In the early 1950’s, my father was able to purchase another piece of land about 4 miles from our home place. Between the two farms it became the equivalent of a ‘section’. Before this time, the cattle had to be moved to a community pasture in the foothills where they would have enough grass to graze on over the summer. At that time to transport them, you had no choice but to herd them down the road allowance for approximately 20-30 miles on foot. To say the least it was a long grueling event for both the cattle and family members.
The ‘other farm’, as we referred to it, had originally been a slaughter house for the town meat market. It consisted of one large building, corals and a few other buildings. There was a slough on the land which dad had converted to a ‘dug out’ where the cattle could go and drink freely. The land was used for grain crops where in turn the cattle could be pastured on.
One of my fondest memories about the other farm was our picnic lunches. In the summer when dad would be working on the land, instead of my mother just packing a lunch for him that he could take in the morning, she would fix a wonderful ‘picnic lunch’. At about 11:30 in the morning, mom would pack up the lunch she had prepared, complete with plates, silverware, a tablecloth, etc., and we would drive to the ‘other farm’. There was just the right amount of space between two grain buildings to set up a make-shift table and stools. We would put the table cloth down and spread out our little picnic ‘feast’. Dad would be so surprised and we would all enjoy our lunch immensely. Mom always knew how to make the most simple things fun for us.
Lunch was always different from the your usual lunch box meal and my mother never seemed to be short on tasty ideas. I think you will enjoy trying this Spiced Chicken Stuffed Potato Loaf the next time you you have a crowd to feed.
| Prep Time | 1 hour |
| Cook Time | 1hr 35 mins |
| Passive Time | 5 1/4 hours |
| Servings |
people
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- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp EACH salt &sugar
- 1/2 tsp EACH dried oregano & basil, onion powder, garlic powder & black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 454 grams chicken breasts, boneless/skinless
- 100 grams broccoli florets, fresh
- 170 grams Nacho cheese blend, shredded
- 2/3 cup potato, boiled, mashed & cooled
- 1/2 cup bacon fried & crumbled
- 1/2 cup chives, chopped
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp butter, softened
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 cups flour plus 1/4 cup for rolling
Ingredients
Marinade
Filling
Potato Bread Dough
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- Butterfly chicken breasts & carefully pound to flatten. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine marinade ingredients; add chicken breast. Seal bag & turn to coat; refrigerate for 4 hours, turning occasionally. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a 9" baking dish with foil. Place chicken on foil & bake about 45 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove from oven, cool & chop.
- Cut broccoli into small florets & microwave for 1 minute. Boil potato, mash & cool. Fry bacon, drain & crumble. Chop chives.
- In a small bowl, combine yeast with lukewarm water; whisk until yeast is dissolved. Let stand about 3 minutes until foamy. Add butter, salt, sour cream & potato; mix well. Add bacon & chives; mix until just combined. Stir in flour, one cup at a time. When dough is completely blended, turn onto a lightly floured surface (using some of the remaining 1/4 cup flour). Knead dough about 10 minutes, until smooth & elastic. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap & let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Remove risen dough from bowl, turn onto lightly floured surface; roll dough to about a 12" X 15" rectangle. Place a large piece of parchment on a sheet pan. Roll dough onto a rolling pin then unroll onto parchment paper. Place 1/2 of the cheese down the center of dough, top with chicken, broccoli & remaining cheese. Fold short ends in about 1". Using parchment, fold one side over filling, overlapping with opposite side. Cover with plastic; allow to rise for 15 minutes while preheating oven to 375 F. Brush with egg wash. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.
- If you prefer less dough to filling ratio; make half of the dough into 'potato pan rolls' for another time.
- If you would like to serve with a quick 'sauce', combine a can of cream of mushroom soup with 1/2 can of milk.
- To simplify the process, use purchased frozen bread dough or pizza crust.
- Potato dough recipe adapted from girlversusdough.com
