When I'm cooking Italian, I usually like to spice it up and use every green herb in the cabinet with lots of red pepper but I went sort of easy here. I also usually just toss these herbs and spices in without any sort of measurement system. It always bothers my friends and family though, because then I can't tell them an exact recipe. I always just say, add some oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, sage, marjoram, etc., which usually just makes them say "I'll just google a recipe." Well I finally decided to measure things out, which actually caused me to hold myself back. Fear not, it is still delicious and very well flavored (according to the reviews.)
Here it is, in all its exorbitant glory.....
For the stuffing:
1 TB olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups fresh spinach
16 oz. ricotta cheese (I got some fresh packed from Fairway and it was the best ricotta I've ever had but any ricotta will do.)
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
1 TB fresh parsley (probably closer to a teaspoon if you're using dried)
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
3/4 teaspoon red pepper (or less if you're not into that Italian spiciness)
Salt to taste
1. Heat oil in a frying pan.
2. Add garlic and sauté until aromatic but not browned.
3. Add spinach to pan and cook until wilted. Set aside until ready.
4. Put ricotta in a medium mixing bowl and stir in grated Parmesan.
5. Add your spices next and stir thoroughly.
6. Add reserved spinach and stir thoroughly.
7. Set filling aside until ready to stuff chicken.
For the chicken:
3 large boneless chicken breasts
"The lady's house seasoning"** to preference
1. Butterfly and tenderize chicken breasts until about 1/2 to a 1/4 inch thick.
2. Sprinkle each side of each breast with "the lady's house seasoning"**
**the lady's house seasoning is a really simple Paula Deen seasoning containing garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Do yourself a favor--google it and make a bunch to put on chicken, pork, steak or really any type of meat you're making. It's simple but effective! If you don't feel like making some to keep around, just season this chicken however you want.
Putting it all together:
Now comes the fun but incredibly messy part (which is why I made Nick do it). Add some stuffing into each of your butterflied chicken breasts. Realistically, there is enough stuffing in this batch to fill 4 chicken breasts. We just completely overstuffed ours 3, but another creative option is to save it in the fridge until you're ready and fill some crescent rolls with it to make homemade [Italian] spanakopita for an appetizer tomorrow night.
If you really want to go wild, as you can see we have done here, you'll need some strips of bacon or prosciutto. In our case, we utilized both because we tend to be a bit excessive. If you want to get even more extreme (now I know what you're thinking, how can it be more extreme?!), you'll want to add some pepperoni into the filling. It is a crazy decadent, epic stuffed chicken, but it really is worth it.
So back to recap the assembly process:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheet with foil or parchment paper (for easy cleanup).
2. Fill chicken with spinach ricotta filling.
3. Layer pepperoni on top of filling. (Optional)
4. Close chicken breasts with toothpicks to the best of your ability.
5. Wrap in chicken, prosciutto, or some of both. (Optional)
6. Add more toothpicks to hold together if necessary.
7. Pop in the oven and cook for 45-60 minutes.
I actually just went over to the oven, turned the light on, and stared at them cooking for a little while, soaked in bacon fat and happiness. So next time you're thinking you'd like to do away with side dishes and eat some meat wrapped in meat wrapped in meat, give this recipe a try. I promise it will not disappoint!
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