Recipe of the Week: Bacon and Spinach Stuffed Chicken

Simple Bacon and Spinach Stuffed Chicken (courtesy of PaleOMG)
Prep time:  15 mins Cook time:  20 mins Total time:  35 mins Serves: 4 

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, butterflied and pounded flat
• 6-8 ounces of button mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 5 strips of bacon
• 4-5 cups fresh spinach
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butterfly your chicken. I’m not totally sure how to butterfly a chicken breast but I cut mine in half, then placed plastic wrap on top of the chicken and pounded it until it was flat. Do that, it works.
3. Then place a large skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Add the five strips of bacon and cook on both sides until crispy, then place bacon on a paper towel to soak up the excess fat. When cooled, dice up the bacon.
5. Pour out the excess fat from the bacon, leaving behind about 3 tablespoons in the pan.
6. While the pan is still over medium-high, toss in the garlic cloves then add diced mushrooms.
7. Sprinkle in a bit of salt and pepper on the mushrooms.
8. Once mushrooms have begun to soften, add the spinach and a bit more salt and pepper.
9. Cover and let steam until spinach has begun to wilt. When the spinach has wilted, remove the pan from heat and add in diced bacon. Mix with mushrooms and spinach until well combined.
10. Place mixture into the middle of your butterflied chicken, fold chicken over to make a little “pocket” and use a two toothpicks to keep it closed while cooking.
11. Place stuffed chicken breasts on a parchment lined baking sheet and put in oven to bake for 18-20 minutes or until there is no longer pink in the chicken. The time will range depending on how thin you pound the chicken. It may take a bit longer.
12. Love moist chicken. Don’t overcook it, don’t you do it!