Advent Calendar, Nose Biting, Rock Art, Frozen Desserts.

Jacquie Lawson have now issued their Advent Calendar for 2011 which is based on London scenes. I really enjoyed the one last year so have downloaded this year’s too. You can also send copies to your friends so they too can enjoy opening the windows for the whole of December and no, you cannot peek and no, I am not affiliated with them. The calendar starts on Dec. 1, so get one now.

A very odd story, Greg Flanagan has accused a poll worker, in Ohio, of trying to bit his nose off. What a funny thing to do when you are attacking someone. Tyson once tried to bite off someone’s ear which was odd enough, but someone’s nose, weird. It started with a head butt, but I still think its very peculiar.

As you may remember, I recently read the last book in Jean Auel’s Earth’s Children series, it was called The Land of the Painted Caves and covered a lot of information on the caves in France which are full of rock paintings done some 30,000 years ago. I just rented a documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams which showed pictures of one particular cave which, due to a massive rock fall, had been hidden for over 25,000 years and where the paintings were in pristine condition. The picture shows a map of the extent of the area. The cave in the documentary was the Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc and the documentary brought to life all the things I had read in the book. Absolutely fascinating drawings of the animals of the time plus on the ground were skulls of cave bears which had once occupied the caves and made scratches on the walls. I downloaded the movie from iTunes and if you are at all interested, recommend you watch it. Amazon.com also have it for sale.

The local radio do the remembrance ceremony very well, first we got half an hour of poems (John Geilgud reciting) and songs themed for remembrance. Next we got the Last Post for one minute then total silence for the second minute. After that they recited In Flanders Fields followed by Vera Lynn singing war songs. To most British she epitomizes the war years. A friend took her young son to Ottawa that day to see the ceremony live. Sadly not enough people take notice of the occasion any more.

We regularly have Chapman’s frozen yogurt as a dessert; it is a Canadian company and they make a good product. The other night, for the first time we tried their Nanaimo Bar. It was a pretty good approximation of a Nanaimo Bar flavour and we both enjoyed it. We also bought what I call Chocolate Profiteroles from M & M Meats although they call them Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Puffs. Haven’t tried them yet, but they look delicious. What the hell, it saves cooking. Of course I shouldn’t be eating dessert anyway.

How’s this for a deal today, three recipes in one. They are also low calorie and will make up for all the stuffing I have done in the previous paragraph,  but its chocolate!!!!!!!

Stuffed Chicken Breast

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Cream cheese and pesto make a delectable filling for lean chicken breasts. Use this technique to experiment with other fillings as well, such as ham and cheese or goat cheese and chopped olives.

Yield: 4 servings

Recipe Ingredients:

Cream Cheese-&-Pesto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

1. Filling of your choice, (see below)
2. 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (1-1 1/4 pounds total)
3. 1 egg white
4. 1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
5. 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Cream Cheese-Pesto Filling  :

1. 2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese, (Neufchatel)
2. 1 tablespoon basil pesto, (store-bought or homemade)
3. Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Goat Cheese-Olive Filling:

1. 2 tablespoons creamy goat cheese
2. 1 tablespoon chopped black olives
3. Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Ham and Cheese Filling:

1. 1/4 cup grated Swiss, Monterey Jack or part-skim mozzarella cheese
2. 2 tablespoons chopped ham
3. 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4. Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Recipe Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Combine cream cheese, pesto and pepper in a small bowl with a fork.
3. Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up each breast and place one-fourth of the filling in the center. Close the breast over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and filling.
4. Lightly beat egg white with a fork in a medium bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow glass dish. Hold each chicken breast half together and dip in the egg white, then dredge in the breadcrumbs. (Discard leftovers.)
5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts; cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center or until an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F, about 20 minutes.

Recipe Nutrition:

Cream cheese-pesto stuffed chicken per serving: 233 calories; 9 g fat ( 4 g sat , 3 g mono ); 81 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbohydrates; 33 g protein; 1 g fiber; 379 mg sodium; 351 mg potassium.

Carbohydrate Servings: 1

Exchanges: 1 Carbohydrate Serving, Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 3 1/2 lean meat, 1 fat

Nutrition Note: Goat cheese-olive stuffed chicken per serving: 235 calories; 7 g fat (2 g sat, 3 g mono); 72 mg cholesterol; 10 g carbohydrate; 31 g protein; 1 g fiber; 248 mg sodium.

Ham and cheese stuffed chicken per serving: 236 calories; 7 g fat (2 g sat, 3 g mono)

Have a great weekend