Making a pocket in the chicken breast to hold the stuffing is easy with a good, sharp, thin-bladed knife. Browning the chicken in a skillet before baking gives it a beautiful golden color, and finishing in the oven ensures that it cooks evenly throughout.

Servings: 4 servings
Total Time: 50 minutes
Ease of Preparation: Easy
Health: Low Sodium, Healthy Weight, Diabetes Appropriate, Heart Healthy, Low Sat Fat, Low Carb, Low Calorie


Ingredients:

Ham-&-Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
1/4 cup grated Swiss, Monterey Jack or part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons chopped ham
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Freshly ground pepper to taste
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1-1 1/4 pounds total)
1 egg white
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil


Steps:

1: Preheat oven to 400°F. Use a baking sheet with sides and lightly coat it with cooking spray.

2: Mix cheese, ham, mustard and pepper in a small bowl.

3: Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up the breast and place one-fourth of the filling in the center. Close the breast over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and filling.

4: Lightly beat egg white with a fork in a medium bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow glass dish. Hold each chicken breast half together and dip in egg white, then dredge in breadcrumbs. (Discard leftovers.)

5: Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts; cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center or until an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F, about 20 minutes.

Nutrition: (Per serving)

Calories - 236
Carbohydrates - 10
Fat - 7
Saturated Fat - 2
Monounsaturated Fat - 3
Protein - 31
Cholesterol - 74
Dietary Fiber - 1
Potassium - 347
Sodium - 287

Related Links:

  • Chicken Cutlets with Grape-Shallot Sauce
  • More Cheap & Easy Chicken Recipes