Oh, Shaun T., if only you knew my conflict of emotions on a daily basis due to your Insan(ity) workouts.  The Doozer was back again (I’m beginning to think it’s related to a particular workout that requires an excess of high jumps and stress on the knees) which put a damper on things.  I like to feel as though each time I do a workout, I’m progressing, and I didn’t get that satisfaction today.  I really struggled, and my knee really bothered me.  I’m a little bummed about it.

Two positives (to counteract the negativ-o):

Today, when I donned my workout pants, I got a little thrill in the fact that either (a) I’ve begun to slim down, or (b) our dryer has stopped ‘shrinking’ all my clothing (you know what I mean if you know what I mean).

And fortunately, I didn’t have any issues on our evening walk, which perked me up to no end.  A few days ago during our walk I got such a searing pain in my Achilles that I momentarily wondered how long it would take John to hurry home and get the car to come get me.  I ended up toughing it out.  But ugh.

Upon returning home, I got to work making another yum yum dinner creation that I decided I was craving ridiculously yesterday.  The only reason we didn’t have it last night was due to our lack of on-hand prosciutto (that was cleverly obtained today from work).  

Halfway through prep our landlords stopped by.  Unbeknownst to us, the plumbing project they have undertaken has now encroached on our space, which means people in and out starting at absurd times in the morning, lots of loud noises, and huge, gaping holes in our walls.  Craziness.

Long story short, we didn’t sit down to eat & watch our DVR’d episode of ‘Master Chef’ until 10pm.  However, it was worth the wait.

Chicken Saltimbocca a la Williams Sonoma

I used 2 chicken breasts, pounded thin and cut in half (aka, 4)

Salt & Pepper (fresh ground is preferable, but let’s not be fussy!)

1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 Tbsp butter (the recipe called for unsalted, which I didn’t have ~ and it came out just fine with regular ol’ sweet cream salted butter)

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I did actually use EVOO, but I’m sure you could sub)

A handful of fresh basil leaves

A pinch dry basil (per chicken breast)

2 large slices of prosciutto (trimmed to fit chicken breasts)

1/4 lb fresh mozzarella (thinly sliced and trimmed to fit chicken breasts)

3/4 cup dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio

(Two of my favorite cooking ingredients!)

What to do~

1.  Rub ground pepper and salt into pounded chicken breasts.

2.  Spread flour out into a dish, and dredge chicken breasts, coating evenly and making sure to shake off extra. Set chicken aside.

3.  In a large saute pan, heat olive oil and 1 tbsp butter over medium heat.  When sufficiently hot, add chicken breasts.  Cook on first side until golden brown (approx. 6 mins); flip over and cook until firm in the middle (about 4 minutes).  You can check by pressing on the center. 

4.  Reduce the heat to low.  Sprinkle dried basil on each breast, and then top each chicken breast with a piece of prosciutto, a slice of mozzarella and a basil leaf.  Cover the pan tightly and allow to cook until the cheese melts (the recipe says about 1 1/2 minutes but it took me a bit longer because my saute pan is a little deeper.  Just keep an eye on it!)

5.  Once the mozzarella is melted, transfer to a serving platter and cover with aluminum foil (make sure to tent it to avoid the cheese sticking to the foil).

6.  Return heat to high.  Add 3/4 cup wine and deglaze the pan (aka, scrape all the good stuff from the pan and make sure it’s mixing with the wine to create an intense sauce!)

7.  Boil until the wine reduces to about 1/4 cup (I guessed on this, but the recipe says approx 3 mins).

8.  Remove from heat, and whisk in the remaining tbsp of butter.  Drizzle over chicken breasts. 

9.  Serve immediately!  (By the time I was done, John was so relieved that there was no ‘resting’ time, or waiting).

It’s kinda rich (and totally outside my healthy eating perameters … but OH. SO. GOOD!)  We tried to balance it out with some fresh tomato, but then we added avocado (remember, it’s hard for me to say no to avo) … and it was a most amazing supper!