Almond Stuffed Chicken

I originally saw this recipe in Cooking Light magazine.  This publication never fails to provide good quality recipes that need little or no modification.  The same holds true for this Almond Stuffed Chicken.  Since this is featured on the 5-ingridients or less page, you know it makes for an easy weeknight meal.  With lean meat, nuts, fresh herbs, and a light cheese, it also gives you a healthy variety of flavor.  This is one of my go-to weeknight meals. 

For this recipe, I pretty much used the exact same recipe that was published in Cooking Light.  The only slight modification I made was to add a little olive oil to the butter when sautéing the chicken because I felt it needed a little more to prevent burning in the pan.  I also sear both sides of the chicken and finish in the oven.   I swear by this method for chicken breasts.  Last but not least, don’t forget to toast the almonds!  I have made it both with toasted and untoasted and the nuttier toasted almonds add so much to the dish.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/3 c Boursin light spreadable cheese (I use the garlic and herb flavor)

¼ c slivered, toasted, chopped almonds

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast

1 ½ tsp butter

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper

How to toast almonds: Heat a small skillet over medium heat.  Add almonds to pan.  Stir or use the pan to flip almonds every minute or so.  This will encourage even browning and prevent burning.  Nuts burn easily so watch carefully!

Preheat oven to 375F.

Combine cheese, 3 tbsp almonds, 2 tbsp parsley in small bowl.  Set aside.  Cut a slit through the thickest portion of each breast to form a pocket.  Secure each pocket w/ a wooden toothpick.  Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat butter and oil in non-stick, oven-safe skillet over medium heat.  Add chicken and cook 2-3 mins on each side or until browned.  Finish cooking chicken in oven until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the breast reads 165F (10-15 minutes).  Top chicken w/ remaining almonds and parsley.

Apple Almond Muffins

I LOVE muffins for breakfast!  There are some mornings where I just find whatever fruit and nuts I have, modify my muffin recipe, and make something new.  They are extremely versatile and always yummy.  They go great with omelets, can act as a great brunch menu, or even satisfy a sweet-tooth for those late night snack cravings. 

This time, I used Gala apples and honey-roasted sliced almonds that I get from Trader Joe’s.  These almonds are a kitchen pantry necessity for us.  We put them in everything: muffins, salads, on ice cream…you name it, we have tried it.  Or, you can just take a handful because they are really that good.  Although I used the honey-roasted sliced almonds, you can also use plain sliced almonds and they will be just as satisfying. 

Apple Almond Muffins

¾ c milk

¼ c vegetable oil

1 large egg

2c all purpose flour

½ c sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

1c chopped apple

½ c honey-roasted sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, oil, and egg.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Mix together.  Fold in apples and almonds.

Tip: Here's a tip that my mom taught me - Sift all of your dry ingredients.  It's makes the batter lighter.

Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until flour mixture is moistened.  Spoon batter into a paper-lined muffin pan.

Note: Do not over-stir your muffins!  Fold in the ingredients just until the flour is wet.  The batter will be lumpy but your muffins will be light and fluffy!

Bake @ 400F for about 15 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Immediately remove muffins from pan and cool on a wire rack.

This recipe made 9 muffins for me.  I didn’t use an ice cream scoop or anything.  You can add more or less batter for more or less muffins.  I like large muffins so recipes that often call for 12 muffins only make 6-9 for me.  Just keep in mind that the cooking time and or temperature may need to be adjusted.  If you’re making 6, you may want to shoot for 17 or so minutes.  If you’re making 12, you may want to shoot for 12 or so minutes.  Always check with a toothpick and it’s better to check earlier than later.