Monday, February 4, 2013

Greek Chicken Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Basil

Photo: Goat Cheese Stuffed Greek Chicken
NOTE:  For this recipe, you will need a total of 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes NOT packed in oil or marinade, that have been pre-soaked overnight.

I found a similar recipe at www.allrecipes.com, but needed to change it up to accommodate my needs and tastes. It was suggested that you could also use mushrooms, but I am not eating mushrooms. I'm thinking you can probably use about anything you want in the filling that appeals to you, though. I'm sure you can use the same technique using other flavor themes, as well. Probably don't even need the cheese if you want to just stuff it with veggies! The garnish almost looks like bacon when the finished chicken comes out of the oven.

For Six Servings of Chicken:
Six 6-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced through the middle, pounded to 1/4" thick.

Marinade:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. (dried) Greek seasoning blend (if you don't have Greek seasoning, use oregano)
1 Tbsp. minced, crushed garlic
2 tsp. fresh or 1 tsp. dried lemon zest

Cheese Filling - Mix together well:
1 cup unripened goat cheese crumbles
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, sliced very thin and chopped
10 olives, sliced (optional, your preference)
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes NOT packed in oil or marinade, soaked overnight and chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Garnish:
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes NOT packed in oil or marinade, soaked overnight and cut into strips

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. SLICE AND POUND the chicken breasts; set aside. (I just sliced each piece open on a cutting board, covered it with waxed paper, and pounded it with a wooden mallet.)

2. MIX THE MARINADE ingredients in a bowl; set aside.

3. MIX THE CHEESE FILLING. "Spread" (or arrange) 2-3 Tbsp. per chicken breast on one side of each chicken breast that you sliced open. Fold the other half of the chicken breast over the cheese coated side. Arrange the filled chicken breasts to fit in a glass baking pan or shallow bowl (I used a 9"x13" pyrex baking dish). Spoon the marinade over each chicken breast, making sure that some marinade goes under each piece and some remains on top.

4. GARNISH each chicken breast with a few slices of the remaining soaked sun-dried tomatoes.

5. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and allow the chicken to marinate a minimum of 30 minutes.

6. Pre-heat oven to 375-F (??? C). While the oven is heating, lightly oil a large enough baking sheet  (I used a nonstick pan) or large baking pan. Using a spatula, transfer the chicken to the pan so that each piece has room enough to cook around the edges. You won't want to bake the chicken the the dish that you marinated it in for this recipe. Bake for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature is 155F (???C); let it rest and the temp will rise another 5 degrees while it is resting. This gives you time to get other last minute additions ready to serve with the chicken.

7. YUM. Enjoy! :-)

No comments:

Post a Comment