentleman once you start talking with him. I talked about my time in Sweden, about the two amazing young Frenchmen I had met there and the hilarious stories they shared. Despite my not knowing a word of French (other than Le Petit Poucet) and not learning it while in a Scandinavian country, he gave us a coupon for his wife’s salon and spa with our receipt anyway.

 The prices are fairly reasonable, but we have quite a spice repertoire as it is, so it may be a while until we come back to restock. They do have a number of gift assortments, however, great for weddings and the holidays. And I do have a number of foodie friends with birthdays coming up... :)