Wow, it has been a REALLY long time since my last post! Yikes! When I finally started sharing this space with my few close friends (and for the entire internet to see) I committed to posting at least once a week, if not more. I went a few days over here and there but mostly stayed pretty on top of my commitment. I have tried to keep my posts light and fun and of course educational 😉 but the current state of…everything(!) has been making me feel a little darker and heavier than I would like and did not leave me in a good place to write. I’ve mentioned before I hate living in fear but… things have been feeling bleak lately! I’m really trying to turn that feeling around. Practicing mindfulness, spreading kindness. Something that keeps popping in my head is PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY! Being responsible for our own actions and the repercussions of those actions and just overall striving to be a good, kind, loving person… that washes her hands a lot and wears a mask when around other people. Fun times friends, FUN times. That said I HAVE been cooking/baking quite a bit so I will be catching up on the lost time :). First up!! The ever so amazing… Stuffed chicken II!! I hadn’t made this in months because I was sticking to simpler recipes while we were on lock down. So making it again after several weeks was such a treat and I wish I had doubled the recipe because I wanted it again the next day :). I’m sure I have gone on about how much I love brie in the past and this recipe HAS it! Plus a crazy good goat cheese based pesto that is kind of like a green goddess spread. I usually make this as a one pan dinner with two of our favorite vegetables… purple potatoes for my husband and brussel sprouts for me. Of course you could sub these out with whatever your fave veggie is and most likely the cooking time will remain the same. But if not, use a different pan! Ok recipe below!

Stuffed Chicken II

• 8 oz goat cheese (room temperature)
• basil leaves (bunch)
• handful of walnuts
• drizzle of olive oil
• pinch salt and pepper
• clove garlic
• splash of half & half or any milk you have on hand
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• Two chicken breasts
• 7 oz brie
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons apricot preserves
• brussel sprouts
• potatoes (purple if you can find them!)

Start by making the pesto. In a food processor combine the goat cheese, basil, walnuts, s&p, olive oil, splash half & half and shredded parmesan. As long as your goat cheese is room temp it should all mix up pretty quickly. Set this aside. On a cutting board take your two chicken breasts and butterfly them. I like my breasts REALLY thin so I actually butterfly it twice, taking the bottom layer totally off and using it for something else and than butterflying again and leaving in tact this time. Push the breasts down onto a baking sheet and smother both sides with the pesto. I don’t use all of it on the breasts but most of it, I save some to mix into my vegetables. Ok, now cut your brie into strips maybe like 1/4 of an inch thick. Push on top of the pesto on the chicken and than close the chicken up. Now mix the balsamic vinegar and preserves in a small bowl and spread over the chicken. Make sure the chicken is on the far side of the pan. Now dice up your potatoes and brussel sprouts or whatever you are using and put on the remainder of baking sheet. Top with olive oil and sea salt and if you have any of the pesto left mix it all in. If I have brie left I put it on top of the veggies too. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. YUM!!