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:
- Pre-heat oven at 180°C
- Prepare stuffing: spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, feta & mozzarella. Mix all ingredients well until they’re sort of a messy paste.
- Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper & smoked paprika on each side.
- 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.
- Using a spoon, starting stuffing each chicken breast (you may have a bit leftover, depending on size of chicken).
- Hold the stuffing using toothpicks at the edge of the pockets (optional).
- 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).
- Take the pan off the heat and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes (depending on the oven).
- Once the chicken is cooked through, take them out & SERVE!