First dinner

So, I've decided to do a blog about what I make for dinner. Cooking is one of my passions, and I usually end up telling everyone what I've made anyway, so this way I can possibly reach an even bigger audience.

Tonight for dinner I made cheese-stuffed chicken, which is much more sophisticated than it sounds, and almost nothing like chicken cordon bleu. I adapted it from a recipe that I found in a magazine, and I think I've changed it enough to be able to post it here.

Ingredients:
- 1 lb chicken breasts (I buy the thin-sliced, which cost more. If you're more concerned with cost, you can buy the regular breasts and just pound them until they are about a quarter inch thick.)
- 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 c. crumbled feta
- 2 slices of bacon (It costs more, but its easier in this recipe to buy the ready-cooked bacon that only needs to be heated in the microwave.)
- 1/4 c. peanuts, chopped (I used dry-roasted, salted peanuts.)
- seasonings

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cook bacon
- If using ready-cooked bacon: heat per package directions in the microwave, then crumble into pieces.
- If using regular bacon: Cut bacon into small pieces before cooking in small skillet over medium-low heat.
3. Combine bacon, mozzarella, feta, and peanuts
4. Place about 1/4 c. of cheese mixture in the middle of each chicken breast, then roll the chicken. Place in glass casserole dish, seam side down to keep from unrolling. Sprinkle remaining cheese mixture on top of chicken.
5. Sprinkle tops of chicken with seasoning of choice (I use white pepper which adds a subtle heat. I would not recommend using salt, as there is plenty in the bacon and peanuts. If you don't like heat, rotisserie chicken seasoning would complement the recipe nicely.)
6. Bake in oven about 45 minutes.

I love this recipe. The peanuts add a little crunchy texture, the bacon flavor is subtle, and I absolutely love how salty and tangy the feta tastes.

After dinner, I decided to get a jumpstart on tomorrow's night dinner. Tomorrow, we are having barbecue meatloaf. I put it together tonight, so tomorrow I can come home from work and just pop it in the oven. This meatloaf is a little different, as it has barbecue sauce, chili powder, and mustard in it. I'm not going to just copy the recipe here (you know, copyright infringement and all that) but here is a link to the recipe:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1160599

I make mine with ground turkey (you can't tell the difference in this flavorful recipe) and Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.