Chicken is usually my go-to for dinner – it’s quick, lean, healthy, and it’s not too hard to make it taste good. But sometimes chicken gets a little boring and repetitive. I figured why not shake things up a bit, and instead of just serving veggies on the side of my chickie, I’ll stuff them into my chicken breasts! It turned out to be super flavorful, and even though it’s really easy to make, it looks very impressive. Now that I know how simple it is to make delish stuffed-chicken breasts for dinner, I can’t wait to experiment with tons of other veggies and fresh herbs. One of my favorite flavor combos is fresh thyme and mushrooms (like this WNB recipe!), and combined with garlic, shallots, spinach, and freshly-grated parmesan cheese, it’s amazing! Seriously, I could have just eaten this stuffing on a toasted baguette, and it would have made for a mean crostini!

But back to the chicken – it was scrumptious, perfect for a date-night-in, and you’re going to love it! Here’s how to whip this beauty up . . . 

Ingredients
2 organic chicken breasts
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups mushrooms
2 cups spinach
2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp fresh thyme – chopped finely
1 squeeze of lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste

Start by heating 1 tsp of olive oil on your pan. Add the garlic and shallot, and once it starts to sweat a bit, add the mushrooms and spinach. Sauté until spinach shrinks down and mushrooms soften. Remove from stove and pour mixture onto a cutting board to cool. Chop as finely as you can by hand, or pulse through a food processor. Combine the mushroom/spinach mixture with the parmesan and thyme and season with salt and pepper.

Now it’s time to create the pocket in your chicken breasts. With one hand on top of the breast, slice the chicken horizontally, being careful not to cut all the way through, and leaving equal thickness on top and bottom of the pocket. Spoon your veggie/parm mixture into the chicken breast pocket (I was able to fit several spoonfuls), and then press down firmly to “close” the pocket.  Squeeze lemon juice over your chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper. Head over to the stove, heat up 1 tsp olive oil, and carefully cook up your chickie! Use toothpicks if necessary to keep the pocket closed.

Cook the chicken a few minutes on each side, flipping when the bottom layer looks white. Cut into each side to check if the chicken is fully cooked. If some stuffing escaped and fell into the pan, just pour it over the chicken when finished, and serve! Enjoy!!