Chicken Stuffed with Spinach and Goat Cheese // Gluten Free

I’m branching out from the Mexican and breakfast dishes.  First Thai soup, and now this take on Italian…I’m giving myself a pat on the back for stepping out of my comfort zone.  Even though the morning I made this dish I caught myself brainstorming even more Mexican meals.  Oops.  Guess it’s just my thing!

This chicken dish is easier than it sounds, but it’s also perfect for a night that you want to have a “fancy” dinner.  Maybe if family is visiting or you want to impress your significant other?!  You could easily prep it ahead of time.  The spinach and goat cheese mixture can be made ahead – probably even the day before – and kept in the refrigerator.  The chicken could be pounded out ahead of time as well. I will post the green beans and mushroom recipe in a separate post.

Also, this is gluten free!

Chicken Stuffed with Spinach & Goat Cheese

• 2 organic, free range chicken breasts, pounded thin
• TJ’s everyday seasoning (or an equivalent)*
• 6 oz bag organic baby spinach, chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 oz soft goat cheese
• salt and pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Pound the chicken, season both sides with the everyday seasoning, and set aside on a large cutting board or work surface.

Place the goat cheese in a medium size bowl.  Saute the garlic in the teaspoon of olive oil.  Add the spinach and cook just until it is starting to wilt.  Once it’s wilting, try and tilt the pan to squeeze some of the water from the spinach.  I used a rubber spatula.  Add the spinach to the bowl with the goat cheese.  Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and stir together.

Using the spatula, spread half of the spinach mixture on each chicken breast.  (You could probably stretch this amount of spinach to work for 1 or 2 additional chicken breasts).  Gently roll up the chicken and place on a plate.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.  This keeps the spinach mixture from oozing out too quickly when cooking.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Heat a nonstick sauté pan at medium to medium high heat.**  Add 1 Tbsp olive oil, and 1 Tbsp unsalted butter.  Remove the chicken breasts from the refrigerator and add to the hot pan.   Place the side down that has the least exposed spinach mixture.  Saute until lightly browned, and continue the process until all sides are browned.  Do this gently so that the spinach doesn’t melt out too much!

Once browned, add to a greased or parchment-covered baking pan and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until cooked through.  A thermometer should read at least 165 degrees when placed in the middle of the chicken breast.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

*You could use a mix of dried herbs and spices such as: salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil, dry mustard

**This depends on your stove.  To brown chicken, I turn mine just above medium.

Enjoy!  Thank you for reading!

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