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CHEESE STUFFED CHICKEN SPINACH ROLLS


If you eat chicken more than once a week like us, you know it can get boring very quickly. Lately I've been experimenting with some new recipes, staying away from the rich chicken curries we are used to and focusing more on lower carbohydrate options while keeping it super tasty. My kids will say super tasty to me is anything doused in habenero flakes. That is not true, although I do enjoy heat in most of my food. Over the last few years I've made dishes like Chicken Marsala Medallions, Lemon Chicken with Asparagus, Chicken Mexicali and Grilled Fillets for various salads. I promise to share those recipes next time I make them. I didn't want one of them yesterday.  I was craving pasta of-course, a lot of it and with cheese, but I wanted to focus on fiber more and eat less carbs, so I brought the flavors into my chicken and made these cheesy stuffed chicken rolls from some thinly sliced chicken breasts, pizza sauce, spinach, cheese and seasoning. I served this with my sheet pan vegetables; sweet potatoes, gold potatoes, broccoli and brussel sprouts (not pictured).


INGREDIENTS

6 thin sliced chicken breasts

4 cloves of garlic minced

2 + 2 tablespoons of  tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

5-6 ounces of baby spinach (1 small container)

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 cup pasta sauce 

1 cup chicken stock (you can use water)

around 18 toothpicks

fresh chopped parsley garnish (optional)


INSTRUCTIONS

  • Heat oven to 375 degrees. 
  • With a mallet, flatten each thin chicken fillet using plastic wrap to about 1/4-in. 
  • Season chicken with 2 tablespoons of oil, garlic, red pepper, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. 
  • Eye balling your spinach into 6 portions, take a bunch of it with a handful of mozzarella and stuff each breast and roll up, tuck ends if possible and secure with toothpicks.  
  • In a shallow pan, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and sear chicken on both sides for 4 minutes each. 
  • Transfer to a baking dish and top each roll with pasta sauce and cheese. 
  • Add chicken stock or water to the bottom of the pan and bake for 10 minutes covered (I used foil sprayed with oil to prevent the oozing cheese from sticking) and 10 minutes uncovered. 
  • Garnish and serve.






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