Although, I’ll be honest, I did totally screw up one thing, but if anyone is able to notice it, I’ll be shocked.  The recipe calls for 2 packages of refrigerated French bread dough (and the only place I found it was in the Pillsbury section) to make the twists, but I only ended up using one.  I misread the second direction and for some reason it didn’t dawn on me that I was suppose to be cutting two loaves slightly in half and not one loaf completely in half.  Either way, it turned out fine.  It might not be as bready as it was suppose to be, but I think it turned out rather well.

Jesse and I did try a piece tonight (since it was smelling really good) and it was good.  It was a bit salty for me, but that’s mainly the Pillbury dough.  A lot of their dough is salty and if I could find a different French dough mix, I would probably try that instead of going back to Pillsbury.  I do NOT know how it would turn out if I made the dough from scratch, so if anyone tries, let me know.

I did do one other change.  Quite a few of Jesse’s coworkers are vegetarians and I don’t always think of that when I send something in.  So this time, I made two of these puppies, but the second one, I substituted broccoli florets for the chicken.  I haven’t tasted that one, so I’m not sure how it came out, but the mixture really didn’t look any different than the chicken mixture.  So I’m thinking it was a success.

The one thing I would recommend, I used my small scoop to spoon the mixture on the dough and it worked really well.  It made it very easy to ensure that each half ended up with the same amount and I was still able to get all the sides closed up.

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup snipped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (1-1/2oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup (2oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 pkgs (11oz) Pillsbury refrigerated French bread dough
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tsp Italian seasoning mix

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Chop chicken using Food Chopper. Dice bell pepper using Chef’s Knife. Snip basil using Kitchen Shears. In Classic Batter Bowl, combine chicken, bell pepper, basil, ¼ cup of the Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, mayonnaise and garlic pressed with Garlic Press; mix well.
2. Place bread dough, seam sides up, on smooth side of Large Grooved Cutting Board. Using Serrated Bread Knife, slice each loaf lengthwise, end to end, cutting halfway through to center of loaf; spread open flat. Lightly sprinkle flour evenly over dough. Using Baker’s Roller, roll dough crosswise to a 4-inch width, creating a well down center of each loaf.
3. Spoon half of the chicken mixture down center of each loaf. Gather up edges over filling, pinching firmly to seal. Place loaves, seam sides down, in an “X” pattern on Rectangle Stone. Crisscross ends of dough to form a large figure “8”, keeping ends of dough 1 inch from edge of stone and leaving two 1-1/2 inch openings in center of twist.
4. Combine egg white and seasoning mix; lightly brush over dough. Cut a 3-inch slit in each of the top sections of the twist to reveal filling. Sprinkle remaining 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese over loaf. Bake 30-32 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 300, Total Fat 10g, Saturated Fat 3g, Cholesterol 20mg, Carbohydrate 38g, Protein 15g, Sodium 650mg, Fiber 0g
U.S. Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2½ starch, 1 meat, ½ fat (2½ carb)

Variation: Pepperoni Pizza Twist – for filling, combine 1 pkg diced pepperoni slices, 1 can pitted ripe olives (drained and chopped), ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley, 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and 1 pressed garlic clove. Continue as recipe directs in Steps 2 through 4. Sprinkle the loaf with 2 tbsp grated fresh Parmesan cheese before baking.

The first change I made was changed the amount of dill used.  The original recipe calls for 2 tsp of the Pampered Chef’s Pantry Dill Mix, but that was really over powering for us (although his co-workers said it was great cold, so maybe it’s only overpowering when its warm).  I also changed the salt content from 1/4 tsp to just a dash since Jesse is having an issue with his cholesterol right now.

The first time, I also did it as a braid and I want to say it came out looking a lot better as a ring.  You can also do it as a wreath which looks a little like the braid, but looks a lot easier to do.  I’ll include the directions for the braid and a wreath at the bottom.

As I starting thinking about writing this recipe up, I realized that I had sent it in with Jesse without one of the ingredients.  There is suppose to be a cup of shredded cheddar cheese with the mixture, but it didn’t look odd without it.  This is giving me the idea that this recipe could easily be changed to meet someone’s needs.  For instance, this could totally be done as a vegetarian.  Take out the meet and add a couple more veggies – i.e. carrots, celery, onions, green peppers, etc.  You could also probably change out the chicken for tuna or beef.  This would also be a great way to do an egg casserole for those early morning get togethers.

