Sunday Funday!

It was a big Sunday here at 187. After hearing a wonderful sermon on Lent at church Nic and I headed to the Y to meet S & J and JW & LW for my first Yoga experience. My schedule never allows me to participate in any Yoga classes so I was pretty excited to see that my 3-day weekend was going to allow me to go. Class was intense and I broke a serious sweat but I really liked it and would go back in a heartbeat. I killed the Warrior II pose and left with my Chakra completely aligned.

N and I then hit the grocery store to get all of our ingredients ready for an intense dinner for J & S. J & S are fab, this we know but one of my favorite qualities in S is her MAD cooking skills! She always makes N & I killer dinners (J does just as many for the record) and N & I always seem to come up short by offering casseroles and frozen pizzas, so we really wanted to up the ante and show J & S how much we appreciate them and make them a dinner for the books. So after a few episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians we attacked the kitchen. Here was our menu:

Walnut-Crusted Chicken with Spinach Stuffing
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Parmesan Brussel Sprouts (thanks to MadKanga for the recipe!)
Fudgy Chocolate Baby Cakes with Chocolate Glaze

Dinner was definitely an undertaking but it all paid off and working with N in the kitchen is a breeze, once again we made a great team if I do say so myself. We were able to break out N's sweet new dishes and enjoy an evening with two of the best people I know, so it was a great wrap-up to my 3-day weekend. We also took the time to watch Anchorman with S as she had never seen it! Here are some photos to recap N & my's cooking skills and the recipes if you want to try them yourself.

When pounding out chicken breasts be alert for flying meat that may attach itself to your cupboards

the table, set with new plates and daisies in hopes that spring will soon be here!

garlic mashed potatoes and parmesan brussel sprouts YUM!

walnut crusted chicken stuffed with spinach and goat cheese

fudgy chocolate baby cakes with chocolate glaze and toffee

baking up a storm and making a bit of a mess

N taking care of all the "dirty work", thanks for cleaning N!

S doing exactly what she should for once, watching us do the work :)

Walnut Crusted Chicken with Spinach and Goat Cheese Stuffing
4 Servings - Prep 40 min - Cook 35 min

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 10 ounces baby spinach (about 12 cups)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
• 8 ounces chopped walnuts (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded 1/4 inch thick

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the spinach and wilt, about 3 minutes; season with salt and pepper. When cool, squeeze excess water out of the spinach and chop. In a bowl, toss the spinach with the goat cheese.

2. In a food processor, pulse the walnuts with the 2 tablespoons flour until finely chopped; transfer to a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, beat the eggs with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place the remaining 1/2 cup flour on a clean plate.

3. Coat 1 side of each chicken breast with the flour, then dip in the egg mixture and the walnuts. Place the chicken on a work surface, coated side down, and spread the top with one-fourth of the spinach mixture, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Roll up from the long side, jelly-roll style, and place, seam side down, on a baking sheet. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°. Bake the chicken until cooked through, about 30 minutes. Let stand, covered loosely with foil, for 15 minutes; slice into rounds.

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Garlic Mashed Potatoes
4 Servings - Prep 10 min - Cook 30 min

Ingredients:

• 4 large russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled
• Coarse salt
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. In a large pot of cold water, bring the potatoes and garlic to a boil. Salt the water and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, return the potatoes to the pot and mash over low heat with the butter, cream and 2 teaspoons salt.

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Roasted Parmesan Brussel Sprouts
4 Servings - Prep 10 min - Cook 20 min

Ingredients:

• Brussel sprouts, stems removed and halved
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  
• Olive oil
  
• Salt
• Shredded parmesan cheese
  

Directions:

1. Toss brussel sprouts with garlic, olive oil and salt.

2. Spread brussel sprouts across a baking sheet and roast at 350° for 20 minutes.

3. Sprinkle shredded parmesan cheese over the sprouts and return to oven to roast for another 5 minutes.
   

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Fudgy Chocolate Baby Cakes with Chocolate Glaze
4 Servings - Prep 15 min - Cook 30 min

Cake Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Glaze Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup crushed chocolate-covered toffee

Cake Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate chips with the milk and heavy cream over low heat. Add the butter and sugar and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Whisk in the egg and vanilla.
   

3. Preheat the oven to 275°. Spoon the batter into 6 nonstick muffin cups until two-thirds full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes; let cool slightly. Gently remove and place 4 of the cakes on dessert plates; wrap up the remaining 2 cakes for snacking.

Glaze Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips with the butter and cream over low heat, stirring, until combined. Cover each cake with the chocolate glaze and sprinkle with the crushed toffee.