A Tuscan spin on stuffed chicken, by stuffing chicken with artichoke hearts, low fat mozzarella cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and basil. The cheese make an already juicy chicken breast even more gooey, and the basil cuts through the tomatoes to make a delicious party in your mouth. We served this chicken with the fabulous Apple Cider Roasted Butternut Squash.
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Slicing and Seasoning Up the Chicken
The very first thing I do is filet the chicken almost completely through. If you place one hand on top of the chicken, and gently slide the knife from one side to the other, I find it usually cuts pretty easily. Just make sure to keep the knife level, and don't cut all the way through (that would make it tricky to stuff!). I do this before everything else because as you start adding things to the chicken they become slippery and a hazard to your fingers!
Since the chicken is stuffed, it can be difficult to season once everything is in place. I pulled out the paprika, curry powder, salt, and pepper, and dusted the top and bottom of each of the 4 chicken breasts with each seasoning. I did not put any seasonings on the inside of the chicken.
Making the Stuffing
To make the stuffing, I pulled out a small bowl from the cupboard and began to add the ingredients. First i added the mozzarella. I then opened and drained a can of artichoke hearts and chopped them until they were in bite size pieces. Those got tossed in with the cheese and it was onto the tomatoes. I pulled 4 tomatoes from the jar and chopped them into thin slices and added them to the bowl. I got out my handy dandy scissors and as many time before cut up my basil leaves into strips and tossed them in. I then added minced garlic and stirred all of that up until it was well incorporated.
Note: I love the pre-minced jar of garlic you can buy at most grocery stores! It is a huge time saver and my fingers don't smell all garlicy the rest of the night.
Stuffing the Birds
Now that we have the chicken prepared and the stuffing all mixed, I covered a baking sheet in foil. The foil helps with a not so messy cleanup and is such a time saver with dishes. I spray the foil with nonstick spray and then its ready to go. I opened the chickens one by one and put 4-5 large spoonfuls of the stuffing mixture inside. I then pushed the stuffing down the with spoon while folding the top half of the chicken over the bottom half and the stuffing. If you chickens are overflowing or not staying closed, toothpicks can be used to hold the two ends of the chicken together. Just make sure to remove those bad boys before you serve the chicken! I arranged the chicken onto the baking sheet and they were ready fro the oven.
These were some huge chicken breasts, and they were also a tiny bit frozen still so I threw them in the oven at 400 for 40 minutes. If you are using a more normal size chicken, 30 minutes should do you. Just be sure to cut through the thickest part and check that it is done. Adding the stuffing also adds to the typical cook times for chicken. Once cooked all the way through, remove any toothpicks if you choose to use those and serve!
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