Stuffed Chicken Breast

[Roguish Lawyer]

Made this last night and Catwoman wants me to make it again, so:

1 package thin-sliced chicken breasts
1 bag brown rice (Success Rice or another brand you boil for 10 mins)
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup bacon bits
shredded Parmesan cheese
Sage
Salt
Black pepper
Dried parsley flakes
Onion powder
Short bamboo/wood skewers

Boil the rice and lightly fry the mushrooms in margarine or butter.
Dump the rice and mushrooms into a mixing bowl.
Add the bacon bits and stir well.
Maximize the surface area exposed to air by spreading mixture on walls of bowl.
Allow to cool, stirring and re-spreading occasionally.
When cooled to lukewarm, season with spices above (I recommend liberally adding the black pepper to give it a kick).
Stir well and allow to cool to room temperature.

Lay chicken breasts flat on baking pan or other clean, flat surface.
Pile stuffing on center of each breast with spoon, condensing as you go so it sticks together.
Roll ends of each breast around the stuffing, condensing the stuffing as you go, and pin together with three skewers (one where ends of the breast meet, and one on each side to help hold the stuffing in.
Condense the stuffing towards the middle of the chicken by pushing it in from each side. If you do this, the stuffing will not fall out of the chicken.
Carefully place stuffed breasts on a greased pan and broil until cooked through.
Use aluminum foil on top towards end of cooking if needed to prevent charring.
Liberally sprinkle each breast with Parmesan at end of broiling and cook until melted.

Serve with Chardonnay and green vegetable of your choice (I used steamed asparagus).

Makes 5-6 breasts, serves 2-3.

[jatx]

Looks good! Did you pound the breasts flat first? Also, what was the estimated cooking time?

Cheers.

[Roguish Lawyer]

Looks good! Did you pound the breasts flat first? Also, what was the estimated cooking time?

Cheers.

No, I did not flatten them. I did not use regular full-size chicken breasts. Our local grocery stores here are selling thin-sliced chicken breasts which are already the right thickness and don't require flattening.

I cooked them for 25 minutes, 10 with foil, and 5 away from the broiler to melt the cheese without burning it. My broiler is an old Gaffers & Sattler oven (probably made in 1961) with a gas broiler on top and a little elevator thing that lets you control how close the broiler tray is to the flame. Most of the cooking was done all the way up, right by the flame, while the last 5 mins were done at the bottom.

Cooking times may vary considerably depending on your oven and how well done you like chicken. Catwoman and I like everything cooked pretty well, so the chicken was a little dry with this much cooking. We prefer it that way, but you can cook it to your liking.

I did not turn the chicken for fear of losing the stuffing, and that was not a problem.