Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spinach, Ham, and Goat Cheese

Weeknight chicken dinners tend to be on the boring side. I am always on the look out for new ways to present the classic chicken and rice. Adding ingredients that impart flavor is a great way to start. I like to make a rice pilaf with onions and mushrooms, for example. Sometimes I wrap my chicken in bacon and fry it crispy to give it texture. Other times roll or stuff ingredients into my chicken before cooking. You can either butterfly your chicken breast and pound it flat to roll meat and cheese into it like a chicken roulade, or you can cut a pocket into the fat part of the chicken breast and simply stuff it. I like using the roulade method when I'm using flat ingredients, or when I am rolling the chicken around vegetables like asparagus or peppers. Since I decided to use a more creamy filling, I opted for the pocket method.

 Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spinach, Ham, and Goat Cheese
Makes enough filling to stuff 3 large chicken breasts

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (6 oz.) package baby spinach
2-3 oz. deli ham, diced
5 oz. goat cheese
3 large chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

Directions: Heat a skillet over medium heat with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and a pinch of salt, and sauté until fragrant. Add the spinach to wilt, take off the heat. Add in your diced ham and goat cheese, letting the heat of the pan melt the cheese and evenly coat the filling. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Heat a heavy bottomed pan (I like my cast-iron pan) over medium-high. Add a bit of oil to the pan and let get very hot until the oil ripples. Also, heat your oven to 400. As the pan is heating, carefully cut a pocket in the fat part of the chicken breast. Divide the filling evenly into the pockets, then using toothpicks close up the pockets. Season each side and sear in the pan, a few minutes on each side. You're looking for a deep caramelized color to the meat. Finish cooking in the oven to an internal temperature of 165 F.
You could go the extra step and make a quick pan sauce from the drippings one the chicken is cooked through. Just sprinkle in a little bit of flour to create a roux, then add a bit of dry white wine and chicken stock and stir until thickened. Finish with a sprinkle of parsley or chives.

Doubled or tripled, this recipe would be great for a casual dinner party with friends. I like to serve it over rice pilaf.

Beefy Zucchini Boats

Today I'm continuing to use vegetables from my garden to make dinner. My zucchini plant has become enormous! It has produced an almost-continuous supply of zucchini, so I've had to come up with some creative ways for my family to eat it. Most things are better when stuffed with meat and cheese, so that is where my Beefy Zucchini Boats came about. I made enough filling for 4 medium zucchinis (or 8 boats), although 1 boat per person was filling enough.

Beefy Zucchini Boats
Serves 8, or 4 very hungry adults

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2-2 lb ground beef
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
Salt and pepper
4 medium zucchini, divided lengthwise
Shredded cheese (smoked mozzarella, monterey jack, or any other easily melting cheese that you prefer)

Directions: Turn on your oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with a greased piece of aluminum foil. Sauté the onion and peppers until softened. Add the garlic and cook a few more minutes. Add the ground beef, breaking it up in the pan as you go. I had about 3/4 of a pound of 90:10 ground sirloin and about a pound of 80:20 chuck in my refrigerator, so that is what I used. Season the beef mixture with salt, pepper, cumin and smoked paprika and cook until deeply browned, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pan. While the beef is cooking, divide your zucchinis lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and some of the flesh to make a trough for the filling. Generously fill the hollowed zucchini with the beef mixture. Shred up a bit of cheese to put on top. I had smoked mozzarella available, but any easily-melting flavorful cheese would work. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has started to brown on top.