I swear I could make the exact same chicken dinners over and over again and Devon would have absolutely no issues in life, whatsoever.
Me, on the other hand, would get pretty bored really quickly. It’s why I’m always trying to come up with new things to do with chicken in our house. It doesn’t have to be anything revolutionary; it just needs to be tasty and something I would want to eat again.
This chicken dish definitely fit the bill, plus it was really easy to put together, which also made it really easy to clean up once we were done eating.
I like when things are easy.
The stuffing for this chicken also has three of my favorite things in it: mozzarella cheese, roasted red peppers, and basil. And when I say mozzarella cheese, I don’t mean shredded cheese, I mean the big soft fresh ball of cheese. You could use shredded, but I think the fresh mozzarella that really made this chicken super moist (I’m sorry if that word just gave you the willies) and delicious.
This recipe makes 4 decent sized chicken breasts, however I only made three (which is all Devon and I need) and just overstuffed them a bit because….I mean….it’s cheese…and peppers…why not overstuff them? But you can easily stuff them like a normal person and get four good breasts out of it.
All you do is butterfly the chicken breasts open (meaning take a knife and slice them down the middle so that it can open like a book – Thanks Rachael Ray for that visual), season them all up, put the goodness in the middle and close them up and throw them in the oven. I didn’t even put any extra liquid in the bottom of the baking dish; they gave off more than enough of their own juices as they baked. Right before they were done I topped with a little more shredded parmesan (just because) and let them brown on top.
These would probably be delicious with a little marinara sauce over top and put over top of pasta…but we know where my life is with pasta right now. Feel free to do this and send me pictures so that I can live vicariously through you. I decided to serve these with oven roasted potatoes to make clean up even easier.
Enjoy!!
Italian Stuffed Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese sliced thin, to fit inside chicken
- 1 12 oz jar roasted red peppers sliced into strips
- 4 leaves fresh basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp seasoned salt
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400F. Spray an 8x10 or 9x12 baking dish with cooking spray to keep the chicken from sticking.
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Mix all dried spices/salt in a small bowl and set aside.
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Butterfly open each chicken breast. You don't want to cut all the way through the meat; just far enough that the breast will open and lay flat on your board.
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Season each side of the chicken with the dried spice mixture. Rub the seasonings into the meat well to flavor it inside and out.
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On one half of the breast start stacking the filling, starting with a layer of mozzarella cheese, then add one basil leaf and a few strips of red peppers on top. Fold the other half of the breast over and close with toothpicks, if necessary. Place in baking dish once closed.
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Bake chicken for about 40 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165F.
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Optional: sprinkle a little shredded parmesan cheese on top of chicken and bake/broil for an additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted.
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Allow to rest for about five minutes before serving.
Enjoy with your favorite side!
