Cream Cheese Stuffed, Raspberry Glazed Chicken Breasts

 The ingredient for the Improv Challenge for June are raspberries and cream.  When you think of raspberries and cream, the mind automatically goes to something sweet.  When Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker mentioned in her facebook post that the cream could be cream cheese, and she was excited to see if anyone would make a savory raspberry and cream dish; I thought why not.

I remembered that I had seen many recipes for cream cheese stuffed chicken breast, so maybe I could take that idea and go with a raspberry sauce/glaze to top the chicken.  This post is what I came up with, and we have had it for dinner twice now. 

I added garlic powder and sliced green onion to the cream cheese filling and made a sort of sweet/sour sauce/glaze for topping the chicken.  This wasn’t all that hard to make, and I think that it would make a nice dish to serve to guests.

The chicken breasts that I purchased were quite large, and some of them included the tenderloin like the one above.  I sliced off the tenderloin and cut the remaining piece in half so got three pieces from one chicken breast.  This does make it a little hard to specify exactly how many chicken breasts are needed for this recipe so I am going to say 4 small chicken breast halves.

You can soften the cream cheese quickly by putting in a zip top bag and placing it in very warm water for about 10 minutes.

Cream Cheese Stuffed Raspberry Glazed Chicken Breasts
1 3-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened (see tip above)
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 green onion, thinly sliced
4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg beaten with 1 T. water
1/3 c. panko crumbs
3/4 t. seasoned salt
1/4 c. butter
Raspberry Sweet/Sour Sauce (see recipe below)

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  In a small bowl combine softened cream cheese, garlic powder and sliced green onion.  Mix well.  Set aside.  Pound chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/4-inch thickness.  Spread each breast with 1/4 of the cream cheese mixture.  Roll up and secure with toothpicks.  Combine egg and water in a shallow pie pan.  Place panko crumbs in another shallow pie pan.  Add seasoned salt and mix well.  Slice butter and place in a foil-lined 10x13-inch baking pan.  Place pan in oven to melt butter.  Coat a chicken breast with the egg mixture, roll in the panko mixture and place on a sheet of waxed paper.  Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.  Remove pan from oven and place chicken breasts in the melted butter.  Return to oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Turn chicken breasts over and bake for another 20-25 minutes until done.  Meanwhile prepare Raspberry Sauce.  Spread some of the sauce over the chicken breasts and bake another 5 minutes.  Serve remaining sauce to spoon over the breasts at the table.  Makes 4 servings.

Raspberry Sweet/Sour Sauce
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen raspberries
1 t. minced garlic
3 T. brown sugar
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. molasses
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 t. Dijon mustard
2 T. ketchup
1 T. lemon juice
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper

Heat raspberries and garlic together in a small saucepan.  When hot, add remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 10 minutes until thickened. Strain, if desired.  (I don’t.)  Makes about 1 cup.

All the details for joining in this fun challenge are included in Kristen's Improv Page.

An InLinkz Link-up

Ingredient Spotlight-Quick and Easy Raspberry Sauce

I love berries, and raspberries are my favorite.  Here is a little recipe that I like to make up and keep around to spoon over ice cream, angel food cake, pound cake, vanilla or white chocolate pudding, waffles, pancakes or French Toast.  It is also good made into a parfait layered with some plain Greek yogurt and topped with a little crushed granola.

This sauce can be made with fresh or frozen raspberries.  If frozen are used, do not add any water.

This can be thickened to suit your tastes.  Add another tablespoon of cornstarch mixed in a little water if it is not thick enough for you.

Blackberries can also be used, they will need to cook a little longer to get soft.

Quick and Easy Raspberry Sauce

2 c. fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water (do not use if using frozen berries
1 T. lemon juice
2 T cornstarch mixed with 1/4 c. water

Combine raspberries, sugar, water, if using and lemon juice in a medium saucepan.  Cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved.  Bring to a low boil.  Stir in cornstarch and water.  Cook until thicken and clear.  Chill until ready to serve.  Makes about 2 c.

Linking to Ingredient Spotlight

Cooking with the Journal-Hot Milk Sponge Cake aka Strawberry Shortcake Cake

I am not fond of the biscuit type of strawberry shortcake but prefer a more “cake-like” strawberry shortcake.  This Hot Milk Sponge cake is very easy and has a texture somewhat like the little sponge cakes available at the grocery store.  Those are not only expensive, they contain additives I would rather not eat.  The picture above is to show the texture of the cake.

This is the recipe that I use to make Strawberry Shortcake.  The slight lemon flavor goes very well with strawberries or any other berries.  One could also use almond extract, but I would reduce it to 1/4 t. to start.  The almond flavor is great with peaches for peach shortcake.  This is a fairly low-fat cake, having only 1 T. melted butter in it beside the fat in the egg yolks.

The cake, of course, can be frosted if one likes.  It is also good topped with ice cream with warm Chocolate or Butterscotch Sauce spooned over it.

This is a very old recipe that I have seen in other old recipe books, but this one is in Farm Journal’s Family Favorites from Country Kitchens.

Hot Milk Sponge Cake
Family Favorites from Country Kitchens
Farm Journal, 1973

1 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1.4 t. salt
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. lemon extract.
1/2 c. hot milk
1 T. butter or regular margarine

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.  Beat eggs with electric mixer until foamy.  Slowly beat in sugar, 1/4 c. at a time, beating well until thick and lemon-colored.  Beat in vanilla and lemon extract.  Place milk and butter (cut into pieces) in a glass measuring cup.  Heat in microwave 1 minute or until butter melts.  Beat in dry ingredients at low speed.  Slowly beat in hot milk and butter.  Pour batter into ungreased 9-in. square pan.  Bake in 350-degree oven 30 minutes or until cake is done.  Place on rack to cool.  Makes 9 servings.

To make shortcake, cut servings of cake and split in half.  Place in dessert dish and top with sliced strawberries, other berries, or sliced peaches and whipped cream or topping.

Linking to Ingredient Spotlight