Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy
of the sponsor for the the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and
have not been influenced by promotional
items.
Mariah's boyfriend sent me a text not too long ago telling me how much he missed my cooking. I had to write back and tell him that I missed my cooking too. This year has been one of the busiest on the books, so we've relied a lot on takeout and Costco oven-ready meals since the beginning of summer. Thankfully, this was the last week my shop is open until next spring and after this weekend we have a glorious 2 weeks off, so I can once again return to making home cooked meals for the family. I did find a little extra time this week to make my first pot of chili of the season, but I also was inspired to make some Apple Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Apple Gravy, one of Golden Blossom Honey's recipes, when one of my vendor friends brought me a mason jar of her famous apple pie moonshine.
I don't share my moonshine with Jason, so I thought this meal would make up for it by carving out some time to make him this dish. I'll be honest and say that this is not a quick dinner to toss together by any means, but it is so worth the effort. I was thinking about Thanksgiving as I prepped this, and for those of you who do not like turkey, this would be a great alternative this year. My family, other than the husband, has never liked turkey and we've abstained from making it the last few years. Last year I believe we had hot wings as the main dish LOL! I personally loved the stuffing in this recipe, and would make that as a stand alone side dish for other dinners all throughout winter. Also, the apple gravy is really good to whip up for a lazy weekend biscuits and gravy breakfast. I love to find recipes that I can keep in tact or piece out and use parts of for other meals. This one is definitely one to keep on the books for versatility all season long.
Ingredients
Stuffing:1 (32 ounce) container chicken broth
6 cups rustic sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
3 tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY, divided
1/3 cup apple juice
2 whole chicken breasts, halved, skinned and boned
Apple Gravy:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups reduced broth (see stuffing ingredients)
1/2 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
If
you like this recipe, be sure to come back every Friday, where I
feature a new recipe from Golden Blossom Honey, and be sure to Pin It on Pinterest!
What's your home cooked meal ratio to takeout or convenience type meals?
I make 100% of our meals from scratch these days, but that wasn’t always the case. When all my kids lived here, we had a lot of frozen chicken nuggets and Kraft macaroni and cheese. I have the time now, as well as a myriad of health issues, forcing me to watch sodium, added sugar, oxolate, and saturated fat. It’s trying.
ReplyDeleteI used to be so good about home cooked everything when the girls were little. I mean, they still wanted the poptarts and Kraft dinners, but there was always from scratch on the table every day. It is a lot to adjust to when you have to change your eating habits because of health issues. It really is trying reading all of the labels and charting how much salts, sugars, fats, etc you can have each day to stay within a healthy range.
DeleteYour mums are already in bloom? We've had three or four weeks of cold weather and constant rain, so not much flowers here and no sign of blooms on mums.
ReplyDeleteWe don't really do takeout here in my country. We don't even have places and diners for such type of food. You can find 'pljeskavica' which is our burgers, some pizza and our burek (cheese pie with a lot of layers of very thin almost filo like crust made just from flour and water). We are too poor to order food. We have never ordered food in my life in our house. Not once. I do buy a few small bureks with spinach or potatoes on Mondays when I go grocery shopping to the city, but other than that I always cook.
I bought my mums a month ago and they were in bloom then. The ones I planted in the ground last year started to bloom last month as well. We, thankfully, haven't had too many cold days or much rain, so I think that helped.
DeleteI think that maybe you're blessed not to have so many food options there. It's so easy to order take out or even have food delivered via DoorDash (something ALL the kids love to do here) and that's why many Americans are either overweight or in poor health. Convenience when it comes to food often comes at the expense of our health.
Chicken base dishes are our family favourite. I havent tried combination of apple and chicken before but looks great.
ReplyDeleteChicken is very popular with my family too. It is so versatile, you can have it frequently and never grow bored.
DeleteChicken sure is a win here. I'll take it over turkey any day too. Hopefully you enjoy the break!
ReplyDeleteUna ricetta davvero molto interessante.
ReplyDeleteThis does look special. I hope it made up for not sharing the moonshine. :) It's highly likely that I'll take your suggestion to use this for a biscuit and gravy recipe too!! It'll be a nice change from the traditional gravy we use for that.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sharing my moonshine until Jason goes back to making me biscuits and gravy. He used to make it every Saturday for me, but I don't think he's done that since last winter. Hmph!
DeleteGracias por la receta. Te mando un beso
ReplyDeleteGracias por la receta. https://enamoradadelasletras.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteGracias por la receta. Te mando un beso.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteWe definitely do half and half. I don't count simple stuff like fixing a bowl of cereal or something
ReplyDeleteSometimes cereal for dinner is the best we can do here LOL
DeleteBecause of my diet I end up making all of my own meals from scratch these days. I never was big on take out though anyway.
ReplyDeleteI have really been enjoying your low carb meal ideas! I need to drop a few pounds so I am thinking of cutting back on the carbs for a bit.
DeleteOh I've never had apple gravy before! This looks and sounds delicious! :)
ReplyDeleteHope you had a lovely weekend :) It's a 3 day one here which is awesome.
Away From The Blue
Yum. Regine
ReplyDeletewww.rsrue.blogspot.com
Indeed!
DeleteThis looks absolutely divine! I bet it is worth the extra effort. I'm bookmarking this one to make sooner than later. Our year end FINALLY finished on Friday. I put an immediate break on the take out meals and made two full trays of homemade shepherd's pie on Saturday. I swear that's why we've gained so much weight.. the darn take out!
ReplyDeleteI haven't had Shepherd's Pie in ages. I am definitely making that next week! I've gained about 8 pounds myself since summer and need to shed them soon. I do not want to have to buy all new jeans when winter hits. Leggings are fine for now, but not in the blistery cold months.
DeleteI love chicken, and this looks so elegant. I'm always a fan of savory apple foods, too.
ReplyDelete