This is a dish I used to make fairly often, for celebratory evenings. I guess I’ve just decided to dust off one of my old favorites for nostalgia sake. Not to mention this dish is elegant, absolutely delicious and always a home run. The scratch made red sauce alone is a timeless sauce. The spinach and artichoke stuffing is other worldly and an absolute crowd pleaser.
First thing we’ll make is the stuffing, which happens to actually be my spinach/artichoke dip. I can guarantee you that making this as a stand-alone dip will hands down be the best spinach dip you’ve ever had anywhere. So, if you take anything from this, take the dip.
We want the dip to be cold when we stuff the chicken breasts, so it’s best to make it the morning or day before you plan to make the dish; but, you could easily make it a weak before, I’d you can resist the urge to devour it before you’re ready to make the chicken.
To make the stuffing we’ll need:
4 ounce of fresh shredded Monterey or pepper jack cheese
4 ounces of cream cheese
4 ounces sour cream
Grated parm cheese
Half onion – finely diced
3-4 toes minced garlic
1 can artichoke hearts chopped
1 frozen block of spinach-drained and all moisture squeezed out.
Olive oil
Cajun seasoning (I use slap ya momma hot and regular)
Salt pepper garlic powder
First well cook down the onion in olive oil with SPG and Cajun seasoning
When softened drop in garlic
When garlic is fragrant add in chokes and spinach
Season with SPG and Cajun seasoning
After a few minutes when the chokes are cooked through and spinach after well incorporated add in the sour cream and cream cheese.
Allow to melt and fully mix together then add in the jack cheese.
Let simmer a few minutes until everything has a soup-like consistency then add parm cheese until it is tightened up .
Drop in container then put in fridge to cool
Onto the breasts. This part is easy:
Just take your chicken breast and butterfly it about 3/4 of the way through to create a big pocket.
Open it up and season all sides with SPG, And a dash of cayanne or some Cajun seasoning.
Stuff with some of the stuffing mixture then stitch it closed with toothpicks
Get your skillet nice and hot, add some olive oil and sear both sides for about 3-4 minutes a side.
Cover with marinara sauce; as well as. Add some marinara and chicken stock to the pan and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until cooked to 165 degree internal temp.
You want just enough liquid to cover the bottom of the pan.
After 10-15 minutes or until the chicken has an internal temp of 165 take them out of the oven and cover the breast with shredded mozzarella and let bake another 5 minutes to melt cheese.
Marinara sauce:
Half onion diced
4-6 toes of minced garlic
Basil-chopped
Parsley- chopped
Thyme
Oregano
Rosemary
Olive oil
Salt pepper garlic powder
Crushed red pepper
Balsamic vinegar – optional
28 ounce can of crushed tomato or whole tomatoes you’ve crushed by hand.
Cook down the onion in olive oil until softened, season with crushed red pepper then add in garlic
Give the garlic 30 seconds to cook then add in herbs and tomato.
Bring to a boil then drop to a simmer and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After 20 minutes check seasoning. If it needs a little sweet added, drop in a few teaspoons of balsamic.
I love this dish served over angel hair or linguini with plenty of the sauce and smothered in Parmesan