Thursday, September 16, 2010

Chicken stuffed with spinach, feta and pine nuts

I came across this recipe on CookingLight.com. It turned out really delicious and was very quick and easy to put together!

I only made minor changes to the recipe. Instead of thyme, I used fresh parsley because that's what I had on hand. We don't have an oven-proof skillet, so I just transferred the chicken to a baking dish, poured the broth over it and put it in the oven. I didn't secure the chicken with toothpicks like the instructions suggested and I will definitely do that next time in order to keep less of the delicious filling from escaping!

The only thing I didn't like about this recipe was that the leftovers were not as good as the original. The chicken was still nice and tender but the filling didn't reheat well. But it would be very easy to halve the recipe and just not have leftovers.

Ingredients
5 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Heat a large nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach to pan; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts, tossing constantly. Place spinach in a colander; press until barely moist. Wipe pan clean.

3. Combine spinach, cheese, nuts, thyme, juice, and garlic. Cut a horizontal slit through the thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff 3 tablespoons filling into each pocket. Seal with wooden picks. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

4. Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until brown. Add broth, and cover pan. Place pan in oven. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until done.

Nutritional Information
Calories:297
Fat:11.6g (sat 3.4g,mono 4.4g,poly 2.4g)
Protein:43.3g
Carbohydrate:3.4g
Fiber:1.2g
Cholesterol:111mg
Iron:2.7mg
Sodium:493mg
Calcium:131mg

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