Dinner Recipe: Spinach Dip Stuffed Chicken

One day I got the brilliant idea to stuff spinach dip inside chicken. I didn’t really know what I was doing but it worked, so I’ve continued to make it. The cream cheese of the dip helps to keep the chicken juicy and moist, and the spinach makes me feel like I’m making good choices. The best part is it is ridiculously easy but looks hard so you can impress your friends.

Sometimes I like to be unhealthy but without the guilt- this usually involves mixing vegetables with less healthy elements. I swear it’s logical…

Preheat the oven to 375.

Make sure the chicken breast is on the larger side, as well as completely thawed. Place it in a heavy duty Ziploc bag, and then take to it with any heavy thing you can find- preferably a mallet or meat tenderizer (this is my favorite part.) Pound the chicken until it is evenly thin, about a 1/4 inch, if you’re measuring. Be careful not to put any holes in it as it won’t roll well.

Find an oven-safe glass dish, about 9×9, and spray it with cooking spray. Lay your skinny chicken in the dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

 

Now for the “dip.” It’s not full on spinach dip, but it tastes pretty good on its own so feel free to stick a chip in there first. Mind you, this recipe is for one chicken breast as I was only cooking for myself, so double it for each additional piece of chicken. Mix ¼ cup cream cheese, ¼ cup chopped spinach (fresh or frozen, but make sure it’s thawed either way), some salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and microwave it until the cream cheese is soft. Then sprinkle with some fresh parmesan.

Spoon this mixture into your piece of chicken and then fold up the sides of the chicken over the top, like you’re wrapping a present. Secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle a little more seasoning on top, and pop it in the oven. This will bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the chicken starts to brown. Keep an eye on it because the chicken is very thin so it will cook faster.

I chose to pair it with some sauteed brussel sprouts and green beans- you know, for the healthy part of it- but you can choose your own veggies if these don’t strike your fancy. Sauteed vegetables are very straightforward- just chop, throw in some olive oil, and stir around a pan until they’re the level of cooked that you prefer.

 

Midway through the cooking of my chicken, I decided I wanted some sauce. DISCLAIMER: I made way too much of it, so only use the following measurements if you’re making two dishes, or just make it and don’t pour all of it on the plate. Oops.

 

Melt 3 tbsps of butter in a saucepan with a minced clove of garlic. Once melted, pour in about ⅓ cup of white wine (great way to finish off any leftover bottles in the fridge), and a tbsp of dijon mustard. Squeeze in a little lemon juice if you have it. Let this simmer on low for just a couple minutes so it all mixes together.

When your chicken looks like it’s just a couple minutes from being done (you can cut through the middle to check), pour this sauce in the dish and keep cooking for about two more minutes. The chicken will soak up a lot of that buttery goodness.

Your chicken will be slightly brown on top, and there shouldn’t be any pink in the center when you cut through. I recommend only pouring some of the sauce onto the plate, although it makes for a pretty picture with all of it because it does become very rich.

If you’re really trying to maintain a level of healthy, just avoid the sauce altogether. Either way, enjoy!

INGREDIENTS | Makes 1-2 servings

Chicken

• 1 thawed chicken breast
• ¼ cup thawed chopped spinach
• ¼ cup cream cheese
• 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
• Cooking spray
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Oregano

Sauce

• 3 tbsps salted butter
• ⅓ cup white wine
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• Salt
• Lemon juice

 

RECIPE

Chicken

1. Make sure chicken breast is fully thawed. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix chopped spinach, cream cheese and parmesan cheese in a microwave safe bowl. Heat until cream cheese is malleable, and add a sprinkle of salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano.
3. Take thawed chicken breast and place in heavy duty Ziploc bag. Use a meat tenderizer or heavy object to pound chicken until ¼ inch thick.
4. Spray cooking spray into oven safe glass dish. Place pounded chicken in dish and then spoon in spinach and cheese mixture.
5. Fold chicken around mixture, and secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle seasonings on top and place in oven.
6. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.
7. In last three minutes of cooking, pour sauce over chicken.

Sauce

1. Melt butter, lemon and garlic in sauce pan
2. Add wine, mustard and salt.
3. Simmer for 2-4 minutes.