It is another find from Cooking Light magazine (I clipped a few recipes from their recent April issue), so here is the disclaimer: it is not as simple as most of my Simple Supper recipes, but it is SO GOOD and worth the extra effort. Note - it is more simple than most Cooking Light recipes, and involves only a few ingredients, so I give it the Steph Thumbs Up!
If you dare to try it out, leave a comment or email me to let us all know how it turns out!
Simple Supper Mondays
(Cooking Light Magazine)
Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces) goat cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 ounces Canadian bacon, finely chopped
- 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Cooking spray
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff about 3 tablespoons cheese mixture into each pocket; close opening with a wooden pick. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper.
3. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes. Turn chicken over; place pan in oven. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until chicken is done. Let stand 5 minutes. Discard wooden picks. Cut chicken diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Serve with pan juices.
Yield:
4 servings
(serving size: 1 chicken breast half and about 1 tablespoon pan juices)
Notes:
1) Cooking Light reccomends pairing the dish with the following:
"Roasted asparagus: Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and 1 pound trimmed asparagus on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray; toss gently. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Place asparagus in a large bowl; toss with 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives. Complete the meal with a sliced baguette and a glass of crisp white wine."
2) I added a little flare, borrowing some ideas from Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals (I watch this on the Food Network most days at 11:30am), wherein she made a similar stuffed chicken recipe. After the chicken breasts are stuffed, brush each breast (both sides) with dijon mustard (I used deli/spicy mustard, since it's all I had) and then coat with bread crumbs or Panko. Continue on to Step 3 as stated above, pan frying each breast as instructed (I used a little bit of oil instead of cooking spray), then baking.
3) I am not big on chomping on the rosemary needles in any recipe, so instead of using chopped fresh rosemary (or dried rosemary) in any recipe, I have started taking a scant amount of dried rosemary and grinding it into a powder using my mortar and pestle. You get the great (and fragrant) rosemary flavor and scent more subtly, without the sharp needles! As I said, I do this in most recipes that call for rosemary of any kind, and it works out well!
4) I do not have a cast-iron pan, so a dutch oven (or ANY pan that can go from stove top to oven) is suitable. I have Calphalon, and used this Saucier with no problem (as stated on the Calphalon website, it can go from stovetop to oven):
So, enjoy today's recipe! I have a bunch of new recipes to share in the upcoming weeks (ones that get me excited for summer and grilling!), so keep an eye out.
And, as always, PLEASE send me YOUR Simple Supper Recipes to share: moderndaydonnareed@gmail.com
I was the lucky recipient of the results of Steph's efforts on this one, and I will give it a double thumbs up. One for how delicious it is and one for her doing all the work!
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