Stuffed Chicken Breats

Back in the day before we had kids and I had more time on my hands, whenever I made fancy dinners my husband used to call them "magazine meals" because they were usually out of Gourmet or Bon Appetit.  Well those days went by the wayside since it's difficult to whip up that kind of a meal in 30 minutes, which is the time I normally have from the time I get home from work until the time I start hearing everyone say that they are starving! Yesterday we spent the day together (which was a first in a long time).  No appointments, no driving to practices, "Mom!" not being called all day...just Jorge and I all day long.  To end a really great day I decided to make a magazine meal last night. 

Boy was he happy!

Start with large boneless breast and trim the fat.  Slice the breast down the middle but do not cut all the way through so that it is still attached on one end.  Salt & pepper the inside. Lay some steamed broccoli rabe and sliced fresh mozzarella on the inside of the breast.  Add salt & pepper to the outside of chicken.  In a sauté pan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter.  When the pan is nice and hot place the chicken breasts in and sear them for about 4 minutes per side.

Take the breasts out and place in a shallow baking dish.

In the meantime add 1/4 cup of very thinly sliced onions and 1 cup of sliced mushrooms (I used baby bella but you can use any kind). Sauté until both are soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of white wine and deglaze the pan.  Let this cook about 3 minutes to cook out and then add 1/2 cup chicken stock. You can thicken this up by mixing 1 tablespoon of corn starch with 1 tablespoon of water and adding it to the pan. 

Pour the sauce over the breast and cook for 35 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

I sautéed the rest of the broccoli rabe with garlic and olive oil as a side dish. 

You can substitute the vegetable and use spinach, you can substitute the cheese and use fontina or goat cheese and you can also add a meat like prosciutto . Experiment with different stuffings for variety!