Food, Glorious Food!

So, since we're talking about food, I'd like to share an easy and delicious recipe we "created" the other evening … at home! We call it:

Jake's Spinach & Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken breasts
• 4 tablespoons goat cheese (creamy is better)
• 2-3 cups chopped spinach 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 chopped shallots
• 1 ¼ cup dry white wine
• Butter
• Olive oil

In a small pan, sautee the chopped shallots with a small pad of butter and a teaspoon of olive olive oil. Add a tablespoon or so of white wine as the shallots start to turn soft and golden. Put aside.

In a larger pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium high for 30 seconds, add the sliced garlic, sautee until golden. Add the spinach and cover. Uncover in a minute and turn the spinach. Cook only until wilted and mixed with the flavor of the oil and garlic (this makes a great side dish too). Chop, and set aside to cool.

In a bowl, combine the goat cheese, the shallots, and the chopped spinach.

Pound the chicken breasts so that they are uniformly 1/4" think. For larger breasts, slice breasts in 1/2 or 1/3s, approx. 1/2" thick and then pound to 1/4" thick.
Create a pocket in the chicken breast by slicing the side. Do not completely butterfly, but the pieces should be approx. 1/8" thick on either side of the pocket.

Use a spoon to stuff the spinach mixture in the chicken. An even 1/4-1/2" layer is sufficent. Over stuffing will cause the cheese to spill out while cooking.

Coat a large pan with cooking spray and add a small pat of butter. Cook the stuffed chicken, 2-4 minutes per side, until golden. Removew the chicken from pan to a warm platter, add 1 cup white wine to the pan and cook at high heat to deglaze the pan and reduce to about ¼ cup. Pour demi-glaze over chicken and serve.

We served this with baked potato and salad. It was delicious!!! Try it and let me know what you think.