Cheesy Stuffed Tomato Chicken
- Ready In:
- 1hr 20mins
- Ingredients:
- 17
- Serves:
-
6-8
ingredients
- 6 -8 chicken breasts, trimmed
- 1 (16 ounce) jar marinara sauce, your favorite
- 1 cup italian vinaigrette
- 1⁄2 cup reduced-fat cream cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
- 1 tablespoon hot chili paste, it adds great kick (optional)
- 1⁄4 cup celery, minced
- 1⁄4 cup onion, minced
- 1⁄4 cup mushroom, minced (5oz)
- 1⁄4 cup sun-dried tomato, Chopped
- 1⁄4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (or to taste) or 2 tablespoons dried cilantro (or to taste)
- 1⁄2 cup fresh basil, chopped (or to taste) or 2 tablespoons dried basil (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced or 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 (8 ounce) can of crunchy onions, crushed, bread crumbs are okay
directions
- Make deep horizontal slits in chicken breasts - ie pockets or envelopes. Marinade chicken breasts in italian vinegrette for about 1-2 hours, longer is okay too. Make sure to saturate the inside and outside of the chicken with marinade.
- Chicken Filling : In a pan over medium heat with a table spoon of olive oil saute minced onion, celery, garlic & mushrooms until tender, about 6-7 minutes. Turn off heat. Add chopped cilantro, rosemary, basil and sun dried tomatoes, stir to wilt fresh ingredients, if using dried just toss in the ingredients. Then stir in cream cheese & chili paste, allow to melt thouroughly and then set aside in pan.
- Preheat oven to 450.
- In a deep baking dish add a thin layer of marinara sauce (keeps chicken from burning) and then sprinkle in a small handful of grated mozzarella cheese, set aside.
- Take chicken out of marinade and let drip dry, you can toss the marinade. Use a spoon to fill the chicken pockets with sauted filling and set into the prepared baking dish. You may have leftover filling, save it. On top of the chicken sprinkle in a generous handful of crushed crunchy onions.
- If you have leftover sautee filling stir it into the remaining marinara sauce and pour all around chicken in the baking dish.
- Bake at 450 for about 1 1/2 hours
- Pull baking dish out of the over and layer the remaining crushed onions and mozzarella cheese over the chicken. Bake an additional 15-20 minutes until bubbly.
- Serve with sprinkled parmasean cheese.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I learned how to cook through divine miraculous osmosis. When my mother (a great cook) tried to teach me anything I always ran the other way.
However when I moved away to college it wasnt long until Thanksgiving rolled around. I was hungry and far from home. I decided I would make dinner for all 8 roomates! I called home and asked mom what temperature a 20 pound turkey needed to be cooked at and for how long. She laughed at me. Snubbed I continued with what I remembered from afar. BTW that bird was awesome! Bolstered by that initial success I have soldiered on - through many cooking tragedies and some fantastic mistakes too.
Once a secret closet chef I have stepped out into the open and am happy to share and learn. I love to make new things and attempt recipies I once considered impossible. With my love at my side and his suspicious tasting habits I manage to hold down the stove. :)
I am teaching myself how to pickle right now. Amazingly, my first batch of dilled beans came out great. Mom won a blue ribbon in the fair for pickles once. I must have gotten the genes along with the blessing of cooking osmosis.