Chicken Breasts Stuffed With Zucchini Roasted Red Pepper And Goat Cheese Recipes

BALSAMIC GOAT CHEESE STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir shallot until translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour balsamic vinegar into skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until balsamic vinegar mixture is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Stir often.
• Cut chicken breasts from one side through the middle horizontally to within one-half inch of the other side. Open the two sides and spread them out like an open book.
• Spread half the goat cheese onto one half of each chicken breast and drizzle 1/3 of the reduced balsamic vinegar mixture over the goat cheese. Close the chicken breasts over the goat cheese and secure with toothpicks. Arrange chicken into a baking dish. Drizzle with remaining 1/3 of the balsamic reduction.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink inside, the filling is hot, and the juices run clear, 30 to 35 minutes. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of a filled breast should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

CHICKEN BREASTS STUFFED WITH ZUCCHINI, ROASTED RED PEPPER, AND GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• In a skillet cook the onion in 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderately low heat until it is softened, add the zucchini, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute, or until the zucchini is tender. Stir in the red pepper, the goat cheese, and salt and pepper to taste and cook the mixture, stirring, until cheese is melted. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and let it cool slightly.
• With your fingers make a pocket for the filling in each chicken breast half by separating in skin from the meat, being careful not to tear the skin and keeping the skin attached along most of the edge. Stuff each pocket with half the filling with a small spoon, packing it and pulling the skin to cover the filling completely, and secure the pockets with wooden picks if desired. In a large skillet heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking and in it sauté the chicken, beginning with the skin side up, for 2 minutes on each side. Reduce the heat to moderate, cook the chicken for 9 minutes on each side, or until it is cooked through, and divide it between 2 plates. Pour off the fat from the skillet, to the skillet add the broth, and boil the broth, scraping up the brown bits, for 30 seconds. Strain the sauce and pour it around the chicken.