A little background on this recipe: I started trying to replicate a "chicken cordon bleu" type meal but without the ham since my Little's not a fan of the chicken/pork combo. I started experimenting with different cheeses since plain white American or Swiss wasn't very flavorful. After a few sticky disasters, I stumbled upon what would become my great cheesy love: Gruyere.
Gruyere is one of the most famous Swiss cheeses aside from Swiss cheese itself. Made from cow's milk, Gruyere is a great cheese for melting into other foods because it maintains the calcium and delicious flavor without becoming stringy or sticky (like Cheddar or American). For more info about how it's made and nutritional facts, check out the Gruyere Wiki.
In this recipe, we fold some of this rich and tasty cheese into chicken breasts, baking them in crispy cracker crumbs and Parmesan cheese, giving this meal a multifaceted flavor which is sure to impress both the Little and Big eaters in your home.
Recipe:
6 (4 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 slices of gruyere cheese
3/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup crushed cracker crumbs (I recommend Ritz, but other butter crackers work fine also)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice defrosted chicken breasts 3/4 way through, making a pocket. Fold Gruyere cheese into the pocket. Melt butter with the garlic in a saucepan over medium heat until it starts to bubble. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. In a separate bowl, stir the cracker crumbs together with the Parmesan cheese, thyme, basil, oregano, pepper, and salt. Dip the chicken breasts in the garlic butter, then press into the seasoned cracker crumbs. Place the chicken into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish (a quick coating of cooking spray works well). Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is golden brown and no longer pink in the center, 50 to 55 minutes.
These stuffed chicken breasts are a great main component to a meal when served with a vegetable (we usually have steamed asparagus, broccoli or spinach) and a grain (couscous, quinoa or brown rice). We often enjoy this "fancier" meal on a Friday night instead of pizza, making a delicious and balanced end to our week. It's also great for a date night--pair with a nice wine and some candlelight and *poof*, you have a homemade and inexpensive date!
If you're up to it, have fun getting the kids involved when making this (they'll love rolling the chicken in the cracker crumb mixture!) but please make sure you're hygienic when preparing this--raw chicken can host a wealth of bacteria so make sure to wash hands, counter tops and anything else the raw chicken touched. Have fun, eat well and ENJOY!
Cheers!
6 (4 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 slices of gruyere cheese
3/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup crushed cracker crumbs (I recommend Ritz, but other butter crackers work fine also)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice defrosted chicken breasts 3/4 way through, making a pocket. Fold Gruyere cheese into the pocket. Melt butter with the garlic in a saucepan over medium heat until it starts to bubble. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. In a separate bowl, stir the cracker crumbs together with the Parmesan cheese, thyme, basil, oregano, pepper, and salt. Dip the chicken breasts in the garlic butter, then press into the seasoned cracker crumbs. Place the chicken into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish (a quick coating of cooking spray works well). Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is golden brown and no longer pink in the center, 50 to 55 minutes.
These stuffed chicken breasts are a great main component to a meal when served with a vegetable (we usually have steamed asparagus, broccoli or spinach) and a grain (couscous, quinoa or brown rice). We often enjoy this "fancier" meal on a Friday night instead of pizza, making a delicious and balanced end to our week. It's also great for a date night--pair with a nice wine and some candlelight and *poof*, you have a homemade and inexpensive date!
If you're up to it, have fun getting the kids involved when making this (they'll love rolling the chicken in the cracker crumb mixture!) but please make sure you're hygienic when preparing this--raw chicken can host a wealth of bacteria so make sure to wash hands, counter tops and anything else the raw chicken touched. Have fun, eat well and ENJOY!
Cheers!
Fun, friendly, easy to follow, and you make the recipe sound quite doable...even with the hygienic caution at the end.
ReplyDeleteOne suggestion: to make the recipe easier to follow, violate standard cookbook practice, and make each action a separate numbered step, as in a procedure in a computer help system.
Separating steps helps people keep their place.
Numbering steps seems to help them return to the one they just did, and find the next one easily.
It's a visual-verbal thing...supported by a lot of research into the way people follow instructions. No MUST...just an idea.