Valentine's Day

Joe and I didn't do anything fancy for Valentine's Day this year. It was actually the only day out of the week that we actually got to sit in the same room with each other for more than five minutes. We both ended up working on homework and ordering carry on luggage as our gift to each other. I told him one year I was going to make him buy me a "real" Valentine's Day gift....I'm leaning toward diamond earrings. One year we bought a tent (my idea), this year we bought carry on luggage (my idea)...what can I say, I'm a practical girl. 

Anyway, I did make him a nice dinner so I'll share the recipe with you. It was actually pretty good and I think it will go into our line up for meals!

"Panko Crusted Chicken Stuffed with Ricotta, Spinach, Tomatoes and Basil"

(pretty much the longest title in the world...)

1 cup of low fat ricotta cheese

Small handful of baby spinach, chopped

Small handful of grape tomatoes, diced (remove the seeds if possible)

2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste (I didn't have sea salt but just used regular salt)

Dash of oregano

2 chicken breasts

Italian seasoned panko crumbs

2 tsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the ricotta, spinach, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, basil, garlic, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Rinse the chicken breasts then cut a long horizontal slit along the center of the thin long edge of the chicken breast, nearly through to the other side. Fill the cavity of the chicken breast with the ricotta mixture.

 Season each side of the chicken with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Carefully dip the chicken breasts in the panko crumbs until both sides are evenly covered. Close the slit together with toothpicks.

Heat the olive oil in an OVEN PROOF skillet on the stove over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, place the chicken in the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown, flip the chicken over and place the skillet into the oven. I didn't put the pan I used to brown the chicken in the oven because I didn't know if it was oven proof. I ended up just putting it in a glass casserole dish and it worked just fine.

 

Cook for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Let the meat rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy.