Spinach & Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken

For Mother’s Day I wanted to make something a little more “special” for my lovely wife, however, since I had sent her out for some pampering and it was nearly dinner time I was constrained to whatever foods I had on hand. After a quick search in the fridge I found mozzarella, chicken, spinach, and frozen broccoli. Good enough! Lets get crafty with what we got! (This turned out wonderfully moist and the stuffing was delicious!)

 Ingredients

• Coconut Oil (Other oils can be substituted such as olive oil)
• Spinach
• 2 cloves Garlic (1 per chicken breast)
• Black Pepper
• White wine
• 2 Chicken Breasts
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Mrs Dash Lemon Pepper Seasoning

Instructions

Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium sized skillet saute your garlic for about two minutes.

Step 2: Add a large handful of spinach, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and a generous splash of white wine.

Step 3: Cook the spinach until it is wilted. (Do not rinse the pan, just set it off the burner so you can use the same pan to sear the chicken in.)

Step 4: Time to “butterfly” your chicken breasts. (I actually mutli-tasked and did this while spinach was cooking, but if you try, just be sure to not overcook your spinach.) To do this, use a very sharp knife to cut down the center of the chicken breast, lengthwise, almost all the way through but not quite. (Unlike me who did slightly…) Making a little pocket for your stuffing mixture.

Step 5: Stuff your chicken with the spinach and mozzarella. Fold the check back over. If you can prep your chicken to this point (aka plan ahead) then chicken is pretty neat in that it will “seal” itself once folded back together. If you can, after stuffing and folding back together, cover and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. This will help avoid the cheese melting out the sides. (Obviously if you are doing the prep method turn your burner off… otherwise you are now ready for searing.)

Step 6: Sear both sides of your chicken. It is at this point that I also sprinkle some of the Mrs Dash Lemon Pepper seasoning on the breasts. Do not cook the chicken all the way through, but just enough to sear on both sides. Turn them over carefully so as to not loose your stuffing. (Some people will tie the chicken closed with un-waxed floss or cooking string.)

Step 7: Place your chicken into a prepared baking dish and bake in the oven for 15- 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and cheese is melted.

Step 8: Serve right away with your own selection of vegetables, salad, etc.

As I said before ours turned out super moist and flavorful! Hopefully yours will too. Come back and leave a comment on how yours turns out!