Wellington

A fancy pants main dish that is intensely rich. Though very simple to make, the presentation of this savory stuffed puff pastry is spectacular. Puff pastry is a dough made by layering butter in flour. When it cooks, steam puffs the dough while the fat makes it all crispy. The end result is buttery, flaky goodness. I get my puff pastry from Trader Joe's, it is made with real butter. Other brands are made with hydrogenated soybean oil, which I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole.

Now, this is not an A plus on the healthy meal scale; the pastry is made with white flour and the fat content is out of proportion, but it is made with real food. It is important, that even when indulging to keep your food real so that your body doesn't get all gunked up with toxins(hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup) and chemicals (food dyes, msg) from man-made "foods."

Chicken is a crowd pleaser, so this is what I have listed in the recipe. But salmon is divine.

2 sheets puff pastry (10x10)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 small red pepper, diced
2 cups baby spinach
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces cream cheese
3 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 lb. chicken, cubed, cooked and drained of excess moisture
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water (this is an "egg wash"

Thaw pastry sheets. Saute onion and pepper in olive oil, cook through. Add spinach, stir to wilt. Salt and set mixture aside to cool slightly. Mix cream cheese and mustard in a bowl.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Working on a sheet pan lined with parchment or a silicon mat, lay out 2 sheets of puff pastry. Spread chicken on half of each sheet, dividing evenly and leaving a half inch at the edges. Top chicken with vegetable mixture and spoon cheese mixture on top. Fold each pastry over, corner to corner, you may have to stretch the dough a bit. Fork around the edges to seal. Brush the dough evenly with the egg wash, gently cut 3-1 inch slits in each of the wellingtons. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes and cut each wellington in half for 4 large servings.