Herb and Spinach Stuffing for an Herb Roast Chicken

Submitted by Chef 495452

"This came from my sister. She gave me the recipe card because she never made it. I think it's from one of those recipe cards that you sometimes get in the mail. Well the picture on the card looks phenomenal so I finally decided to give it a try. I used this cooking time and stuffing for the inside of the chicken and then used Recipe #59580 from the recipezaar website as a rub for the outside. It was delicious."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1 (4 lb) roasting chickens
• 1 (12 ounce) package herb-seasoned stuffing cubes
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons butter (I used less, it's up to you)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3⁄4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
• 2 ounces prosciutto (I used prosciutto just in thin slices) or 2 ounces baked ham, cubed (I used prosciutto just in thin slices)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1⁄2 teaspoon rosemary
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place roasting rack rack in large roasting pan. Rinse chicken; pat dry with paper towels.
2. In large bowl, toss stuffing with 1 cup water.
3. In large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, spinach, prosciutto, garlic, sage and rosemary into skillet; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Add spinach mixture to stuffing. Stir in heavy cream and lemon juice; mix well.
5. Spoon stuffing loosely into chicken cavity, filling about 3/4 full. Fold skin over openings and close with metal skewers. Tuck wings under chicken. Place on roasting rack.
6. Roast chicken until an instant red meat thermometer, inserted in the thigh, not touching the bone, registers 180 degrees and chicken is golden, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
7. ** I couldn't get all of the stuffing to fit in the chicken so I cooked about 3/4 of the stuffing in a Pyrex dish in the oven while the chicken was cooking too!