Spinach, Mushroom and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

Spinach, Mushroom and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

2 T. olive oil

1 tsp minced or pressed garlic

1/2 C. diced red onion or shallot

4 oz. diced cremini mushrooms (1/2 C.)

1/2 C. fresh chopped spinach

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 C shredded mozzerella cheese

2 skinless chicken breasts trimmed of any fat

*a little cornstarch slurry mixed and set aside

In a large pan, heat 1 T. olive oil. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and cook until transparent, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and brown a little before finally adding spinach. Cook with a lid till spinach wilts and turns dark green. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour off any liquid and set aside. Add cheese and mix until incorporated.

Cut each chicken breast in half across the middle so you have 4 short fat pieces. Use kitchen shears to cut a pocket in each breast for filling. Salt and pepper each breast and stuff with spinach mixture. If necessary, use a toothpick to hold pocket shut and keep stuffing from falling out.

Heat the remaining T. olive oil over med high heat. When pan is hot, add chicken breast and cook until nicely browned on all sides and cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate and *deglaze pan with a splash of cooking wine (opt) and reserved vegetable stock. Add a little *slurry to thicken slightly if desired, may not be necessary. Pour sauce over plated chicken and serve

Notes on Technique

*deglazing is adding liquid to a pan to remove any cooked remnants and utilize them in a sauce.

Although you may  use a non-stick pan for the vegetable mixture, it is better to use regular saucepan for cooking and deglazing chicken for 2 reasons. 1. non-stick coatings usually degrade at higher temperatures. Non-stick pans are meant for cooking eggs etc at medium temps. 2. You WANT a little bit of stuff stuck to the pan when you are deglazing, it tastes better.

*slurry is cornstarch mixed with liquid, usually water. You can use the vegetable broth if it is cool enough, but it will clump if it is too hot.

It is important to heat the oil before adding ingredients. A hot pan will sear the chicken, browning it nicely and keeping juices inside. If the pan is not hot enough, a lot of liquid will seep out of the breast, interfering with the browning. By the time the breast is nicely browned, it will be dry and overcooked. This is also important to follow when sauteing sliced mushrooms for any recipe. A hot pan will sear and brown mushrooms. Without a hot pan, mushrooms will weep a lot of liquid and not brown.

When baking, it is important to follow measurements exactly to get uniform results, but cooking other things requires more attention to proper technique, not exact amounts. Usually when someone says, "I followed the directions exactly, why didn't it turn out?"  the reason it didn't turn out is because attention was focused on measuring exact amounts of ingredients, not on temperature, technique etc. For best results, use ingredient list as a guide, pay attention to technique and make adjustments as necessary.