Stuffed Chicken over Creamy Mushroom and Leek Sauce

For our Christmas party last night, I made chicken breasts stuffed with sundried tomato pesto, ricotta cheese, and fresh spinach. I thought the red and green colors would complement our Christmas theme. I served the chicken sliced over a creamy mushroom and leek sauce. Delish. I served this with scalloped potatoes, but it would also be good over rice.

Serves 10

Chicken:

6-7 chicken breasts
Salt
Pepper
3-4 oz sundried tomato pesto
6 oz Ricotta cheese
1 egg
Fresh baby spinach, stems removed (about 5-6 leaves per chicken breast)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese and egg; set aside. Slice the thick part of each chicken breast and flip open. Pound each chicken breast to about ¼” thick. Season outside of chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Flip breast over and spread the inside with pesto, then ricotta cheese and top with 5-6 spinach leaves. Starting with the thin side, roll up as tightly as possible and tuck in the ends to form a neat roll. Secure each breast with 2 toothpicks or tie closed with cooking string.

 

In a large frying pan with a few drizzles of EVOO, heat over high until oil starts to smoke and oil ripples. Brown all sides of chicken and transfer to a large casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 15-18 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through and juices run clear. Let rest before slicing.

Sauce:

1 Tbsp butter
1 large leek, cleaned and thinly sliced
3 large baby Bella mushrooms, diced
½ cup white wine
½ Tbsp cornstarch
½ Tbsp Dijon mustard
½ cup heavy whipping cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

In the same frying pan used to brown chicken, add butter, leeks and mushrooms; sauté for 3-4 minutes. Scrap up browned bits of chicken from pan. Add wine and cornstarch, bring to a boil and whisk together. Turn heat to low and let reduce for about 5 minutes. Whisk in mustard. Add cream and season with salt and pepper.

To serve, pour sauce into a shallow serving dish and top with sliced chicken.

Chicken Mushroom Stroganoff

1 lb chicken tenders, cut in half or thirds
1 package of McCormick’s beef stroganoff seasoning
1 cup of water
1 cup sour cream
2 large fresh white mushrooms, chopped
¼ cup of dried mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt
Freshly cracked pepper
Freshly minced parsley, for garnish
EVOO

In a medium pan, heat EVOO over med-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook chicken for about 7 minutes, until all sides are browned. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, add fresh white mushrooms and garlic. Sauté until mushrooms are soft. Mix in water, dried mushrooms and stroganoff seasoning, bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, cover and for about 15-20 minutes. If the sauce is too thick, whisk in more water.

Add mixture to blender and puree until smooth. Add mixture back to pan with chicken and add sour cream. Simmer on low for about 10 minutes.

Serve over egg noodles or nice. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.