The wonderful thing about chicken is you can do so much with it! It’s a wonderful source of protein that can carry so many sensational flavours. You can roast it, bake it, grill it, fry it, and pound the crap out of it if you’re having a bad day. 😉
Seriously, you need to really need to pound this chicken thin before you stuff it full of yumminess. So funny story. Some people have a mallet to pound meat thin. I’ve been known to use either my rolling pin or a bottle of wine (which I ALWAYS have laying around) to get the job done. Take two sheets of parchment paper and place the chicken between the two sheets and start to pound it flat. You really can get the chicken quite thin so go ahead, relieve some stress.
The only thing to watch for is those wooden toothpicks after you’re done baking.
Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts
INGREDIENTS
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup bread crumbs
6 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
5 oz fresh baby spinach
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs mixed
1 tbsp water
DIRECTIONS
- Place chicken between two sheets of parchment paper. Using a meat mallet or other means, flatten chicken as thin as possible.
- Chop the baby spinach. Heat a pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and cook the garlic for a few minutes so oil becomes fragrant. Add the spinach tot he pan and close with tight fitting lid. Cook until the spinach wilts. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- In a medium bowl, add the cooled spinach, ricotta cheese and 4 tbsp of the parmesan cheese.
- In a separate dish (like pie plate) combine the bread crumbs and 2 tbsp of parmesan cheese.
- In a second dish, scramble 2 eggs and water.
- Line up your assembly line. Scoop about a tablespoon of the filling inside the chicken and fold in half to create a pocket. Secure the chicken together with wooden skewers or toothpicks.
- Dip the chicken in the egg mixture then in bread crumbs. Place chicken in a well oiled baking dish with the seam side down.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes or until chicken cooked completely.
- Top with marinara sauce if you wish.