From what I’ve been hearing from Jesse’s co-workers, it sounds like this came out really well.  But, I don’t want to put words into anyone’s mouths, so I’ll wait and see if anyone says anything.

Ingredients:
2 pkg (8oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Dill mix or dried dill weed
dash tsp salt
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In Classic Batter Bowl, combine chicken, broccoli, cheese, bell pepper, mayonnaise, seasoning mix, salt and garlic; mix well.
2. Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 16 triangles.  Arrange triangles, slightly overlapping, in a circle on a Large Round Stone with wide ends 4 inches from the edge of baking stone.  Points will extend off the edge of the baking stone.  Roll wide ends of dough toward center to create a 5-inch opening.
3. Using the Large Scoop, scoop filling evenly over dough in a continuous circle.  Bring points of triangles up over filling and tuck under dough at center to form a ring – the filling will show.  Brush with egg white.  Sprinkle with almonds.  Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutritional Information: Calories 440; Total Fat 29g; Saturated Fat 8g; Cholesterol 50mg; Carbohydrate 25g; Protein 19g; Sodium 700mg; Fiber less than 1g
Diabetic exchanges per serving: 1 starch; 2-1/2 meat; 3 fat; 2 vegetable (1 carb)

Variation:
The Wreath

1. Unroll 2 packages of refrigerated crescent rolls; separate into 16 triangles.  Arrange eight triangles in a circle on a large round stone with wide ends 3 inches from edge of baking stone and points towards the outside.  Points will extend off the edge of the baking stone.  Arrange remaining triangles in center of baking stone, matching wide ends with triangles already in place.  Points will overlap in the center.
2. Using the baker’s roller, roll over seams of triangles where wide ends meet, creating a smooth surface for filling.  Do not seal center triangles.  Using a large scoop, scoop filling evenly over dough in a continuous circle.
3. Beginning with the last triangle placed in center of the baking stone, bring point of triangle straight across filling.  Next bring point of opposite outside triangle diagonally across filling, covering point of previous triangle.  Filling will show.  Repeat, overlapping points of inside and outside triangles to form a wreath.  Tuck the last end under the first.

The Braid

1. Unroll 2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls; do not separate.  Arrange dough on a rectable stone with longest sides of rectangles across width of baking stone.  Roll dough to seal seams.
2. Starting on the longest sides of the baking stone, cut sides of dough into eight strips, about 1-1/2 inches wide and 3 inches long.  Using a large scoop, scoop filling evenly over center of dough.
3. Starting at one end, lift one strip of dough; twist one turn and lay across top of filling.  Repeat, alternating strips of dough to form a braid.  Fold bottom edges of dough up at ends of braid. 
   

I did make a few changes to the recipe.  Not really because I felt the need to, but because it was what I had on hand.  First off, the recipe uses bone-in and skin-on chicken.  Neither of us are a fan of that and we have the frozen in the chicken in the freezer, so we didn’t use that.  Because of this, the chicken isn’t going to take a full hour to cook.  I initially put the chicken in for 35 minutes and then I’ll see if it needs to go longer.  Something I do with my chicken, that’ll make a difference, is I cut each breast in half.  So even though I only thawed 2 breasts, by cutting them in half, I have 4 thinner breasts.  It’s a little easier to cook since there isn’t so much chicken to heat and it actually saves money since we really don’t eat more than that and it’s enough for the 2.5 of us.

The other change I already mentioned is the lack of veggies.  I didn’t have any of them on hand (I need to go shopping), so the chicken is cooking without them.  I’m feeling like this will also cut back on the baking time, but the next time I make this, I’ll make sure to have the veggies so I’ll know for sure.

For the garlic, I added more than four.  Since garlic is so good for something trying to reduce their cholesterol, and since Jesse is trying to reduce his, I tend to add extra garlic.  I was also finishing up the clove, so all of the garlic were small pieces, so I want to say that I added 6 or 7 pieces.  At the moment, it is smelling really garlicky and Jesse is loving it.

