I always find that I am trying to make creative recipes for sprucing up your everyday chicken breast. It’s the old stand by, although no longer a cheap one, at least not in my neck of the woods. It’s also diet friendly, heart healthy, blah blah blah. Well, the Husband and I took a little trip to our favourite butcher shop today and picked up a couple of things. One of those things was a whole (as in both sides) bone-in chicken breast. This is a very budget friendly way to buy chicken breast. The butcher has barely done anything, and so you get the added bonus of keeping more money in your wallet.
I think some people may be intimidated by a little bone, seeing as the majority of the meat in the meat department is boneless. Don’t be afraid of the bone ladies (and gentlemen)!
Well, here is a great, easy way to turn those boring chicken breasts into a heavenly meal.
Chèvre, Spinach and Sundried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts
2 Chicken breast halves, bone-in (skin is optional)
4 cups baby spinach, loosely packed
1 oz. sundried tomatoes
2 medium sized mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. veg oil
salt & pepper
2 oz. plain Chèvre (soft, unripened goat’s milk cheese)
1/4 cup basil, loosely packed and chiffonaded1. Loosely chop spinach and sundried tomatoes.
2. In Skillet on medium heat, sauté oil, garlic and mushrooms until softened. Add in spinach, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook until spinach is completely cooked, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove mixture to bowl. When slightly cooled, add in Chèvre and basil and mix to combine. Set aside.
4. If using a whole breast of chicken, you must split it down the center now. Using a boning knife, meat cleaver or large chef knife, cut down the center of the cartilage. It should be very easy.
5. Cut a 1 inch slice in thickest part of breast.
6. Now here’s where it gets a little, uh, weird. Stick your finger in the whole and wiggle it around a bunch to make a pocket. Be very careful not to go all the way through though! You don’t want the stuffing to come out while it’s cooking.
7. Now’s the fun part! Cram all that stuffing into the breasts. Really, you can get it all in there! I swear! I did it…
8. See. Now you just have to close up the holes with toothpicks so none of it escapes during baking. It’s kind of like sewing. Just go from one side of the skin to the other, and then you’re good. Rub some oil on the outside and a little salt and pepper too.
9. Bake in a 375°F oven for 45-60 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting into it.
I love that you are using bone-in chicken breasts with skin for this stuffed chicken breast recipe…so much more flavor, and hard to go wrong with your filling ingredients.
This is a great “make ahead” dish as well—get everything ready ahead of time and pop it in the oven when ready to finish.
Wow, this looks delicious. I too am always looking for ways to spruce up chicken. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Debi. I agree. I was going to make them in the afternoon and then pop them in the oven for dinner, but the husband got hungry while I was prepping them and they ended up going straight to the oven…:)
No problem hungry dog!
I’ve never stuffed chicken before so this recipe will be my first stuff. This looks great and I can’t wait to try it.
It’s not as hard as it seems… I really hope you try it and let me know what you think!
I absolutely love making stuffed chicken breasts because there is so much you can do. Yours look heavenly. A friend of mine just did a Chicken Bryan with the sun dried tomato, basil, and goat cheese but also paired it with a lemon butter sauce. Just a thought for next time-Ciao!
Mmm, that sounds delish! I usually don’t make sauces, but I could try that. It sounds refreshing instead of fatty..:)
Hail you! Please don’t laugh at me because the only chicken recipe I know is friend chicken.
fried chicken, sorry…
Great recipe, I used feta instead of the chevre which worked really well. The stuffing makes the chicken breasts delicious.
wow, i try cooking this one and it is really taste good. thanks for sharing, i love your recipes =)
.-= Gabby – dog skin problems´s last blog ..Two Common Symptoms Of Dog Skin Problems =-.
realy nice recipe, I will try a little lemon drible – what do you think?
A little lemon squeezed over the dish? I’m sure that would be just fine…:)
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