Chicken Stuffed with Spinach, Ricotta, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Hi guys. Me again. And I brought a friend, Spinach and Ricotta. Remember him? He's awesome. But this time, he brought Sun-Dried Tomatoes along and let me tell you, three is most definitely NOT a crowd with this group.

This recipe is so easy and delicious. It's perfect for a quick after-work dinner or to make over the weekend and refrigerate for lunches for the week. I've made a lot of chicken in my lifetime, but I think I can officially say this will be my new go-to recipe.

It's really easy too, you guys. You just need to cut your chicken breasts in half lengthwise, mix up your filling, and spread it on the chicken. Cutting chicken breasts lengthwise isn't the easiest thing to do, but you'll be okay if you use a sharp knife. I promise. Also, it doesn't have to be perfect. Just cut them in half lengthwise as best as you can.

 PRE-CUT CHICKEN BREASTS

CHICKEN BREASTS HALVED LENGTHWISE

Then, mix up your filling. It's important to use sun-dried tomatoes that are NOT in oil. It's much healthier this way.

Then just spread the filling across the chicken halves, top with the other halves, and bake!

The end result? Perfectly cooked chicken with a warm, cheesy, spinachy (I'm officially making "spinachy" a word - I'm an editor, pretty sure I can do that) filling.

Ta-da! I made this for the first time a few days ago and sent a picture to my friend since I knew she loved the Spinach and Ricotta English Muffin Pizzas I posted a few weeks ago. I know she'll be making this, and I'd love to know if you try it, too!

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 4 5-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use Perdue Perfect Portions)
• 1/2 cup part skin ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, cooked according to package instructions (TIP: I cook the whole package [9 or 10 oz, depending on the brand] and just store the leftovers in a tupperware in the refrigerator)
• 6 sun-dried tomato halves, not in oil, chopped
• 1/4 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese (or grated parmesan cheese)
• Salt, pepper, and garlic powder (to taste)

Serving size: One stuffed chicken breast

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 5

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick, no-calorie cooking spray and set aside.
2. Using a very sharp knife, carefully halve the chicken breasts lengthwise. If the chicken isn’t very thick, this will be difficult, but doable. If you don’t get the halves exactly even, it’s fine. Close enough is fine – we’re not striving for perfection here.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and grated cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and mix to combine.
4. From the chicken breast halves, take the four larger halves and arrange them on the baking sheet. Distribute the spinach mixture evenly across all four halves, then top with the smaller halves.
5. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Let the chicken cool slightly (just a couple of minutes) before serving.

Nutritional Information

Slimmed-Down Chicken Mozzarella Pasta

I wanted to post something extra delicious for my first recipe, and this is it. Chicken. Mozzarella. Pasta. With sun-dried tomatoes. And sauteed veggies. It's creamy, just the right amount of spicy, and filling.

Bear with me, my photography skills are somewhat lacking. And I was so excited to make this that I forgot to take pictures of the different steps along the way and only took a picture of the finished product. I'll try to do better next time, I promise.

I wish I could take full credit for this, but the original idea is from Julia's Album. Her Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes looked SO good that I knew I needed to make it. I plugged the recipe into the Weight Watchers recipe builder, and the stats weren't bad - 14 PointsPlus for 1/4 of the recipe. For something so thick and filling, that's not that bad. But I wanted to see if I could get that a bit lower. So, here's my slimmed-down version!

Ingredients

• No-stick cooking spray (like PAM)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3-4 oz sun-dried tomato halves (dry - not in oil)
• 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 of a medium vidalia onion, thinly sliced
• 4 oz ziti pasta (about 1 1/3 cups), cooked according to package directions and drained
• 8 oz skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
• Salt (to taste), to season chicken
• Garlic powder (to taste), to season chicken
• Paprika (to taste), to season chicken
• 3/4 cup fat-free half and half
• 1/4 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage Total 2%)
• 1 cup fat-free shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp ground basil (or more to taste)
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

Servings: 4 medium servings or 3 large servings (nutritional information provided below for 1/3 of recipe)

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 7 (if you split into 4 servings) or 10 (if you split into 3 servings)

Instructions

1. Spray a large pan or skillet with no-stick cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion. Stirring frequently (but not constantly), cook until garlic is fragrant and vegetables are soft. TIP: If veggies start to stick to the pan, give them a quick spray with no-stick spray and stir.
2. While the veggies are cooking, season the chicken with salt, garlic powder, and paprika.
3. Once cooked, remove the veggies from the pan and transfer to a plate (you'll add them back in later). Place the pan back on the stove. Lower the heat to medium and add the chicken. Cook for about a minute on each side, flipping frequently as to not burn. When chicken is fully cooked, remove the pan from the heat.
4. Add the cooked veggies to the pan with the chicken. Add the half and half, yogurt, and cheese. Return the pan to medium heat and stir to combine.
5. When the mixture starts to boil, lower the heat. Stir constantly until the cheese melts and a creamy sauce forms.Add the cooked pasta and stir to combine. TIP: If sauce is too thick, add water, 1 tsp at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
6. When the sauce is of the desired consistency, remove the pan from the heat. Season with basil and red pepper flakes and enjoy!

Since I'm just getting started, I'd love comments and/or feedback! If you have any questions about the recipe, or any suggestions on how I can make my posts better/more helpful, please let me know.


Until next time!

Nutritional information