The last changes I made involve the lemon.  I didn’t have any fresh on hand, but I did have lemon peel and lemon juice so I used those instead.  For the zest, according to the Ingredient Substitution chart, for 1-2 tsp of fresh lemon zest, you can substitute 1 tsp lemon peel, so that’s what I did.  The lemon juice is pretty much equivalent since they mention in the directions that they want 2 tbsp of juice, however, 1 lemon will generally give you about 3 tbsp of juice.

So those were my changes.  I’ll be back after dinner to update this and hopefully provide a picture.

After Dinner: Yeah, remember to follow the lemon measurements closely.  You can NOT add more lemon if you can’t smell it over the garlic, it is definitely there, so don’t worry.  I made that mistake tonight.  Since I added the additional garlic, and I couldn’t smell the lemon, I added a little more peel and juice and that was so not the thing to do.  It smelled really good, so I’m thinking if the lemon hadn’t been overpowering, it would have been really good.

We did find out that rice and the new Ginger-Wasabi sauce is really good together.

Ingredients:
3 lemons divided
1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tbsp dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 bone-in, skin on chicken breasts or boneless, skinless chicken
8 petite red potatoes
1 medium red bell pepper
1 medium red onion
8 oz white mushrooms

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Using a zester, zest two of the lemons to measure 1-1/2 tbsp zest. Juice one of the zested lemons using a juicer (or I actually use a stainless wire whisk) to measure 2 tbsp juice. In a bowl, combine zest, juice, oil, pressed garlic, oregano, salt and black pepper; mix well. Place chicken on center of a large bar pan (aka stoneware). Using a basting brush, brush the chicken with about 2 tbsp of the lemon juice mixture.
2. Cut potatoes in half. Cut bell pepper into 1-in strips. Cut onion into 1-in wedges. Thinly slice remaining lemon using a mandoline fitted with v-shaped blade. Combine potatoes, bell pepper, onion, lemon slices and mushrooms with remaining lemon juice mixture in mixing bowl; toss to coat.
3. Arrange vegetables around chicken on pan. Bake 1 hour or until the chicken registers 180 degrees F in thickest part of breast (with a thermometer), brushing chicken and vegetables with pan juices after 30 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutritional Info: Calories 630; Total Fat 35g; Saturated Fat 8g; Cholesterol 145mg; Carbohydrate 26g; Protein 51g; Sodium 590mg; Fiber 3g
US Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2 starch, 6-1/2 medium fat meat (2 carb)

Ingredients:
6 oz. chicken breast, skinned and diced
1 cup frozen corn
2 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
1 tsp cumin
1-1/2 cups fresh salsa
1 – 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 whole burrito sized tortillas
6 oz. Shredded Mexican cheese blend
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro or 2 tsp. dried cilantro

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a large cookie sheet with pam and set aside.
2. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Add chicken to skillet and cook for 3 minutes or until no longer pink. Add frozen corn, green onion and cumin, cooking for an additional 3 minutes or until the corn thaws.  Remove skillet form heat and stir in salsa and beans.
3. Place one tortilla on the cookie sheet. Top with one-third of bean mixture and 1/4 of the cheese. Repeat process to make 2 more layers, including the tortillas. Top with remaining tortilla and cheese. Bake for 10 minutes or until heated through.
4. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cilantro, let the pie set for 5 minutes, then cut the tortilla pie into four wedges, will serve 4.

The recipe calls to keep the skin on, but since we’re all about going healthy, I took the skin off – which by the way is not as easy as it seems and yet it is.  The skin comes off pretty easily, but getting to all the skin was the hard part.  I ended up leaving some skin on, but mainly around the bones and other joints where my knife couldn’t get too.  If you want to try this recipe with the skin, then you need to add 5 minutes to the cook time (i.e. 30-35 minutes is really 35-40 minutes).

I am deviating from the original recipe a little.  Since I decided to cook some red potatoes along with the chicken, I doubled the spice measurements so I had enough to coat the potatoes as well.  Basically, I rubbed the spices into the chicken, but I didn’t use all of it.  After cutting up the potatoes, I mixed in the remaining spices to coat all the pieces.  This worked really well and I had plenty of spice to do this with.  Granted, I was going to add carrots to this mixture as well, but the carrots didn’t like that idea.

