Chicken Stuffed with Almonds, Spinach, and Feta

I made plans with my friend Alisha to meet for dinner a few weeks ago. The plan was for her to come over to my apartment and I’d cook us dinner. I started to panic the Saturday before because I realized two important facts: 1) because of things such as this blog, people think I actually eat well every day, and 2) dinner parties suffer dramatically when the host serves Kraft mac ‘n cheese. Clearly some advanced planning was required.

I started searching for a recipe that would convey the image of sophistication and skill while also being relatively cheap and easy to make. This fit the bill perfectly. It looks impressive – stuffed chicken breasts with fancy sounding ingredients! – while actually taking under 20 minutes to prepare. It’s pretty healthy to boot. Served with some couscous, an apple-spinach salad, and a few black bottom cupcakes, the meal tasted and looked impressive.

Of course, our mini-dinner party never actually occurred due to illness, so I ended up with some very fancy leftovers to enjoy for a week. Still, worth it to know I have this in my back pocket next time I have a guest over for dinner!

Chicken Stuffed with Almonds, Spinach, and Feta

From Bitchin’ Camaro 

I would recommend trying to find four smaller chicken breasts rather than two larger. The smaller breasts I cooked were more tender than the larger and with the stuffing, the larger breast was too much for just me. I made this recipe (except for the smoked paprika almonds) a day ahead of time and stored it in the fridge overnight. I simply added the smoked paprika almonds and popped the entire thing into the oven. Nice time-saver if you want a hot dinner the next day.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 cup sliced almonds, divided

1 shallot, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 cup chicken stock

6 ounces baby spinach

2 ounces feta, crumbled

1 and 1/2 pounds chicken breasts (4 small or 2 large)

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

Equipment:

Large pan, baking dish, toothpicks, aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 350.

Set a large pan to medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, and add 1/4 cup almonds when warm. Cook until they turn golden, watching them closely to ensure they don’t burn. Add shallots and garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, spinach, lemon juice, and thyme and cook until spinach wilts. Remove from heat, drain any remaining liquid, and add the feta.

In a separate bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon olive oil, smoked paprika, and the remaining 1/4 cup slice almonds. Set aside.

Cut a horizontal slit through each breast to form a pocket. Stuff the filling evenly among the chicken, using toothpicks to help keep the stuffing from spilling out, and place in the baking dish. Rub the top of each breast with the smoked paprika almonds.

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Serves 4.