Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breast
3 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 can artichoke hearts, chopped
1/4 cup chopped frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Garlic & onion powder
Oregano
Salt & Pepper
Parmesan & shredded Italian blend cheese

Mix together all ingredients except for the chicken. Pound out the chicken so it's even. Spoon ricotta mixture into the center of the chicken breast and roll up sides, secure with toothpicks. Place in baking dish and bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees (until chicken is done). About five minutes before finished sprinkle with additional cheese and place under the broiler to brown cheese.

My notes: Seth's doing the low-carb thing so I've been trying to find some recipes that are low in carbs and have some kind of health benefit! (some veggies and low-fat cheese) He likes artichokes and cheese so I made up this recipe after looking through some other ones. The measurements are just guess-timates. It actually turned out pretty good. I didn't make any kind of a sauce to go over it, though tomato sauce probably would've been good. Breading the chicken rolls with Italian bread crumbs probably would have added something to it too.

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups peeled, cored and finely chopped apple

Topping:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup raw sugar (granulated)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 18 muffin cups or use paper liners. In a large bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 cups sugar, spices, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin and oil. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffin batter. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

My notes: I was looking for a pumpkin muffin recipe on Allrecipes and found this one. I looked at the reviewers comments and made some of the changes that they suggested. Next time I'll chop the apples more finely and probably add some more pumpkin to make them a little bit more moist. I'm not sure if they came out dry because they needed more wet stuff or if it's because I just overbaked them! They're a tasty fall treat :-)

Hoisin, Honey and Ginger Glaze
1/2 cup soy sauce
6 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. grated ginger

Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl. Begin basting grilled chicken, fish or pork liberally about 5 minutes before they finish cooking, so that the glaze has enough time to adhere to the food, but does not burn.

My notes: I know...it's been a while since I posted a new recipe! I was lazy about cooking new stuff over the summer! We finally put the new grill together and Seth's been trying out some new marinades, glazes and rubs. I tried this one recently on chicken and served some grilled zucchini and red peppers on the side. I was reading through my America's Test Kitchen cookbook (I like it a lot better than the usual Betty Crocker one) and they said that sauces high in sugar should be brushed on the meat about 5 minutes before they're done so that the sugar doesn't burn and become bitter....good to know!