Monday, March 1, 2010

Pesto & Cheese Filled Chicken Breast


I found yet another winner from Epicurious, and this one is definitely one of my favorites thus far! I decided to make my own pesto [you can use store-bought if you like], so it took about 30 minutes from start-to-finish. Finding great recipe's that can be prepared in a jiffy is an incentive for me to continue to cook, so hopefully I can kick this fast-food habit once and for all. I paired the chicken with a little bit of brown rice, and some asparagus!

Ingredients for Thyme Pesto:
  • 1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh parsley
  • 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh thyme leaves or 1 tablespoon dried, crumbled, plus 1/2 cup fresh parsley
  • 1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) grated Parmesan
  • 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
Preparation:

Finely chop first 5 ingredients in processor. With machine running, gradually add 1/2 cup olive oil. Continue processing until pesto is almost smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Pesto can be prepared up to 1 week ahead. Cover tightly and refrigerate.)



Ingredients for Stuffed Chicken Breasts:


  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/2 cup soft, fresh goat cheese (such as Montrachet)
  • 1/3 cup thyme pesto
  • 1 teaspoon minced shallot or green onion
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • All purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350°F. Pound chicken breasts between sheets of waxed paper to thickness of 1/4 inch. Combine goat cheese, pesto and shallot in small bowl; mix well. Spread boned side of chicken breast with scant 2 tablespoons cheese mixture. Starting at one long side of chicken breast, roll up tightly, jelly roll style. Repeat with remaining chicken and cheese mixture.

Heat olive oil in heavy large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour and shake off excess. Fry chicken breast in olive oil until golden brown on all sides, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes. Place skillet with chicken in oven and bake until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 10 minutes.


16 comments:

  1. Nice!! Looks great! I LUV white meat. *hmm* Don't think I should be craving chicken @ midday. Great job!

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  2. BIYAHHHHHHH!!! LOL!! That ish looks scrum-delicious!! WOOOOOWWWW!! I am sooo impressed!! and man I love this blog!!

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  3. That looks so delicious - I'll have to bookmark that recipe site!

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  4. Looks delicious! I'll try this out.

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  5. My kind of recipe fast and easy plus I get leftovers for lunch the next day.

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  6. That looks delicious. I'm going to have to try this one sometime in the next few days. Yummy!

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  7. Girl....next time you get your cook on..can I please get an invite?!? (LOL) That looks delicious!!! I'm definately gonna try this recipe out!

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  8. Ok, I have tried stuffed chicken breast before and it came out soooo dry...lol. I didn't however, fry it first. I just baked. Could this have been the reason?

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  9. Oh my, my, my....
    This looks so good.
    Hunz, if you call this quick cooking, I'd like to see what you do on a really good day....lol

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  10. @lil' miss MAKEITDEEP - lolllll Thank you!! I think this is a fool-proof recipe anyone can do!

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  11. @Mrs. Denga That could have definitely been the reason, that and the amount of time, and the temp of the oven. Try lowering the temp a tad

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  12. @Full-Figured Diva LOLLL! Thank you! And please let me know how you like it!!!

    @South Loop Social Light Thank you! Please do, it is super easy!

    @Galey Exactly!!!

    @Ms. Princess Thank you! I love white meat too! In fact that is really all I eat!

    @BeautyXchangeGirl Definitely bookmark it, I have found lots of staple recipe's there. You really can't go wrong!

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  13. OMG! I just made this and it is so good, when I first tasted it I had to walk away like oh my wow thats good!! thanks

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  14. Hi, I'm a recent follower of your blog and I just tried this recipie tonight. Just the ease with which you put it across made me feel "I can try this too". Well success! Directions were easy to follow and it came out just right. I used pork instead of the chicken and had to "thinly" slice it myself (lol) so the roll wasn't like a perfect crescent roll and instead of the thyme pesto I subbed chopped up spinach and celery. It was a great feeling cooking for myself and knowing exactly what was put in the meal vs takeout.
    Thank you for the recipe it was heaven!
    Keep 'em coming

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  15. wasnt as pretty as urs but it tasted soooooooooooo good. will do this again definately. used different pesto and slightly less cheese am not a cheesy person. Thanks

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