asparagus & mozzarella stuffed chicken breasts.

yes, a recipe. I know, it's weird for me too. but I posted about this recipe making it's way into our home back here, and I never updated you guys on how AWESOME it turned out.

Sean found the recipe at allrecipes.com, of course - it's right HERE. we fooled with it a little bit, adding a bit more mozzarella and asparagus to the filling, and also adding in grinded garlic pepper on the outside of the chicken breast. you'll see.

[Facts]:
-serves two people

-prep time 20 minutes

-cook time 25 minutes

-ready to eat in 45 minutes

[Ingredients]:

• (2) large boneless skinless chicken breasts
• (16) stalks of asparagus, with the ends trimmed 
• (1) cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• (1/4) cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• salt, pepper, and garlic pepper to taste

[Directions]:

• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish. (We used foil, but still sprayed with Pam).
  
• Place each chicken breast between two sheets of heavy plastic (resealable freezer bags work well - this is the method we used) on a solid, level surface. Firmly pound the chicken with the smooth side of a meat mallet to an even thickness of about 1/4 inch. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.  
• Place 8 spears of asparagus down the center of a chicken breast, and spread about 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese over the asparagus. Repeat with the other chicken breast, and roll the chicken around the asparagus and cheese to make a tidy, compact roll. Place the rolls seam sides down in the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle each with about 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs.This is also where we added the grinded garlic pepper.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the juices run clear when pricked with a fork, about 25 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Our chicken actually took about 32 minutes to cook all the way through... just a heads up. It was a little thicker than the 1/4 inch thickness the recipe called for.

[Pictures]:

this is what it looked like before we baked it.

and after. it was delicious. we served this dish over a side of wild long grain rice, and it was perfect. the melty cheese with the crunchy asparagus made for the perfect difference in texture. the breadcrumbs with the garlic pepper made all the difference in the world for the flavor of the chicken.

 

and it even looks pretty when you cut it open!

it was a night of noms, indeed! let me know if you try this recipe out and if you make any changes to it.