Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast with Pasta

Hello All!
      How are things going? My week has been good so far. I have a new nephew and he is a beautiful baby. I want to congratulate my brother and sister in law. Little Joshua is adorable and I can't wait to meet him! It is always nice when you can focus on happy events instead of bad. To celebrate the arrival of my new nephew I decided to make a new chicken dish. After the success of my last attempt at recipe writing I wanted to create something else new. I am always trying to find new ways to cook chicken because lets face it, chicken can taste blah some times. I, myself, am not a huge fan of it. Give me a steak or fish any day.
      This is a little time consuming but so worth it. My hubby loved it and already asked for it again which means I can count it as a win. Yay for me!

 

Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast with Pasta

 

Ingredients

For the Filling

1.  1/2 c of ricotta cheese
2. 1 tsp. of Italian seasoning
3. 1/8 tsp. salt
4. 1/4 tsp. black pepper
5. 1 c spinach leaves chopped
6. 2 T of parmesan cheese
7. 1/4 c mozzarella cheese

 

Breading

 

1. 1/4 c parmesan cheese
2. 1 c Italian bread crumbs
3. 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
4. salt and pepper
5. 1/2 c of flour

 

Additional Ingredients

 

1. 2 chicken breasts butterflied and pounded thin
2. 4 pieces of kitchen twine
3. 4 T of olive oil
4. 1/2 lb. of pasta
5. 2 eggs beaten
6. favorite marinara sauce
7. 2 slices of Havarti cheese or your favorite white cheese

 

Directions

 

• Preheat oven to 400
• Combine all of the filling ingredients and set aside
• Cook the pasta according to package directions and set aside. I like to butter the pasta after it comes out so it does not stick together.
• If you have not pounded out the chicken, pound it thin, and then sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides.
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• Spread half the filling on each chicken breast and roll it together to seal.
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• Take the kitchen twine and wrap around the chicken to seal the filling inside.
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• Dip the chicken in the egg, followed by the flour, back into the egg, and then into the breadcrumbs mixture.
• Heat oil in the pan and brown the chicken on both sides, about 5 minutes per side
• Transfer to baking dish, cover with foil and bake about 20 - 25 minutes until cooked through
• Remove foil after 15 minutes otherwise it will be a little soggy on the bottom
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• Top with cheese and melt
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• Serve over pasta topped with the marinara sauce. I made my own but it needs a little tweaking before I share it.
• Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese if desired.
• Enjoy.
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      I love how this turned out. It was delicious and definitely did not taste like another boring chicken dinner. I think next time I will add a little bit of red pepper flakes to give it a little kick but you can bet I will be making this again. I hope you give it a try and love it as much as we did. On a side note it was a little difficult to find the twine under the breading but once you do cut it off carefully so you don't lose much of the goodness topped on the chicken. I hope you have a good rest of the week and I will talk to you soon.