Spinach + Tomato + Feta = DELISH.I needed some dinner inspiration this afternoon, so after whipping through my Pinterest food board, I found one, but the link was gone. So I Googled "Spinach, Feta, Tomato Chicken" and clicked on the first recipe that came up, and voila! Dinner! Here's my adapted version of that recipe.
BTW, I really stink at making any sort of "package" with chicken - pretty much fails every time. So yeah. Good thing ugly still tastes good!
Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Spinach, Feta & Tomato
For breading:
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 c. bread crumbs (seasoned are fine, or season plain with a little salt & pepper and some dried herbs)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (not garlic salt!)
a dash of cayenne powder (optional, but we like the kick)
For chicken:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and pounded thin (or not, if you're lazy like me)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. feta cheese, crumbled (I used reduced fat)
1 c. grape tomatoes, diced (I had those from our garden; seeded Romas would be great, too)
1 c. baby spinach leaves, chopped (I thawed some that I had steamed and frozen, and squeezed it dry and chopped it up roughly with my knife)
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
a splash of balsamic vinegar (1-2 tbsp.)
EVOO to mist or drizzle
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine feta, spinach, garlic, tomatoes, pepper and balsamic vinegar and stir to combine. Set aside. Prep your breading station: I use cake pans or pie tins - one of the egg wash, one for the bread crumbs. Throw some parchment on a baking sheet, and set that at the end of the line. Dip chicken (both sides) into the egg wash, lightly shake off and then coat with bread crumbs. Shake off, and place breaded chicken onto your prepared baking sheet.
When you're done, wash your hands, and then spoon a heap of the filling into the center of each butterflied breast. Roll it, mangle it, do what you have to do to wrap the chicken around the filling, and stick some toothpicks in there to secure it. Spritz with some evoo (remember, I told you to get an olive oil mister in one of my previous posts?), and then slide into the oven. Bake until golden, and the temp is to your liking. If you like the people you're feeding, remove the toothpicks before serving.