Can you believe it's already time for Turkey day?? Where has this year gone?! Michael and I are headed to Blowing Rock to stay with his parents and have been looking for some great dishes to make. Do you have any special recipes you make every year?
Instead of stuffed turkey, we've got a stuffed chicken recipe to prep ya for the big feast on thursday. The stuffing for this recipe is perfect for chicken breast filling. The spinach, feta and pine nuts mix together so well to create a nice rich stuffing and the feta doesn't melt and run out while baking like other cheeses would. It's relatively quick to throw together too. The spinach really cooks down to nearly nothing and it doesn't look like it'll be enough, but don't worry friends, you'll have plenty of stuffing to fill those breasts!
We served it with some of our Pistachio Quinoa salad. My mom actually made this round of quinoa and put in some cherry tomatoes, which was quite tasty. She brought it to us during their last trip to Charlotte, along with birthday gifts and a great tower of cupcakes. Thanks ma and pa!
Modified from Cooking Light. Serves 3-4.
Ingredients
- 10 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
- 1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (watch 'em closely, or they'll burn!)
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3-4 (2 lbs. total) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Heat a large nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach to pan; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts, tossing constantly. Place spinach in a colander; press until barely moist. Wipe pan clean.
- Combine spinach, cheese, nuts, thyme, juice, and garlic in a medium bowl.
- Cut a horizontal slit through the thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff 3 tablespoons filling into each pocket. Seal with wooden picks. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until brown.
- Add broth, and cover pan. Place pan in oven. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until done.
13 comments:
This is perfect for me. I much prefer chicken to turkey and I love the idea of the feta stuffing... so festive.
The chicken recipe sounds delicious, a nice way to have your veggies and meat in the same dish :)
As for Thanksgiving recipes...hmmm...I think that my cream of mushroom soup - made with a porcini broth, and fresh chantrelles and maitakes sauteed in truffle butter, is a new (couple years old) tradition already.
I love stuffed chicken breasts and have made a similar recipe in the past. Your stuffing sounds delicious although I am not a big fan of pine nuts.
As soon as someone says feta, I'm all ears - or in this case all eyes! Sounds like a great stuffed chicken recipe. I made one a long time ago with artichokes, sundried tomatoes, and fontina.
Loving this combo! Yum!
Oh my God! So mouthwatering...
Ah lovely. Haven't done a stuffed chicken breast for ages and this looks like a great one. I loves me my spinach after all :D
i'm irrationally excited by the presence of pine nuts in that filling--what a great surprise that'd be!
Wow, these stuffed chicken breast look delicious with all the yummie stuff in it...my husband will love this dish :-)
Wow how did I miss this? I can see some alfredo sauce dripping over onto my plate, YUMMY!
I can only imagine how wonderful all of these flavors tasted together!!! Amazing!
definitely a winning combination :) gotta get strong flavors in there, and stuff it good... lol
That chicken is just stuffed with goodness!
Post a Comment