Herb and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Pin It Now!

Sometimes I run into food ruts.  This typically happens over the summer when the days are long and dinner dates are frequent.  A few weeks ago, I decided to snap myself out of this rut by preparing a new recipe from my huge stack of Cooking Light magazines.  After browsing through them, I decided to go with Herb and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts, with my own minor modifications.  Truthfully, I'd never prepared anything stuffed before so I was excited to give this a try.  I was pretty pleased with the results.  For this recipe you'll need:

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/2 package goat cheese (3-ounces)

1/2 package feta cheese (3-ounces)

1 egg

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

4 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, then begin by chopping the herbs.  Normally I'm not a huge fan of mint, but I decided to give it a go.  I figured the goat cheese would probably be the most dominating flavor in the stuffing and would need something to cut through it and brighten it up.

Once the herbs are prepped, add them to a bowl along with the breadcrumbs, goat and feta cheeses.  Mix lightly.  Then add the egg and stir until thoroughly absorbed.  You want the mixture to hold together, so if you need to use another egg or half an egg, add that and mix well.

At this point, clean and cut the chicken.  As I've mentioned previously, I buy my chicken breasts at Harris Teeter, pound them thin, and slice them into individual portions.  This time was no different, except I also sliced a slit in the middle of the chicken breast pieces.

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes on each side, or until browned.

At the same time, cook the stuffing over low heat for about 5 minutes.  

When the chicken and stuffing are done cooking on the stove top, stuff the chicken breasts evenly.  I didn't have anything to keep them closed, but you could use a toothpick if you wish to do so.  Place in a greased oven safe baking dish and cook for 20 minutes.

Remove and serve with homemade tzatziki sauce.  I served this to a friend and she loved it! This is a super quick, healthy meal option that reheats well.  I ate this every day for a week for dinner and didn't get tired of it.  Enjoy!