Date Night Delights!

Sometimes Mommy and Daddy just need a little time together. But what do you do when you don't feel like getting a sitter and paying a huge amount of money for cheap food, iffy service, and no dessert menu?

You eat in! After the kids are in bed! Because you can cook better than the local restaurant chefs can anyway!

Spinach-stuffed Chicken Breasts, Lemon Linguine, and Chocolate Mousse. Sounds good to me! I'll take 2 orders, at my table at home, please...


The lemon linguine was the first course, but I didn't take pictures because I have already posted the recipe here before. I used angel hair pasta last night, and shredded parmesan instead of grated. Otherwise, the rest of the recipe is the same.




1 10oz pkg chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup grated swiss cheese
1/3 cup cottage cheese
1 handful shredded parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2-3 bone-in chicken breasts, with skin (depends on size)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme

In a bowl, combine the spinach, cheeses, onion, garlic, salt, nutmen, and pepper. Carefully loosen the skin on one side of each checken breast to form a pocket.

Stuff each breast with 1/2 cup spinach mixture. Place checken skin side up in a backing pan. Comine the oil, paprika, oregano, and thyme. Brush over chicken.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 1 to 1/4 hours, or until juices run clear.

My skin was really loose, and I was worried about a bunch of the filling coming out when the cheese melted, so I secured the skin with toothpicks. I just stuck them straight down through the skin and meat. Remove before serving.

This looked gorgeous before and after baking. We aren't the hugest fans of frozen cooked spinach, but I thought the stuffing was yummy with the cheeses and everything. Maybe a little cream cheese in there too would be awesome! I will be trying this with other vegetables too. Some broccoli perhaps? The paprika on the crispy skin was delicious too!

I was totally in the mood for some rich, decadant chocolate. Smooth and creamy, cold and only for grownups. And not too difficult- with stuff I already had on hand.

Chocolate Mousse!

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream

Place the cream in a microwave safe something, heat for 1-2 minutes on high. Don't let boil, but get it good and hot.

Throw the chocolate chips, vanilla, and egg in the blender. Blend for 30 seconds. The chocolate chips won't all get tiny, but that's okay.

Remove the center of the blender lid and while the machine is running, slowly pour the heated cream into the chocolate mixture. Blend until well mixed and the chocolate chips are melted.

Pour into serving dishes, parfait glasses, or wine glasses. Refridgerate until set, takes a couple hours. Serve with a little sweetened whipped cream if desired. (You'll desire it...)

HEAVEN!!!!! This was so rich and smooth... and it looked very pretty on the table too. Not something to make often, since it is chocolate and heavy cream, but a definite for special occasions. Make pudding for the kids, this is for adults only!