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Not Exactly Stuffed Chicken Breasts




Source of Recipe


Collaboration of my husband, Mike and myself


Recipe Introduction


We came up with this recipe together, but Mike actually wrote the recipe. I think that he will have to be my collaborator on all recipe writing from now on - he really has the style in the family! This recipe is really still a work in progress. I think that next time I will try crimini mushrooms, as portabellos can toughen when long-cooked. I also will try to up the herbs. Now to Mike: This meal was planned over several days for a weekend experiment. We wanted to stuff some chicken breasts with a soft cheese and herbs and things and see how they turned out. They were absolutely yummy, even if not quite stuffed as we had envisioned. Here’s how it went…..

First, take spouse out shopping for the day. Stay out so long that you have to go out for dinner instead of going home to cook & eat the chicken. Spend dinner talking about how to do the chicken LATER so it’ll be available for the following night. Debate whether it’s better to slice a small hole in the side of the chicken breasts & hollow out a pouch to stuff them like a pork chop or instead to slice down an entire side, stuff them , and sew them shut with a wooden skewer. Finish dinner, go home, and find that the breasts are too thin for either option. Laugh at all your advance planning and instead, decide you’re going to have to roll them up.



List of Ingredients




8 Chicken breasts
6-8 slices turkey bacon (Kim thought 6 was enough; I think 8 would be better but we used 6 so who knows for sure)
1 portabella mushroom cap
Olive oil
12 ounces Philadelphia Light Chive and Onion cream cheese
2 Tablespoons fresh chives or 1 tablespoon dried
1 Teaspoon dried marjoram
Salt and pepper
Your favorite hot sauce – Tabasco, Texas Pete, whatever (optional)
Toothpicks
8 ounces of good red wine, or chai, or Earl Grey, or whatever you like to drink


Recipe



Pre-heat over to 375.

Pound chicken breasts with a meat mallet until thin. Set aside.

Fry turkey bacon on low heat. Careful, they burn easily. Set aside to cool then crumble when comfortable to the touch. Keep the pan handy, you’ll need it in a few minutes.

Chop mushroom cap large dice. Sauté in olive oil until softened. Cut off burner. Mix in cream cheese – yep, right there in the skillet. Add chives, marjoram, and two good dashes of hot sauce, salt, pepper, and crumbled turkey bacon. Mix all ingredients well.

Place 1/8 of mixture in the middle of each chicken breast and pull edges up to make a pouch, securing it with toothpicks (three or four should do it.) It will look more like a worn, balled up sock than a cannoli; don’t worry, you’ve done it right. (If there is any leftover cheese mixture, we think it would make a fine topping on whole grain bread for a SBD snack or on a sweet potato or spouse’s white potato for a meatless meal. It should easily keep in the fridge for 4 or 5 days or more.) Season each breast with salt and pepper after toothpicking.

Add a little olive oil to the pan the turkey bacon was in. Brown the outside of chicken breasts. Yes, you have to stand there and roll them around to get them brown on all sides. Hey, I said this was good, I didn’t say it was self-cooking. Drink red wine or chai or whatever while browning. Hum a song from your senior year of high school. Enjoy the moment.

Once breasts are nicely browned, place them on a baking sheet that has been covered with Release Foil (if you’re smart) or regular aluminum foil (if you feel lucky.) Place baking sheet in pre-heated oven for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. If they’re done inside but you decide they’re still not brown enough for you outside, run them under the broiler for a minute or two.

Remove from oven. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. If you’ve used Release Foil, move each breast to plates. If you used regular foil, CAREFULLY remove each breast from baking sheet and then check to make sure you didn’t take any of the foil with you or someone’s fillings are in for a nasty surprise.

Eat, enjoy. Remember to blame spouse for failing to remind you that there are toothpicks in the chicken.

Leftovers can be reheated in microwave.

Serves 8