Baked Chicken Stuffed with Ham, Swiss Cheese, and Spinach.

(sorry about the blurry photo, it was the best one I got….erg)

Stuffed chicken is great. It is a catch-all for other things you have in your refrigerator. For example, today I had only three slices of ham left from some other dishes. I also had some swiss cheese left form last week’s Rubens. So I thought, let’s just cram that into those chicken breasts sitting in there too. We threw in the spinach as good measure and to make sure there was something green in it!

My only complaint about making stuffed chicken is that it really does create a lot of dirty dishes. Everything seems to need its own container. Otherwise, I love making cordon bleu, Greek stuffed chicken (with olives, feta, and parsley), “kitchen sink” stuffed chicken…you really can stuff it with any combination of ingredients, just don’t forget the cheese!

Baked Chicken Stuffed with Ham, Swiss Cheese, and Spinach. Serves 2.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts

2.5 oz ham, small diced

1.5 oz grated swiss cheese

1 oz baby spinach, cut into very thin ribbons (chiffonade)

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 c flour

1 egg

salt and pepper

2 T water

1/2 c Italian bread crumbs

Process

Preheat oven to 350. Pound out the chicken breasts as thin as you can between two sheets of plastic wrap, being mindful not to tear the chicken.

Combine ham, 1 oz cheese, spinach and garlic in a medium bowl. Stuff each breast as full as you can, but making sure you can still close it. Roll up the chicken and secure with toothpicks.

Beat egg in a small, wide mouthed dish with water, salt and pepper. Put flour in another wide mouthed dish. In a third dish combine the remaining cheese and the bread crumbs.

Dip the chicken in the flour, being sure to remove any excess. Then dip the chicken in the egg, making sure to get all of the flour moistened. The put the chicken in the bread crumbs, coat well and let it sit there for about 1 minute to absorb the egg into the bread crumb. This will help the crumb stick better.

Put the chicken on a baking sheet and into the oven for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken. Using thongs to secure the chicken, pull out the toothpicks before plating.

I served this with some simple grilled zucchini and artisan bread.