Microwave

Candy's Kitchen | home

Microwave

As a general rule I do not use my microwave for cooking meals. I admit it is mostly reserved for popcorn, re-heating last nights' dinner and a couple of really yummy appetizer dips. But out of necessity at one point when my oven was on the blink, I ventured into the realm of actually cooking in the microwave.

I must say most of the attempts were simply awful. The food was hard and rubbery on the edges and undercooked in the middle. But being as I needed to feed myself and take out had long lost its appeal, I trudged on.

Then I stumbled on a recipe that looked promising. It contained everything I liked - Pasta, chicken, cheese and spaghetti sauce. So I gave it a go. I was skeptical. All the chicken I have ever cooked in the microwave was so rubbery you could bounce it on the kitchen floor.

The moment of truth was at hand. I opened the microwave and looked in. It looked appetizing. I served up a portion, and with a little trepidation, I tasted. It was good, really good. The chicken was not like a super ball and was cooked all the way through! Finally, a good microwave dish. I wasn't going to starve.

Well, that was nearly 10 years ago and I still make this dish in the microwave and I still like it as much now as I did then. So I have decided to share it with you. I hope you like it as much as I do. My microwave is approximately 750W. If you have a significantly lower or higher wattage, you may need to adjust the cooking time.

Stuffed Chicken Rolls

2 boneless whole chicken breasts, skin removed, cut in half

1/3 cup Ricotta Cheese

2 Tbls. Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 Tbls sliced green onion

¼ tsp. Basil

¼ tsp oregano

¼ tsp thyme

Dash of Salt

Dash of pepper

1 Jar (15 ½ oz) extra-thick spaghetti sauce

1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

12 oz cooked Linguine pasta

Pound each chicken breast half between two sheets of plastic wrap to ¼ inch thickness. Set aside. In a small mixing bowl, combine ricotta and Parmesan cheese, onion, basil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix well. Spread ¼ of the cheese mixture down the center of each breast half. Fold in sides and roll up, enclosing filling. Secure with wooden picks. Arrange stuffed rolls, seam-side down, in a 9-inch square microwave safe baking dish. Pour spaghetti sauce over chicken. Cover with wax paper. Microwave at High for 11-15 minutes, or until chicken is firm and no longer pink, rotating dish twice. Remove wooden picks. Top with Mozzarella cheese. Reduce power to 50%. Microwave for 2 to 4 minutes. Serve over Linguine Pasta.

Cooking Term of the Week

Blackened- A cooking technique made famous by Louisiana chef Paul Prudhomme. Meat or fish is usually seasoned with a Cajun spice mixture and then cooked in a cast iron skillet that has been heated almost red hot. This technique gives the food an extra crispy crust and sears in the juices. It is also guaranteed to set off your smoke detector--unless the battery is dead.

Cool Website of the Week

In today's hustle and bustle world, we are forced to come up with quick but tasty meals for our family. Campbell's Kitchen can help you do just that.

With dozen's of recipes featuring Campbell's products you can rest assured your family will have a hearty and tasty meal after a long hard day. And if you are in a real hurry, Campbell's will mail you a new recipe each day. No searching the site - just open your email and get to cooking.

They also have a great gift shop of Campbell's merchandise. So take a minute after the kids have gone to bed and stop by Campbell's Kitchen (www.campbellkitchen.com), your family will thank you