Chicken Breast Stuffed With Blue Cheese and Apricot

Submitted by MsRobbyn

"The blend of flavors in this recipe is amazing. I use a creamy blue cheese made by Rosenborg that has little pieces of pear in it, but you can use any blue cheese that you prefer. Make sure you thin out the chicken breast as much as possible and don't stuff them too much of you won't be able to fold them over. When you secure the chicken breasts, be sure not to leave too much of an opening, or your mixture will leak out in the oven. I served this for Valentine's Day Dinner, along with a delicious salad from another Recipe Zaar member and asparagus and couscous."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin
• 1⁄2 cup apricot preserves
• 10 dried apricots
• 2 ounces blue cheese
• 1⁄2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1⁄2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1⁄4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1⁄2 cup chicken stock
• salt and pepper

directions

1. Pound the chicken breasts until thin and even. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Place 1/2 and ounce of the blue cheese in the center of each chicken breast and top with 1 T. of the apricot preserves.
3. Cut 6 of the dried apricots in half and place 3 slices in the middle of each chicken breast.
4. Roll the breasts closed and secure with toothpicks or butchers twine. (I used butchers twine, it's a lot easier.
5. Mix the bread crumbs, flour, oregano, rosemary and thyme together in a bowl, then moisten each chicken breast with a little water and roll in the bread crumb mixture. There's no need to completely coat the chicken breast, just a light dusting will do, unless you desire a heavier crust.
6. Place chicken breasts in a baking dish and drizzle a small amount of honey on top of each breast. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-60 minutes.
7. After you take the chicken breast out of the oven, allow it to sit for 10 minutes or so for the blue cheese and apricot mixture to firm up a little.
8. Meanwhile, chop the remaining dried apricots into small pieces and place in a small sauté pan with the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Once it boils, add the butter and then allow the mixture to reduce to half. When serving the chicken breasts, pour a little of the mixture on top of each.

Reviews

[enigmused]

I wish I could give this ten stars, as this is one of the best recipes I've made on 'zaar yet. the combination of sweet and savory is heavenly. I ended up using an egg wash before dipping the chicken into the breadcrumbs because I wanted a heavier crust -- however, when I pulled it out of the oven, parts of the breadcrumbs were still crumby instead of crusty, so I think next time I'll go easier on the breadcrumbs. but even then it was excellent! I will make this again and again, thanks so much for the recipe!