Easter Steak Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Less subtle, more manly nourishment than the Bacon Stuff Chicken Breasts described earlier. These came about as a discovery resulting from Easter. We (aka "I") barbecued steak for thirty people for Easter dinner (why be a slave to tradition?), and it seems that thirty pounds of New York Steak was a bit much. The steak had been cooked to medium rare, having been gently seasoned with salt, pepper, some garlic powder, and a little of a commercial steak rub, then refrigerated for a couple of days. Serves 2 hungry guys. (Is there another kind of guys?)

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, defrosted and sliced open (butterflied)
1 leftover Easter New York Steak (see above), cut into 1/4" strips
2 TBSP bacon grease
2 tsp mango papaya jam
4 oz sharp white cheese (we used a sharp cheddar made from raw milk)
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp chili powder
2 TBSP shredded Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste (don't be overly shy)
1 tsp brown deli mustard

Butterfly the chicken breasts, salt & pepper the insides. Cover one side with mango papaya jam and Parmesan cheese. Lay the slices of cold steak over the cheese. On the other side, layer chili powder, rosemary, and sharp white cheddar cheese. Close the chicken breast. Stall for time until your wife leaves the kitchen; then coat the outside - top and bottom - with bacon grease. Add pepper or a pepper mix to taste. Grill on a hot grille for long enough that the chicken is cooked and the steak is hot: it was about 7 minutes for me in one of those George Foreman Grilles, and the bacon grease all melted off anyway, except that the taste was still in the chicken, and it held the pepper in place pretty well.

Review: I kind of figure that chicken calls for a light beer (like an amber ale, or a German hefeweizen), and that steak calls for something darker: an oatmeal stout would have been good with this New York steak (except that it was a family gathering at Easter). A Dunkel (dark hefeweizen) would be good here, or a dark Czech lager like Krušovice. The steak stuffed chicken breasts were wonderful: not at all over-the-top for a meat lover, though my sweetheart looked at me oddly when I talked about adding bacon next time.

Meat Lovers Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Per Person:
1 large Chicken Breast, thawed, butterfly filleted
3 large shrimp: I use the pre-cooked frozen type. Do NOT thaw.
2-3 strips bacon
2 oz sausage, in slices
1 oz Irish cheddar cheese, sliced thin
1 tsp fresh garlic: I like a couple of cloves of fresh roasted garlic, but thin slices of raw garlic is fine.
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
salt & pepper

Fillet the chicken breast. Season inside and out with salt & pepper. Layer cheese shrimp, bacon & sausage on one side. Season the opposite side with Cajun seasoning and garlic.

Close the chicken breast and place on an oiled sheet. Cook 18 – 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Review: I like how the flavors came out on this. I might add a teaspoon or two of mango or apricot jam, and this is one time it might be good for the chicken to be tied closed: it can get a little messy if you're not careful.

Basic Egg Hoosh

Serves Two hungry guys, or three gentle ladies.

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, diced.
• Bacon grease for frying garlic & onions
• Half a pound of bacon, fried and chopped into 3/8” chunks
• Six large eggs.
• 4 oz cheddar cheese (sharp is best), cubed
• 3 oz parmesan cheese, grated
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Fry up the garlic and onions on medium heat. Add the cooked, diced bacon. When it’s all hot, crack the eggs into the frypan. Add the cheddar cheese and do not stir yet. Season with salt & pepper to taste. When the eggs begin to cook on the bottom, begin to stir gently. As the eggs cook and the cheddar melts, add parmesan cheese.

Serve with more parmesan sprinkled on top, and/or some salsa next to it.

Review: I've been making this, and variants of this, for decades. Another name is "Clean Refrigerator Eggs": whatever you find goes in the eggs. This was what came together today, and it was perfect. I like it with a thin slice of homemade bread with homemade jam (the jam's her domain), and a glass of fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. Love it!

Tropical Cajun Chicken Breasts

Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 ea Chicken breasts
2 TBSP Cajun seasoning (I like Emeril Essence)
2 TBSP Mango preserves or jam
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Butterfly fillet the chicken breasts. Spread 1 TBSP mango jam inside each. Season with part of the Cajun seasoning. Cover jam and seasoning with 1/2 of the Parmesan for each piece.

Close the chicken breasts. Season top and bottom with the remainder of the Cajun seasoning. Bake on a greased, foil-covered sheet at 400 for 18 minutes; test for doneness, and bake more as needed.

Review: This is good, but it kind of needs something. I think I miss the bacon.