I recently got some chicken breasts from a new meat & poultry store as part of their campaign to promote their products. I thought I’d go with something oven-baked, as that’s how I usually like to eat chicken, as it has all its juices and perfectly retains the flavors added to it.

I also had a new pack of smoked paprika that I hadn’t used till that point, and thought this was a good chance to. So I decided I’ll go with a nice flavorful stuffing and smoked paprika seasoning.

I made a very simple stuffing; made of spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese & mozzarella. But first, here’s all you’ll need for this dish!

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, thawed, washed & dried.
• Handful of spinach, thawed, washed & dried.
• 6 slices of sun-dried tomatoes, diced to preferred size.
• 2 tbsp feta cheese.
• 2 tbsp shredded mozzarella.
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika (separate) -regular paprika works too-.
• 1 tbsp olive oil.
• Salt & pepper for seasoning.

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven at 180°C
2. Prepare stuffing: spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, feta & mozzarella. Mix all ingredients well until they’re sort of a messy paste.
3. Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper & smoked paprika on each side.
4. Slice sides of each chicken breast to create a pocket (don’t cut it all the way through). You can also season with some smoked paprika inside of the pockets.
5. Using a spoon, starting stuffing each chicken breast (you may have a bit leftover, depending on size of chicken).
6. Hold the stuffing using toothpicks at the edge of the pockets (optional).
7. Place an oven-safe saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the olive oil and place the stuffed chicken breasts for 1-2 minutes per side (this step is just to add some color to the chicken, however, it will be thoroughly cooked in the oven).
8. Take the pan off the heat and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes (depending on the oven).
9. Once the chicken is cooked through, take them out & SERVE!