05/31/2023
Ayana’s Favorite Chicken - (Spinach and cream cheese stuffed breasts in balsamic vinegar reduction)
Ingredients
4 x 4oz boneless chicken breasts
1/4 c Italian bread crumbs
1/2 c flour (divided)
4 oz fresh or frozen chopped spinach
4 oz cream cheese (plain or savory flavored)
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1.5 c chicken broth or stock
2-3 tbsp olive oil (for browning)
Fresh thyme leaves
Fresh chopped parsley leaves
1 tsp Louisiana hot sauce (or to taste)
salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika
Recipe
- In a small mixing bowl, combine thawed and drained spinach with softened cream cheese season to taste.
- Remove any extra fat from chicken breasts and pat dry with paper towels.
- With a sharp boning knife, create a small hole in the top of the chicken breast and wiggle the tip of knife back and forth gently to create a deep pocket . Try not to puncture the breast pocket so the filling won’t leak out.
- Pipe the cream cheese and spinach mixture into each breast pocket. Secure the opening of the pocket with a tooth pick to prevent leakage
- Season each breast with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
- Lightly dredge each breast in a 1:1 mixture of seasoned bread crumbs and flour
- In a skillet over medium high heat, brown chicken breasts on both sides in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
- Once browned, remove chicken and set aside. Set the burner to low heat.
- On low heat, deglaze the skillet w. 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of pan while deglazing. (Should only take like 1-2 minutes.)
- Add 1 and 1/2 cups of chicken broth to the deglazed pan with the balsamic vinegar.
- While the chicken broth is heating on low, whisk in a slurry containing a 1/4 cup of flour and a 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water to thicken the sauce. Return the pan to medium heat and let the sauce begin to boil gently. Adjust thickness at this point. (If you like a thinner sauce add more chicken broth, for a thicker sauce add more flour/water slurry). Keep whisking to prevent lumps. Final thickeness of the sauce is determined once it boils.
- Once desired thickness is attained, return the heat to low and add the chicken breasts back to the pan.
- Cover the pan and simmer gently in the sauce for 30-40 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temp of 165°.
- Add a dash of Louisiana hot sauce to the sauce (to taste). Garnish with fresh chopped parsley or thyme leaves.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