The recipe didn’t actually take all that long to prepare and it’s smelled really good right while it was cooking. However, the recipe says to keep the chicken uncovered and it so did not get up to an internal temperature of 160 degrees within the 30 minutes.  I ended up cooking it for 35 minutes uncovered and then an additional 20 minutes covered in order to get it to the right temperature.  So I’m changing that part of the directions where it says to keep it uncovered.

Otherwise, the chicken came out beautifully.  It was moist, fell apart, and even the kid went back for fifths (that’s right, fifths).  I’m thinking if I change the directions to leaving the chicken covered for the 30 minutes (which I think I already did), then this recipe will work out beautifully and is very easily modified.  I’m referring to the spices.  I could so see doing this same thing with the Monterrey Chicken Seasoning or some kind of Italian blend.  The potatoes came out alright, but I wouldn’t be against leaving them out next time.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (3½-4 pounds)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 cup carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups red or russet potatoes, cut into 2-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Lightly spray Deep Covered Baker with oil using Kitchen Spritzer. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken cavity. Rinse chicken with cold water; pat dry with paper towels. Trim excess fat using Kitchen Shears, if necessary. Tie ends of legs together with cotton string. Lift wing tips up toward neck; then tuck under back of chicken. Place chicken on Cutting Board; brush with oil using Chef’s Silicone Basting Brush.
2. For seasoning mixture, combine ingredients in Prep Bowl; mix well. Completely coat outside of chicken with seasoning mixture. Place chicken, breast side up, in baker.
3. Combine 1 cup each celery and carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces, and 3 cups red or russet potatoes, cut into 2-inch pieces, in Classic Batter Bowl. Toss with additional seasoning, if desired. Arrange vegetables around chicken.
4. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 30-35 minutes or until Pocket Thermometer registers 165 degrees F in thickest part of breast and juices run clear. Remove from microwave and let rest 10 minutes (temperature will rise to 170 degrees F).

Yield: 4-6 servings

Nutrients per serving for the chicken only: Calories 490, Total Fat 29g, Saturated Fat 8g, Cholesterol 165mg, Carbohydrate 2g, Protein 52g, Sodium 450mg, Fiber 0g

Ingredients
1 pound think sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Panko, Japanese bread crumbs
¼ cup sweet chili sauce (or other dipping sauce)

Directions

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Working with one breast at a time, dust with flour, coat with egg and then dredge into panko until thoroughly coated.
2. In a well-oiled large skillet over medium-high heat, brown chicken on each side until golden, about 2-3 minutes per side. If you need to do this in more then 1 batch, place cooked chicken in a 250-degree oven for a couple of minutes. Serve chicken with dipping sauce.

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 clove crushed garlic
1/4 pound butter, melted
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (4 pound) chicken, cut into pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a shallow glass dish or bowl, combine the crushed garlic with the melted butter or margarine. In another small bowl mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Dip chicken pieces into garlic butter, then into crumb mixture to coat.
3. Place coated chicken pieces into a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with remaining garlic butter and bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

Makes: 6 servings

Few Changes I typically make the recipe:
I only add 1 tablespoon of hot sauce since I am not a huge fan of hot/spicy meals, however, the hubby will add extra to his portions on his own plate.
Double all the ingredients for the sauce (brown sugar, honey, ginger, garlic, etc)
We typically do not salt/pepper the strips since the soy has plenty of sodium already!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp chopped fresh ginger root
2 tsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Mix together brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and hot sauce in a small bowl.
2. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken strips.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken strips and brown on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.

Makes: 4 servings.

These are easy to make (even in bulk) and freeze well. To freeze, I typically bake them 3/4 of the way and then freeze them on the tray Once froze, I transfer them to a ziploc bag. To reheat, I thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

For the filling, we make all kinds of variations of these. I use portobella, zucchini, and spinach for my vegetarian sister; pepperoni, olive, and mushroom pizza calzones for us; and sometimes I even follow the recipe I almost always add fresh basil and extra veggies to make it a meal — just sauté them ahead of time to cook out the water or else the calzones become soggy when they cook. Taryn loves them too! To make them even faster, I often swap out fresh spinach for frozen, chopped, heat it in the microwave, and squeeze the water out. Also, Kirkland canned chicken breast or roaster chickens work well for the filling instead of having to cook the chicken ahead of time.

