Sunday, September 9, 2012

Zucchini Mozzerella Chicken Rolls

First, the real recipe that I found on Pinterest:

Here's the picture.  Click on it if you want to see the site.


Next, my version, made with stuff on hand:
A bit dusy on top.  Not very uniform in size, but then, everyone can choose just the right sized piece for them.


Not very spiraly, but, hey, its all about taste anyway, right?

I like the original recipe because it's healthy, and I had similar ingredients in the house tonight.
The original recipe is called Chicken Rollatini Stuffed with Zucchini and Mozzarella
What is rollatini??  My version isn't fancy enough to be called rollatini.
 Besides, I could barely roll the chicken.  I'd have to call it "foldatini")

Zucchini and Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Rolls
(Gotta love the conflicted format)
1 tsp olive oil--I added more like 2 Tbsp in order to saute.
4 cloves garlic, chopped--I planned on mincing the garlic instead, but I couldn't find the microscopic piece that for some strange reason is not permanently attached to my garlic mincer.  It enjoys hiding from me.  So I actually did chop the garlic and it turned out fine.
1 1/2 cups (1 medium) zucchini, shredded --Rather than zucchini, I had summer squash.  Not as colorful, but every bit as delicious and nutritious,  maybe.
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Romano cheese (or parmesan) --I used parmesan because that's what I keep on hand In the freezer.
3 oz part skim shredded mozzarella--a nice low-fat cheese, and I have tons of it because Costco sells a giant bag of shredded mozzarella.
salt and pepper to taste
8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each --What is a chicken cutlet?  I used three breast halves.
1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs --I have two kids who can't digest wheat bran and a husband who shouldn't eat white flour, so I opted for oats instead of bread crumbs.  I put them in the blender with seasonings.
1 lemon, juice of--I didn't have any lemon, so I didn't use any.
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and fresh pepper--Fresh?  As opposed to frozen, or what?
olive oil non-stick spray.--I didn't have any olive oil spray, so I used canola oil spray.  Sorry.

First I preheated the oven to 450 degrees.  Then I had to defrost my chicken, then I filleted each piece in two.  I say "filleted" because I don't know how else to describe the way you cut the chicken.  Let's see...turn the blade of the knife parallel to the cutting board and slice through the chicken till you have 2 pieces half as thick as the first.  There.

 I sauteed  and seasoned the garlic and squash and spread it over the chicken.  I realized at that point that I'd forgotten the mozzarella so I sprinkled it over each piece.  Then I rolled up the chicken.  I dipped the chicken in egg instead of lemon and olive oil for no particular reason.  Then I rolled the rolls in the oat mixture and put it seam-side-down in a baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Next, I sprayed the top of the chicken.  I should have sprayed it more so that the chicken wouldn't look dusty after being cooked.  I cooked the chicken at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.

I served it with salad.  Made by Thomas.

TYOL  
(Tear Your Own Lettuce--Not noticed by Mom until it was too late.)
Served elegantly in the spinner

I have heard that you should have at least 3 dishes at the dinner table.  
Can I count salad dressing as a dish?   We had 3 kinds to choose from...


First Reactions to the chicken:

Brian: "What is that?
Thomas: "What is this?"
Miriam:  "What is it?"

Katrina didn't mention it.  Didn't eat it.  She just sat and decorated her plate instead--


Beautiful!

In the end, everyone besides Katrina enjoyed the chicken and cleaned their plates.  It was a delicious, nutritious meal.