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Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Source of Recipe

Low Carb Recipe Group @ Yahoo


Recipe Introduction

My husband loved this recipe. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of chicken breasts in recipes like this, as they tend to be a bit dry (boohoo!) My notes are at the end.

List of Ingredients

Level 1 ~ Pro/Fat

1 tablespoon butter
4 ounces finely chopped fresh mushrooms (canned works fine too)
1 10-ounce package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
6 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste (optional)
6 large chicken breasts, boneless and skinless (the bigger the better, fresh
is best)
Bacon, thick sliced or regular



Recipe

Preheat oven to 350°.
Melt the butter and saute the mushrooms. Cool.

Using a mallet, pound the chicken breasts and flatten them to an even thickness.

Blend spinach, cream cheese, chives in medium bowl; add the mushrooms. Season as desired with salt, pepper, and/or garlic powder. Place 1/6 of filling on each breast, and fold the breast over. Wrap tightly with bacon in a spiral pattern. (If using regular sliced bacon, use 2 strips together.)

Arrange on baking sheet and bake until the breasts are cooked through, approximately 30 minutes.

Before serving, place under broiler for a minute or two to crisp the bacon.

These can be made ahead of time and frozen, and reheat wonderfully for leftovers.

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Deb's notes: I have real good luck with placing a chicken breast inside a Ziploc (gallon size) bag and, keeping it centered in the bag, using a flat sided meat mallet to flatten it. This works better for me than trying to use plastic wrap.
I used canned mushrooms. I have an Oxo brand potato ricer that I use to squeeze the water out of the package of spinach - works like a dream. I bought it at Bed, Bath & Beyond, and using a $5 off coupon, it was $15. A very worthwhile investment (stainless steel - won't rust). Here's a picture of one:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004OCJQ/103-3783753-0554220?v=glance
The chicken breasts were large enough that I actually "rolled" these, rather than just folding over. I then took 2 slices of regular bacon and stretching them as I wrapped the bacon around. When one slice ended, I then started there with the second slice. I did not use 2 slices on top of each other as the recipe states.