Florentine Stuffed Chicken Breasts

In all honesty, I was scared going into this recipe. I tried a recipe in the past that required me to roll up strips of chicken and it was a huge fail. Going into this recipe, I was hoping that I had grown as a cook since that last experience. The prep work went really well! I actually had fun doing all of the prep work. I don't know what it feels like to be a professional chef, but I sure felt like one in the kitchen tonight! haha! I took a picture of the end result right before I put it in the oven to bake just in case something happened and it all fell apart in the oven. Here is what it looked like:

I also called my husband into the kitchen at this point so that he could see it before it went into the oven in case something happened and they fell apart. He said that he was IMPRESSED!! My husband rocks :-)

And now here is what it looked like after coming out of the oven:

I also got a picture after cutting the chicken in half so that you could see the center. Unfortunately, this picture doesn't do it justice (in my opinion). When I rolled the chicken up, I think a lot of the stuffing went out to either side which made less stuffing appear in the dead center. BUT, once you cut it all up and got into it, there was plenty of stuffing for all the chicken.

Now, time to go through the recipe... It was a bit of a detailed recipe and a little more technical than what I've done before, but it was fun! There was a lot of chopping in the beginning, but once you got that out of the way, things started moving more quickly. It did not take long to saute the first few ingredients, then mix that in with the cream cheese until it is nice and smooth. Next, comes the chicken...

It is so important to get the chicken flattened as thinly as possible. It will make your life so much easier when it comes time to roll the chicken up. I just so happened to have just purchased a Meat Tenderizer through Pampered Chef, but you can get creative with flattening chicken if you don't have a meat tenderizer! A note from the cookbook - "To flatten chicken breasts, place one chicken breast half in resealable plastic food storage bag and add 1 teaspoon of water (the water will prevent the chicken from tearing and sticking to the bag). Seal bag; flatten chicken as thinly as possible without tearing using flat side of Meat Tenderizer. Repeat with remaining breast half. Discard plastic bag."

After you spread the stuffing on the chicken and roll the chicken up, the recipe says to tuck the sides in to seal. That was the only part that I couldn't quite get. I'm not sure if I didn't flatten the chicken enough or what. The chicken rolled up really easily, but some of the stuffing was sticking out of the sides and I had trouble tucking the sides in to seal the roll. But, it all worked out fine without being able to get that part!

The end result = AMAZING!!! It was soooo worth all of the effort that went into putting it all together. It took me an hour and a half from beginning to end, but I would go through all of it again in a heartbeat! The creamy spinach mixture paired with the Parmesan and bread crumb coating on the outside of the chicken was incredibly delicious. If you ever want to impress your friends, go with this recipe! It can easily be doubled (or even tripled) if you had a dinner party and really wanted to "wow!" your guests!! I know that I'm anxious make it again and have some company over - who's ready?? :-)

Florentine Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Pampered Chef Stoneware Inspirations
Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2005.

Prep time: 30 minutes  Cook time: 5-7 minutes  Bake time: 25-30 minutes  Yield: 2 servings

Filling
1/2 cup chopped fresh mushrooms (about 3 medium mushrooms)
1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
1 small garlic clove, pressed
1 1/2 cups packed fresh baby spinach leaves, stems removed, coarsely chopped
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dash of ground black pepper
1/4 cup chive and onion cream cheese spread
1 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour

Chicken and Coating
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6-8 ounces each), flattened
2 slices firm white sandwich bread, grated (1/2 cup crumbs)
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
1 egg white, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. For filling, spray Small (8-in.) Saute Pan with nonstick cooking spray; heat over medium heat until hot. Add mushrooms, bell pepper and garlic pressed with Garlic Press; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until tender. Stir in spinach, salt and black pepper; cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until spinach is completely wilted. Remove spinach mixture from pan to plate lined with paper towel; cool slightly. In Small Batter Bowl, combine cream cheese spread, flour and spinach mixture; mix well and set aside.
2. For chicken, rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Flatten chicken as thinly as possible without tearing. For coating, using Deluxe Cheese Grater fitted with coarse grating drum, grate bread. Fit grater with fine grating drum and grate Parmesan cheese. Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in shallow bowl. Add butter and mix until bread crumbs are completely coated; set aside.
3. To assemble, divide spinach mixture evenly onto center of each chicken breast using Large Scoop. Roll up chicken around filling, tucking in sides to seal. Generously brush chicken bundle with egg white using Pastry Brush. Place one chicken bundle into coating mixture; carefully pat mixture around bundle to coat completely. Place seam side down on Small Bar Pan. Repeat with remaining chicken bundle. Bake 25-30 minutes or until coating is deep golden brown and juices run clear.