Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Parmesan Orzo and Lemony Broccoli

Well, even though I started a new job today, I still cooked. My fabulous Hub seemed to sense that it would calm and center me after my first commute/cubicle/commute day in over three years. He reminded me of something I usually like to do in the summer -- grill chicken breasts stuffed with ham and cheese. Except this time we both came up with some twists that made it fantastic. He did the shopping with Kiddo after picking him up from daycare, and also bought a very nice bottle of French wine (going over our usual $14/bottle top limit) as a celebration.

This amount will only serve 3 as opposed to my usual 4 -- but it's very easy to expand.

And for once, this is an entire menu. The sides are super-easy and can be used with almost any entree.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 oz chevre -- Hub found some already flavored with lemon zest, but if its not pre-flavored you can add the zest of one lemon or the juice from 1/2 lemon to a similar effect
6 large leaves of Basil
3-6 slices Prosciutto (depending on the size of the slices)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup orzo
1 tblsp. olive oil
1 oz grated fresh parmesan
2 small heads broccoli, flowers only
juice from 1/2 lemon

  1. Light the grill
  2. Put 2 quarts of water on to boil for the pasta
  3. In a small bowl, combine the chevre, salt, pepper and lemon zest or juice (if using) with a fork
  4. Pound the chicken breasts out to a relatively even thickness
  5. With a sharp knife, butterfly the breasts, making sure to leave a solid "seam" on one side, and open them up.
  6. On each breast, place 1 basil leaf (or several smaller ones to cover the side), 1/3 of the cheese mixture, 1 or 2 slices of prosciutto and then cover with another basil leaf. Close the chicken breast.
  7. Grill the breast over medium/low heat for about seven minutes a side. Don't overcook.
  8. Put the orzo into the boiling water, cook according to package directions
  9. Squeeze the juice of the 1/2 lemon over the broccoli in a microwave-proof dish, and use the vegetable setting on your microwave. If you don't have a vegetable setting, cook on med heat for only about 3 minutes.
  10. When the orzo is done, drain and combine with the olive oil and parmesan.
Enjoy!

1 comment:

Jen said...

Oh, I like how you incorporated the sides into this recipe!

The prosciuttio (spelling?) and the chevre and the wine-- how simple, how elegant, how special!

On a side note, as for the elections (woo hoo!)-- do you ever wonder whether Lalich is still alive?