Italian Stuffed Chicken Recipes

ITALIAN STUFFED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Beat the olives or sundried tomatoes, garlic and almost all the herbs into the cheese, then season. Cut a slit along the side of each chicken breast, then use your knife to open it out into a pocket.
• Stuff each breast with a quarter of the cheese mix, then press to close. Lift onto a greased baking tray. Season the top of the chicken, then overlap tomato slices over the top of each piece of chicken. Season, then scatter with the remaining herbs. Drizzle with olive oil.
• Roast for 20 mins until the chicken is golden around the edges and the tomatoes look a little shrivelled. Serve with a green salad and crusty bread to mop up the juices.

ITALIAN STUFFED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and sauté half of the chopped onion until soft.
• Add the spinach and continue cooking over a medium heat, adding a touch of water if needed, until the spinach is wilted.
• Take off the heat and let cool for a moment, before stirring in just over half of the mozzarella cheese.
• Cool until you can comfortably handle the mixture.
• Meanwhile, cut a slit lengthways along each chicken breast but be careful not to cut them in half.
• You want to end up with a little pouch in each one.
• When the spinach mixture is cool, stuff each breast with as much of the mixture as you can.
• You may not use it all.
• Cover the chicken with some cling film and set in the fridge while you make the sauce.
• Heat some more olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the remaining onion and jalapeno pepper until soft.
• Add the chopped tomatoes, water, stock cube and oregano.
• Simmer for about 10 minutes until the flavours blend and the mixture starts to thicken.
• Stir in the tomato paste, season with salt and pepper and let simmer a few minutes more until you have a fairly thick sauce.
• Preheat the oven to 180 C or 350 degrees F.
• Put enough sauce in a casserole dish to cover the bottom.
• Lay in the chicken breasts and then cover with the remaining sauce.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes, then pull out of the oven briefly to scatter the remaining mozarella cheese on top.
• Turn on the grill and cook just until the cheese is bubbling and browned.

ITALIAN STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine 1 1/2 cup Italian cheese blend, garlic, basil, and oregano in a bowl. Combine Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs in a separate bowl.
• Cut one side of each chicken breast through the middle horizontally to within one-half inch of the other side. Open the two sides and spread them out like an open book. Lightly pound chicken to flatten. Fill each chicken breast with Italian cheese blend mixture and close like a book over the filling. Coat the outside of each chicken breast with egg; press bread crumb mixture over egg layer to coat each chicken breast. Arrange chicken breasts in a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Pour spaghetti sauce over cooked chicken; top with 1/4 cup Italian cheese blend. Bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted, about 5 more minutes.

CHICKEN INVOLTINI {STUFFED CHICKEN ROLLS}

Steps:

• Season each chicken slice with salt and pepper to taste.
• If chicken cut is too thin, lay 2 fillets overlapping one another.
• Top with a piece of prosciutto crudo (salt-cured ham), one or two slices of cheese and a few rosemary leaves.
• Roll each chicken involtino tightly and secure with a toothpick.
• Rub with extra virgin olive oil and place on a hot grill pan.
• Let cook on each side for at least 3-4 minutes to get the meat cooked on the inside. Reduced the heat and flip the meat a couple of times if needed.
• Serve hot with more pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

ITALIAN STUFFED CHICKEN ROLL-UPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425F (220C). Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
• In a shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Pour milk into a separate bowl.
• Place a slice of ham and a slice of provolone cheese on each chicken breast. Depending on the size of your ham and cheese slices, you may need to trim them or cut them in half so that they are not hanging too far out of the roll-up.
• Roll up chicken and secure with toothpicks.
• Dip chicken rolls in milk, then coat with a light coating of the crumb mixture.
• Place chicken seam-side down on prepared baking sheet.
• Lightly spray chicken with cooking spray (this will help it turn golden brown!).
• Bake, uncovered, for about 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove toothpicks and serve!

ITALIAN STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast pine nuts 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Reserve.
• Put washed spinach in skillet, cover. Steam about 2 minutes. Place in strainer, rinse with cold water and squeeze as much liquid out as possible. Chop medium fine.
• Heat butter in skillet, saute shallots until soft.
• Increase oven to 375 degrees.
• Butter a shallow baking dish.
• Mix pine nuts, spinach, shallots, ricotta cheese, egg yolk and pepper.
• Pound chicken breasts slightly.
• Place 1/.2 slice prosciutto on each breast, followed by 1/6 of filling. Fold in half. Place in buttered baking dish.
• Mix melted butter and lemon juice. Spoon over chicken breasts. Bake, basting occassionally, for 30 minutes (or until tender). Remove to platter and keep warm.
• Make sauce: Melt butter in skillet, saute mushrooms 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms.
• Add stock to skillet, boil until rediced to 1/4 cup. Add wine, boil until reduced to 1/2 cup. Add cream, boil until reduced to 3/4 cup.
• Return mushrooms to sauce.
• Add whatever juices have accumulated in chicken dish to sauce. Bring to boil, stirring. Add basil.
• Serve chicken breasts on platter. Pass sauce separately.

ITALIAN STUFFED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Melt butter and saute chopped fennel for about 5 minutes to soften.
• While the fennel is cooking, pound of your chicken breasts until they are 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick.
• In a mixing bowl, combine fennel with bell pepper and artichoke hearts.
• Spoon the fennel mixture into the center of each chicken breast. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Fold chicken over and secure with toothpicks so that the filling is trapped inside. Place stuffed chicken breasts into a lightly greased 9x13 pan.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, and crushed garlic. Pour over chicken breasts.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.