Sunday Family Dinners: Stuffed Chicken & Mexican Red Rice

I was supposed to make the Mexican red rice along with the fish tacos, but I ran out of time so I decided to make it for our next Sunday dinner. I looked for a dish that would go well with the red rice and found a recipe for chicken breasts stuffed with apples and cheese on food.com. Cheese and apples are awesome together!

Also, I was able to take photos! I had my camera with me in the kitchen and man was it difficult to remember to take photos. I was able to take most of the photos at the start and at the end. Not much photos in the middle of the process, unfortunately.

My cheese choices for the stuffing

I chose to use two different types of cheese for the stuffing to make the stuffing taste more interesting. We already had a block of mature cheddar in the fridge so I looked for another kind that would complement it and found Havarti in the supermarket. It's a creamy semi-firm Danish cheese with a mild taste. I was originally supposed to get some Monterey Jack Cheese but couldn't find it at the supermarket that we went to.

All lined up

All chopped up!

I used Granny Smith apples because they're crisp and tart, which I think goes really well with the taste of cheese. If you're not a fan of green apples you can also use red apples, but make sure they're the crisp kind so they don't turn to mush when you cook with them.

Cheese and apples! Perfect combination.

Parsley it up!

I was snacking on the cheese and apples stuffing, I couldn't help it! Sooooo good!

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Apples & Cheese

Prep time: 20 mins.
Total cooking time: 45 mins.
Servings: 6-7 persons

Chicken breast, boneless, skinless	6-7 fillets
Cooking apples (I used Granny Smith or green apples)	1 3/4 cups
Sharp cheddar cheese	3 1/2 tablespoons
Havarti cheese (you can also use Monterey Jack)	3 1/2 tablespoons
Breadcrumbs (I used panko)	3 1/2 tablespoons
Dry white wine or apple cider (I used white grape juice as an alternative)	7/8 cups
Cornstarch	5 teaspoons
Olive oil	For searing
Water	As needed
Fresh parsley, chopped	3 1/2 tablespoons
Freshly ground pepper	To taste

1. Make sure that the chicken breasts are not too thick or else they might not cook through well. Also, they need to be thin enough to roll. Rinse the chicken breasts and pat dry. Season with pepper on both sides.
2. Dice the apples. I chose to keep the skin on, but you can opt to peel them if you don't like the skin on.
3. Grate the cheeses. I honestly didn't measure the cheese I had, I just estimated the amount based on the amount of apples I had.
4. Combine apple chunks, cheese, bread crumbs, and chopped parsley in a small bowl. Season with a bit of pepper to taste.
5. Divide the stuffing mix for the chicken breasts and place a portion on top of each piece. Roll up the chicken into a bundle. I honestly had no idea how I'd roll the chicken so I just went with whatever worked. Use toothpicks to secure the rolled up bundles.
6. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. When hot enough brown the chicken bundles briefly on the outside. Brown the chicken only and not cook all the way through, because it will be cooking further in the next steps.
7. Once browned add the white wine/apple cider/white grape juice and 1/4 cup of water.
8. Cover the pan and let it simmer on medium-low heat until the chicken is no longer pink and cooked through.
9. Once cooked remove the chicken bundles from the pan and set aside. Remove toothpicks. Don't throw away the liquids left on the pan!
10. Whisk together the 3 1/2 tablespoons of water and cornstarch well and add to the pan juices.
11. Whisk until blended. Cook and stir until thickened slightly on medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.
12. Serve sauce over chicken. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Stuffed chicken breasts with apples & cheese

I actually overcooked the chicken because I followed the cooking time that was in the recipe (it said simmer for 10-15 mins). It was too long and made the chicken dry, good thing it still tasted good (would have tasted better if it wasn't overcooked). The amount of time you simmer the chicken will also depend on how long you browned the chicken on the pan.

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I chose to use brown rice for the red rice because I thought it would give it an interesting texture.

Toasting the rice

All tomato-ey

Mexican Red Rice

Prep time: 10 mins.
Total cooking time: 15 mins.
Servings: 6 persons

Canola oil	2 tablespoons
Onion, chopped	Half a bulb
Garlic, minced	3 cloves
Long grain rice (I used brown rice), uncooked	1 cup
Diced tomatoes	1 can (around 15 ounces)
Whole tomatoes	1 can (around 15 ounces)
Low sodium chicken broth	2 cups
Cumin	To taste
Fresh cilantro, chopped	For garnish

1. Rinse the rice. You can look here if you don't know how and want to know why you have to rinse the rice.
2. Heat the oil in a large, slightly deep skillet.
3. When oil is hot enough, add onions and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to low and add the rinsed rice and garlic.
5. Stir constantly, making sure the rice doesn't burn. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes.
6. Add the diced tomatoes and whole tomatoes. Stir to combine and let cook for 2 minutes.
7. Finally, add the chicken broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
8. Once it boils reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until rice is done (around 10-15 minutes).
9. Add more liquid, if needed; rice should not be sticky.
10. Just before serving, sprinkle freshly chopped cilantro.

Mexican red (brown) rice. Looks so nom!

Cilantro, so pretty

This was a really interesting dish. My mom loved it. I think I also over-simmered the rice because the top part was okay but the bottom part was a bit dry already. It was my first time to cook rice so I still have much to learn.