Recipe: Stuffed Chicken Breasts & Roasted Pears

Posted On April 17, 2021

I am fortunate enough to have some wonderful friends that occasionally take our kiddos for an overnight or two.  Yesterday we found ourselves unexpectedly without our boys, on a miserable windy, rainy night.  Rather than head out, a date at home fit the bill.  We had a lovely dinner with spinach stuffed chicken breasts, quinoa risotto and caramelized pears.  Mmmmm.  Just what the doctor ordered.  Thumbs up went to the chicken and the pears.  The quinoa risotto, not so much.  I’ll have to keep playing with that one. Both the pears and the chicken are fast, easy and pretty much hands off once you toss them in the oven. Both are impressive enough to serve to company.

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees.

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness

1/2 package (10 ounce) fresh spinach, 5 ounces for this recipe

1/4 cup sour cream (I used light here)

1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons feta cheese (I used what I had on hand, I’m sure your favorite cheese/s would work well here)

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder (you can also use red pepper flakes to your taste)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 slice cooked bacon, finely chopped

1 tablespoon dried breadcrumbs

1 Tablespoon butter

Microwave spinach 3 minutes on high, stirring every minute or so until wilted. Stir in sour cream, cheese/s, bacon, garlic, chipotle powder, and pepper. Divide equally and place near end of the widest portion of the chicken breast.  Fold over chicken and roll to secure spinach mixture within, pinning with a toothpick, if necessary. (Mine held fine without).  Place in a shallow baking dish, coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with breadcrumbs, and top each chicken breast with a dot of butter. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.

Caramelized Pears

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Simplicity defines this recipe, and it has a wonderful, developed flavor.  I made these two recipes together, and prepared the pears first, tossing into the oven while I was putting together the chicken so that they were both done at the same time.  If you wanted as dessert, it’d be just as easy to toss into the oven when you serve dinner, or halfway through the cooking time of the chicken if you want dessert sooner,  so that you can pull out of the oven and serve warm.

One pear, peeled and cored (I used Bartlett, but any variety would work)

1 Tablespoon of butter, divided

1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar (This is simply sugar with a vanilla bean tossed into the container holding the sugar. This infuses the sugar with a scent of vanilla. If you don’t have, you can substitute half a pod of vanilla beans, scraped from the inside of it, mixed with the sugar before sprinkling over the pears. I’m pretty sure this is key to the wonderful flavor, so I wouldn’t skip.)

Peel and core the pear, slicing in half horizontally.  Place in a shallow baking dish, coated with cooking spray, with cored side (flat side), facing up so that you can dot the top with butter. Sprinkle vanilla sugar evenly over the pear halves (or sugar and vanilla beans). Dot each half with a slab of butter.  Place in oven. flip over after 30 minutes, basting with the juices.  Continue to cook for another half hour, about an hour total.  That’s it!  For a such a simple recipe, it yields delicious results. Enjoy!