No matter how good a basic sautéed chicken dish is, anything you do too much can get a little dry after a while. You can only make these standard recipes so many times before the need to experiment and try new things begins to take over. Generally speaking, we can’t go wrong by adding more cheese or more creaminess to a recipe to give it some new life. Still, it’s even better when we use ingredients that we wouldn’t always think to use. And that’s where today’s delicious recipe comes in.
If you were planning on making chicken breasts in the near future, you owe it to yourself to give this stuffed chicken recipe a try. Instead of just making the plain meat with seasoning, we’re going to make a delicious spinach and artichoke mixture to fill the meat with. If you want to take this recipe to another level altogether, you can also make a creamy sauce to go along with it as well. No matter how you prepare it, this dish is sure to bring some new life to this dinner standby. So what are we waiting for?
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts (two pounds)
- 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon of mild paprika
- salt
- pepper
- 4 ounces of thawed frozen spinach
- 8 ounces of room temperature cream cheese
- 6 ounces of canned artichoke hearts in brine (chopped)
- 1/2 cup of of shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- 1 cup of skim milk
Here’s what you do:
1. To start, make sure to prepare your chicken breasts by washing and peeling the chicken as necessary. Once it’s ready, season your chicken on both sides with the Italian seasoning and paprika. With it seasoned, carefully cut a slit along the side of the chicken. Cut about 3/4 of the way through the breast, being careful to leave a “hinge” on the end.
2. With your chicken prepared, we’re going to make the dip next. First, make sure your spinach is completely thawed and squeeze out any of the excess water in it as necessary. Next, get a medium-sized bowl and mix together your spinach, cream cheese, artichokes, mozzarella, parmesan and garlic. Mix everything together as necessary (and use your hands if you want as well).
3. With your filling ready, fill up your chicken pockets with a couple tablespoons of spinach artichoke dip and be sure to spread it around evenly. Be sure to keep a little bit of extra filling aside for the cream sauce at the end!
4. Once the chicken breasts are stuffed, pin them shut with a few toothpicks so that the dip stays inside. When you’ve done that, put a tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, throw in your chicken and fry it until it turns golden brown. Cook for about six or seven minutes per side.
5. To make the cream sauce, take your chicken out of the skillet and add in your milk, bringing it to a simmer. Drop in your leftover dip and keep stirring until everything combines and thickens. Put your chicken back in the pan and serve it all while it’s hot!
As you can see, this recipe is straightforward to make and brings a new life to a dish you may have made a few too many times. Stuffing the chicken is simple and the final taste is amazing—especially if you make the final cream sauce as well. Feel free to put your own spin on this recipe as you see fit and have fun!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
