What's Cooking?

I tried out a new recipe and it was very good. A nice change of pace 'round here.

Let me just begin by saying I am not a chicken lover. I will eat chicken, but would MUCH prefer a medium rare ribeye any day, heck... everyday of the week for that matter. I usually avoid cooking chicken, but since Randy has begun watching what he is eating as well, I decided that I will have to develop a new flavor for chicken.

After spending over an hour on Recipe Zaar, I came up with several tasty readin' recipes. The one I tried out last night was a stuffed chicken breast.

I tweaked the recipe a bit to accommodate our taste buds and here is a picture of the finished product.

The recipe calls for feta cheese, but I substituted freshly grated Parmesan cheese instead.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

4	chicken breasts, pounded thin
1	medium red bell pepper, diced
6	garlic cloves, minced
5	large sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1	teaspoon thyme
8	ounces feta cheese, crumbled finely (TRY PARMESAN INSTEAD!)
1/2	cup breadcrumbs (I use Italian style)
	olive oil
	salt
	pepper
	toothpicks (or Butcher String)
	green onions, chopped (for garnish)

1. Sauté garlic and red bell pepper, in Olive Oil, for about 3 minutes (just enough to"combine" the flavors).
2. Put aside to cool.
3. In a bowl, combine cheese, breadcrumbs, thyme, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic and red pepper mixture.
4. Toss until well mixed (this will be your "stuffing").
5. Lay a flattened piece of chicken breast on a cutting board or your counter.
6. Put a 1/4 of the above mixture on the flattened chicken breast like you would be making a burrito and roll as tight as you can get it.
7. Secure it with a toothpick or butcher string.
8. Place chicken breast "roll" on a baking sheet (I spray it with Pam so it doesn't stick), brush with olive oil (this gives it a nice golden brown texture), and season with salt and pepper.
9. Preheat oven to 350°F.
10. Cook for about 35 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 180°F.

I served it up with tossed spring leaf mix salad, complete with tomatoes, red onion, kalamata olives, capers, red bell pepper and spicy pepper rings. Topped with fresh Parmesan cheese and croûtons. Mmmmmm!