Elegant Stuffed Chicken Breast Food

ELEGANT SAVORY STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Butterfly and pound the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap to 1/4 inch.
• Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken.
• Place goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes or artichokes in the center of each breast.
• Roll the chicken together like an envelope and secure using a few toothpicks.
• Heat 1 teaspoon oil and butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• Place the chicken in the pan, top side down and brown on all 4 sides (about 2 minutes each side), the chicken firms and holds together quickly making this easy to do.
• Transfer the chicken to a baking dish and bake for 15 minutes.
• When the chicken is cooked through, remove the toothpicks and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
• Use the pan to toss whole wheat pasta in the pan drippings, adding a few sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts. Add a little oil from these jars if you need to.

ELEGANT STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• After defrosting and squeezing the spinach add the garlic & nutmeg, mix well, set aside.
• In a small sauce pan mix together the Soy, honey, chili flakes and cornstarch heat to boiling. Set aside to cool.
• Cut a pocket in each of the chicken breasts and place a wedge of cheese in it, add 2 oz of the spinach mixture, Sprinkle with pepper. Close the breast and place the breast on a lightly oiled oven proof pan.
• Paint the top of the breasts with the soy/honey glaze, do not bother to paint under the breasts.
• Sprinkle with the Panko crumbs.
• Bake in 375F oven for apprx 25 minutes or until golden and breasts are cooked through.

SPINACH AND MUSHROOM STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Place breasts in the center of a plastic food storage bag or 2 large sheets of waxed paper. Pound out the chicken from the center of the bag outward using a heavy-bottomed skillet or mallet. Be firm but controlled with your strokes.
• Defrost spinach in the microwave. Transfer spinach to a kitchen towel. Twist towel around spinach and wring it out until very dry. Transfer to a medium-mixing bowl.
• Place a nonstick skillet over moderate heat. When skillet is hot, add butter, mushrooms, garlic and shallot. Season with salt and pepper and saute 5 minutes. Transfer mushrooms, garlic and shallot to the food processor. Pulse to grind the mushrooms and transfer to the mixing bowl, adding the processed mushrooms to the spinach. Add ricotta and grated cheese to the bowl and the nutmeg. Stir to combine the stuffing. Return your skillet to the stove over medium high heat.
• Place a mound of stuffing on each breast and wrap and roll breast over the stuffing. Secure breasts with toothpicks. Add 3 tablespoons oil to the pan, 3 turns of the pan. Add breasts to the pan and brown on all sides, cooking chicken 10 to 12 minutes. The meat will cook quickly because it is thin. Remove breasts; add butter to the pan and flour. Cook butter and flour for a minute, whisk in wine and reduce another minute. Whisk in broth and return breasts to the pan. Reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve. Remove toothpicks. Serve breasts whole or, remove from pan, slice on an angle and fan out on dinner plates. Top stuffed chicken breasts or sliced stuffed breasts with generous spoonfuls of the sauce.

ELEGANT CRAB-STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness; sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the crab, water chestnuts, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, parsley, mustard, 2 teaspoons marinade for chicken and half of the onions. , Chop one cheese slice; stir into crab mixture. Spread over chicken; roll up and secure with toothpicks. , In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, brown chicken on all sides. Place seam side down in a shallow 3-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Brush with remaining marinade for chicken., Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25 minutes. Cut each remaining cheese slice into six strips; place two cheese strips over each chicken breast. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until a thermometer reads 170°. Discard toothpicks. Sprinkle remaining onions over chicken.

ELEGANT STUFFED CHICKEN AND ASPARAGUS BUNDLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a small baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
• Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook for 1 minute. Add the celery, carrot, and mushrooms; cook until the vegetables have softened. Stir in the cornbread and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then set aside.
• Lay the chicken breasts flat on a work surface. Create a pocket in each breast by using a paring knife to make a horizontal cut down one side; making sure not to cut all the way through. Stuff the breasts with enough cornbread mixture to make them quite plump. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then place into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in preheated oven until a thermometer inserted into the center of the stuffing reads 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 45 minutes.
• While the chicken is cooking, divide the asparagus spears into two, 6-piece portions, and wrap each bundle with a slice of bacon. Place into a shallow baking dish, and bake along with the chicken during the final 20 minutes. The asparagus should be soft, and the bacon crisp when done.
• To serve, slice the breasts on the diagonal into 1/4-inch slices. Fan the slices out into a half-moon shape on one side of the plate, and place an asparagus bundle on the other.