Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Panko Crusted Stuffed Chicken

My girls are currently playing Moma and baby with their muffins as I sit here. "Come on baby!" and "Moma, I coming!!!" is all I hear. It's a nice tune to our forcasted rainy day. I just hope the love vibes make their way into the rest of our day. I have gotten a lot of things going already this morning: the dishwasher was unloaded (one of my most dreaded chores), laundry started, supper pulled out of the freezer, and my email has been emptied. Pretty good start I must say. That leaves plenty of time for me and the girls to paint, make some cookies, and throw a dance party in the middle of the living room or just enjoy being lazy. That's what rainy days are for anyways, right?


Last night I made a new recipe that I've had pinned for quite some time. It's been stashed for so long because I couldn't seem to remember to pick up ricotta cheese which just happens to be one of the ingredients that makes this recipe so so yummy. 




Doesn't it look so yummy!?! Now you understand why I've been drooling over it for so long. Well, after finally remembering to pick up the ricotta, I figured it was time to whip this up. But nothing ever goes completely smooth in my kitchen. When pulling out all the ingredients, I noticed that I was without some things and ended up having to tweak the recipe just as I always end up doing. It's a really easy recipe and goes by prep and fixing wise pretty quickly. This is coming from a lady whose feet are throbbing by 4, so trust me on this. *wink*

This is the lovely. The magic stuffing that becomes oh so creamy and delightful I could eat it all by itself. Anyhoo, you'll mix the ricotta cheese, spinach, oregano, and salt and pepper together and set aside. I know it's tough, but you can do it. 

Take two chicken breasts and make a little pocket for the stuffing. Then coat in salt and pepper to taste.


Take the stuffing and stuff it in the pocket. 


Now if you follow the original recipe, you'll have left over stuffing that your forced to eat if you didn't contaminate with the chicken, but if you cut back on the portions like I show down below, you'll have the perfect amount for 2 breasts.

Pretty huh?


Next you'll take your tooth picks and just pin the sides closed to keep the goodies inside. Put it in the fridge, covered up of course, until you're ready to cook supper. 


Now here's where the recipe and my cooking method really differed. 

For the bread crumbs to stick, I decided to rub the chicken down with a little bit of mayo. I know, crazy, but it worked and IT WAS GOOD!!! You don't have to do that, the crumbs will stick all on their own, but oh how you'll miss out. Of course I don't have a picture of what it looked like, but I'm sure you get the idea. *smile*

The original recipe says to just cook the chicken in the pan, but I wasn't sure if the chicken would cook all the way through. So, after browning both sides I popped the covered cast iron pan in the over for 15 minutes or so at 350. When I took the pan out, I removed the chicken and de-glazed the pan with a bit of white wine and chicken broth just to make a nice little sauce to go with the mashed potatoes. Plus, my husband loves any sort of sauce that involves de-glazing with white wine. I'll admit too, it's quite yummy and delicious!

So there you have it. My version didn't turn out quite as glamorous or picture worthy. However, it was definitely something that I devoured quicker than ever. No disappointment here. Paired with some mashed potatoes and some good ole' carrots, our dinner was a winner!!!


This is the original recipe, also found HERE, and my changes are highlighted in red for you.
 
  • 1 cup of low fat ricotta cheese USED ABOUT 1/2-2/3 CUP
  • Small handful of baby spinach, chopped
  • Small handful of grape tomatoes, diced LEFT OUT
  • 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated 1 tbsp
  • 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped IT WAS RAINING & I WAS OUT OF THE DRIED 
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced LEFT OUT
  • Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
  • Dash of oregano
  • 2 chicken breasts
  • Italian seasoned panko crumbs
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp MAYO
  • 1/2 CUP WHITE WINE
  • 1/2 CUP CHICKEN BROTH
This just goes to show that just because you may not have all the ingredients listed on a recipe card, you're not completely incapable of whipping up something amazing. Alterations can be made and sometimes turn out better than expected. My case for example. 

Mayo = GOODNESS!
No tomatoes = CREAMY FILLING 
White wine = OH SO YUMMY SAUCE

Now I'm just curious as to what recipe I'll pull out next. Oh the decisions are tough because PINTEREST is so overwhelming with possibilities. 

2 comments:

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But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more Psalm 71:14