I throw whatever I have on hand in the calzones: button or portobello mushrooms (sautéed first), onions(sautéed first), basil, chicken sausage, broccoli (precooked), zucchini, etc. For pizza-style calzones or Stromboli (one log w/ the pizza dough), I put the sauce inside and cut a little vent in the top.

When I use spinach in this recipe or add it to something like lasagna, I get the small box of frozen, chopped spinach from the freezer section and thaw it in my microwave for a few minutes. Once it comes out, I let it cool and then squeeze all of the water out by dumping the spinach into 4-6 paper towels and squeezing it out. I usually double the calzone recipe since they freeze well & I use one box of spinach. That way it doesn’t overpower the recipe and I have room for other veggies that we like.

I definitely do not recommend getting the generic store brand of refrigerated pizza dough.  It may be cheaper than the Pillsbury stuff, but it tends to be a lot saltier and it takes away from the dish.

As for the ingredients, we’ve tried a few various and they’ve all came out pretty good in my opinion.  Jesse isn’t crazy about the spinach (neither of us are fans of it), but I didn’t think it was that bad.  I did do one minor adjustment.  Instead of using shredded cheese, I got some sliced cheese instead.  I found it was a little easier to use and it was spread more evenly among the inner ingredients.  Plus I like cheese and it added more cheese without allowing me to go nuts with it.

Overall, I really like this recipe and it’s easy to improvise with ingredients I already have in the house.  Although, I do want to find a good pizza dough recipe so I don’t have to rely on the refrigerated kind, but that’s going to take some work.

Ingredients:
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 minced garlic clove
2 cups thinly sliced spinach leaves
1-1/4 cup (5oz) shredded sharp provolone cheese
1 cup (5oz) cooked and shredded chicken
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp cornmeal
1 (13.8oz) can refrigerated pizza dough
1 jar marinara sauce (for dipping)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine salt, pepper, and garlic in a large bowl. Add spinach, cheese, and chicken. Toss gently to combine.
3. Brush oil over baking sheet.  Unroll the dough onto prepared baking sheet; cut into 6 equal portions. Cover with a towel and let rest 5 minutes.
4. Pat each dough section into a 6″x5″ rectangle. Spoon 2/3 cup of the mixture into the center of each dough portion. Fold one corner of each dough portion over to form a triangle. Press edges together with fingers to seal.
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes until golden.* If planning to freeze, cook 8-10 minutes and then reheat for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
6. Let cool for 10-15 minutes and serve with a small bowl of marinara for dipping.

Nutritional Info:
345 calories
11.7g of fat
40.1g of carbohydrates
4.8g of fiber

I’ve made this a lot in the past too. This is one of those recipes that works really nice with the Salsa recipe and everyone seems to enjoy it.

Ingredients:
1 pkg of Fajita Marinade Mix
1/4 cup Water
2 tbsp canola oil
1 lb chicken breasts
1 pkg of original country gravy mix
2-1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup salsa
2 cups colby jack cheese
6 (10in) burrito style flour tortillas
1/4 cup green onions (optional)
shredded lettuce (optional)
tomatoes (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine Seasoning, water and oil in a self-closing plastic bag. Add cubed chicken. Close bag and turn to coat chicken. Refrigerate 15 minutes, or longer for stronger flavor.
2. Prepare gravy according to package directions, except use 2 1/4 cups milk instead of water. Remove from heat; stir in salsa. Pour 1 cup gravy mixture into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet add chicken and marinade. Sauté over medium-high heat 7-8 minutes.
4. Place 1/4 cup chicken in center of each tortilla. Top with 2 tablespoons of cheese. Fold over edges of tortilla and roll tightly. Arrange rolled tortillas in a single layer in prepared dish. Pour remaining gravy mixture over tortillas and top with remaining cheese. Bake 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Garnish with black olives and green onion. Serve with lettuce and tomato, if desired.

Nutritional Info: Calories: 595, Sodium: 1642 mg, Fat: 30g, Carbohydrates: 49g, Cholesterol: 81mg, Fiber: 3g, Protein: 32 g