Feta and Spinach Stuffed Chicken

This recipe is something I made up (though stuffed chicken isn't the most creative or new idea) last night because I had some spinach that needed to used up and some chicken in the fridge.  I wasn't sure how it'd work out, but I was happily surprised and it was super yummy!

Ingredients
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup reduced fat feta cheese
1-2 cups fresh spinach (fresh is a relative term here, mine was a little droopy and it still turned out great)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup Panko bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.  Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board with the smooth side down, then with a sharp knife, cut a small trench down the back side of each chicken breast.  Fill trench with feta and spinach.  Once stuffed, dip the smooth side of the breast first in the beaten egg, then in the Panko bread crumbs. Place stuffed and breaded breasts (stuffed side down) on a lightly oiled pan and bake in oven for 30 minutes.

Helpful Notes
- If you are having trouble getting the bread crumbs to stick, just sprinkle them on top - this works just as well.

- I used feta because I had it in the fridge, but I feel like you could stuff anything in those breasts and it'd be tasty.

- As a side dish to go along with the chicken, I made steamed spinach and sautéed some cherry tomatoes with garlic.  It was a totally amazing combo.

Smoothies for Breakfast

I love a good smoothie in the morning.  I never remember to take a multivitamin, so I've convinced myself that if I have a smoothie every morning, I will probably get all the vitamins I need for the day. . . or at least more than I would without the smoothie. . .

This recipe comes from my lovely sister, Beth.  I've made a ton of these little packs and stuck them in the freezer for a quick and healthy breakfast in the morning.  I usually have a side of toast or a small bowl of cereal with my smoothie, and then I am full until lunch time.

Ingredients 
*Note: amounts are eyeballed and depend mostly on what size blender you have
Fresh spinach
Strawberries
Blueberries

Peaches
1/2 Banana

1 tablespoon milled flax seed
1 tablespoon coco powder
Skim milk

Non-fat plain greek yogurt

Directions

Place all ingredients (except milk and yogurt) in a sandwich bag and store in freezer.
In the morning, remove smoothie bag from freezer and place in a blender.  Add milk, greek yogurt, and a few ice cubes, then blend away and enjoy!

Helpful Notes

- You can make a bunch of these bags ahead of time, so making breakfast in the morning in a snap.

- If your blender isn't super powerful, take the bag of smoothie ingredients out of the freezer the night before and store in the fridge until morning.  The fruit will thaw a bit and make blending a lot easier.

- The fruit in the ingredient list is really just a suggestion.  I've tried lots of different mixtures of fruit and I've enjoyed them all.  My only suggestion is to be careful with the amount of raspberries you add - too many and your smoothie will be icky-sweet.  

- If you are a protein buff, you can add powdered protein to these or my sister suggests adding peanut butter.

- To make the smoothie drinkable, you want your milk/yogurt ratio to be >1.  This probably seems obvious, but I promise you in the morning, when you're still a bit sleepy, you'll be very confused why your smoothie is stuck in the bottom of your blender like a purple-goopy mess.