Stuffing Can Perk Up Baked Chicken Breast

Dear Laura: I would like a recipe for baked stuffed chicken breast. I’d like to use a Stove Top dressing mix as the filling. Thank you. - Pauline, Spokane.

Dear Pauline: Use the commercial mix you suggested or any other brand as part of this stuffing. Or, simply mix up any favorite moist stuffing to use in place of the one provided in this recipe.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

8 whole chicken breasts, about 3 pounds

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 cup (8 3/4-ounce can) whole kernel corn, drained

1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Remove bones from chicken breasts, keeping meat in one piece. Do not remove skin. Sprinkle cut side with salt; set aside.

Saute onion and celery in 2 tablespoons butter or margarine until tender. Add corn, stuffing mix, egg, poultry seasoning and salt; mix well.

Spoon about 1/8 of the stuffing mixture onto cut side of each chicken breast. Fold over and skewer or tie closed. Place in a baking dish and brush each with melted butter. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees until chicken is no longer pink when slashed, 35 to 45 minutes, removing foil for last 10 to 15 minutes.

Grill variation: Place stuffed breasts over medium-hot coals until tender, 30 to 35 minutes, turning often. Brush with melted butter during the last 10 minutes of grilling.

Yield: 8 servings.

Dear Laura: Here’s another Bing cherry recipe for LaRue of Colfax. - Margaret, Spokane.

Washington Salad

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup cold water

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup very hot water

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup cherry juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped canned or cooked sweet cherries

1/2 cup chopped stuffed olives

1/3 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup chopped nuts

Sprinkle gelatin over cold water; allow to soften 3 to 4 minutes. Add sugar and hot water. Stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in juices and salt. Refrigerate until mixture thickens to consistency of egg whites. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into mold or serving dish and chill to set. Yield: 6 servings.

Cook’s Note: Dissolving unflavored gelatin is easy if it is first blended with sugar or sprinkled over cold liquid to separate the granules. If hot liquid is added first, the gelatin will lump and be difficult to dissolve.

Dear Laura: Regarding the rhubarb jam request in your May 3 column, I am sending this very simple recipe from an old Kerr book. - Barbara, Spokane.

Rhubarb Jam

6 pounds chopped rhubarb

5 pounds sugar

Combine rhubarb and sugar; let stand overnight. Stir and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer slowly 3 hours, stirring often. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Cook’s Note: Today’s USDA standards require the additional step of processing the filled jars for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Dear Laura: In response to the request for a rhubarb jam recipe with “just plain rhubarb and nothing else,” if Doris is willing to use a commercial pectin, this recipe from an MCP pectin package may be her answer. - Vivian, Spokane.

Rhubarb Jam with Pectin

6 cups prepared rhubarb

2 cups water

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 package pectin powder

8 1/2 cups sugar

Wash but do not peel rhubarb. Slice into 1/2- to 1-inch pieces and place in a 6- to 8-quart saucepan. Stir in the 2 1/4 cups water and the 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until very soft.

Meanwhile, measure sugar into separate container and set aside.

Add powdered pectin to prepared fruit sauce; mix thoroughly. Place over high heat and bring to a full rolling boil (a boil that does not stop when stirred), stirring constantly to prevent scorching (reduce heat to medium if necessary). Stir in sugar; mix well.

Return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue to boil 4 minutes. If desired, 1/4 teaspoon butter or margarine may be added at this point to minimize foaming. Remove from heat; skim off any foam.

Fill clean, hot jars quickly, leaving 1/8 -inch head space. Clean jar rims and seal with lids and screw bands. Process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Yield: 10 half-pints.

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