chicken-less spiedini + a supermaket find
Since going vegetarian 3 1/2 years ago, there really hasn't been many meat dishes I have missed. Sure, I’ll crave a burger from time to time (especially now that I am pregnant), but a black bean burger with the works (pickles, mustard, etc.) quenches that craving just fine.However, my teaching partner and I got on the subject of chicken spiedini. He had picked some up at a local meat market and raved about how good it was. You must know that back in my meat eating days, my father made the BEST chicken spiedini – from scratch – better than anyone. Seriously. I hadn’t really thought about it too much since bird just kind of gross me out in the first place, but once we started talking about chicken spiedini, I knew I need to try recreating a vegetarian version on my own.CHICKEN WITHOUT THE MEAT SPIEDINIMakes 2 servings.1/2 package of Match Ground Chicken without the Meat, thawed1 tablespoon lemon juice1 teaspoon minced garlicSalt + pepper to taste2 tablespoons bread crumbs (I used Panko)1 tablespoon Parmesan, grated1 teaspoon oregano1 teaspoon dried basilPreheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.Spray a cutting board and a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray. Place the Match Chicken on the cutting board and cover with the plastic wrap, sprayed side down. Using your hands, gently flatten out the piece of chicken until about a 1/2 inch thick. (You might get some holes in places, but they are easy to pinch back together. It doesn’t have to be perfect – and that’s coming from a perfectionist!) Remove plastic wrap – I just don’t want you to forget to take it off! Drizzle the top of the chicken with lemon juice, then spread garlic all over the top. Add salt and pepper, as much or as little as you would like.In a separate bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, Parmesan, oregano, and basil. Sprinkle on top of the chicken.Starting at one long end of the chicken, gently begin to roll the chicken. This is a little difficult as it will not want to stay together. Go slowly and try to pinch the breaking areas together as best you can. Again, it doesn’t have to be perfect.Once it is rolled up, place on the baking pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cut into pieces (mine made about 8 pieces) and set on their sides so that the pretty rolled up inside part is showing (great description, huh). Bake for about 10 more minutes.Remove from oven. Serve with pasta and veggies, or just by themselves! I roasted some green beans with the chicken, and then tossed some whole wheat penne with some lemon juice, olive oil, and parmesan. Delicious!*If you can’t find Match Ground Chicken without the Meat, you could probably use another fake-chicken cutlet, but you probably won’t be able to roll it up. Just toss it in the lemon/garlic mixture and roll in the bread crumbs. Bake for about 20 minutes, flipping it over half way through baking.**Match is a St. Louis-based company. I have talked about them before, but was thoroughly impressed with the ingredient list. Most fake meat products have a huge ingredient list, but I thought this was amazing!
Matt really enjoyed it and couldn’t really taste the difference between the real stuff and the fake stuff. I thought it easily compared to my daddy’s chicken spiedini. Not quite as good, but it is something I will definitely be making again.I also had to tell you about my delicious find at the grocery store this weekend. I was reading in the newest Food Network Magazine about Duff’s new edition to the supermarket shelves. Duff has teamed up with Blue Bunny ice cream to produce some different varieties of cake-stuffed ice cream. Of course, you know cake in ice cream is my absolute favorite, so I had to pick me up a carton.
There were 4 different kinds, but I stuck with my tried-and-true favorite, Wedding Cake. Oh.em.gee. Buttercream flavored ice cream with white cake and raspberry swirls. To.die.for.
Perfect ending to any delicious meal!Edited to add: If you are in the St. Louis area, I was informed by a friend of mine that they will be sampling Duff's new cake ice creams at the Walmarts in O'Fallon, St. Peters (Jungermann), and Manchester on Friday! So if you want to try it before you buy it, go to one of those Walmarts on Friday!