Stuffed chicken breasts warm up evening meal

By Karyn Lindberg | The Olympian • Published October 01, 2008

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October has arrived with skies as blue as liquid sapphire. Brilliant red and yellow leaves dance in the breeze against the deep greens of cedars and firs. When evening temperatures plunge, turning on the oven seems like a good idea again.

My friend of nearly 20 years, Rebecca Cody, sent me a recipe that called out for an immediate trial. I met her only days after arriving in Olympia. She welcomed me with a hug and has had a snug place in my heart ever since.

This recipe for stuffed chicken breasts can be made different ways. I followed Rebecca's directions for the first go-around but found some difficulties. For one, I started with thick chicken breasts that needed to be pounded until they were flattened to a quarter-inch thickness. I have a trusty kitchen mallet with a very heavy head. I pounded and pounded until both hands and wrists were tired and never got them much past an inch thick. At the time I kept thinking, "When are they going to invent square chickens?"

This was the first turning point in the recipe. I realized that with very thick breasts, it would have been much easier to slice in from the thickest side to make a pocket for the stuffing.

The stuffing is made with onion, garlic, spinach, cream cheese and bread crumbs. Her recipe called for a whole package of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry. This was enough to make fillings for six breasts pounded flat. However, I had some fresh spinach I wanted to use up and I only wanted to make two portions. This recipe is about right for two people but could easily be increased if you wanted to serve more or freeze the leftovers.

Finely mince enough onion to make about a quarter cup. Add a teaspoon of butter or olive oil to a saute pan and cook onion over medium heat until tender. Add a minced garlic clove and saute for one more minute. Turn off heat while you prepare spinach.

Pull off the stems from two good handfuls of fresh spinach. Stack up the leaves and then slice into shreds. Continue until all of the leaves are shredded. Add the spinach shreds to the pan and reheat. Stir together with the onion-garlic combination until the spinach is wilted. Turn off the heat and add a tablespoon of bread crumbs and a couple of tablespoons of cream cheese. I had a package of Boursin cheese and used it instead and it added a nice flavor. Set stuffing mixture aside to cool while you prepare the chicken breasts.

Trim off all of the yucky bits from two skinless, boneless chicken breasts. If they are thick, press down with one hand and with a thin, sharp knife make a slice parallel to the counter surface. Keep working the knife in until you have made a nice pocket. Don't worry if the knife goes all the way through. Filling is going to leak out anyway. Big tears can be repaired with toothpicks. Push half of the stuffing mixture into each breast. Secure the open side with a toothpick or turkey lacer. These are thin, metal spikes about 5 inches long. They should be in stores now with the turkey season around the corner. They are much easier to insert and remove than toothpicks.

If the breasts are thinner, pound them until they are about a quarter-inch thick. Spread half of the mixture over each breast and then roll up. Secure with toothpicks or turkey lacers.

Season the breasts with salt and pepper or my favorite seasoning, Cavender's Greek seasoning.

Make a glaze with a tablespoon of whole-grain mustard, a teaspoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of melted butter. Drizzle in about a tablespoon of honey and mix.

The chicken can be cooked in two ways. It can be browned in a saute pan or baked in the oven. If you are sauteing, brown on both sides and then pour on the glaze and cover. Cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees.

Or spritz a small baking dish with cooking spray and place the breasts in the dish. Coat with the glaze and put into a 350-degree oven for 40-50 minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees.

Baste with the glaze a couple of times in either case. Some of the filling leaks out but it just enriches the sauce.

This recipe is good enough for company so just increase the ingredients in the stuffing and the glaze.

Karyn Lindberg has called Olympia home since 1988. She is passionate about cooking and entertaining. She believes good recipes are meant to be shared. You can reach her at cookingkaryn@comcast.net.