… must come to an end. Ricotta Week is no exception.
In retrospect, I’m grateful I accidentally bought too much ricotta for a single recipe last week. If I hadn’t, I might not have tried some new recipes that I’d typically not look twice at. I’m kind of tempted to try this experiment again with a new food. What should it be? Jicama? Dandelion greens? Grapefruit?
Alas, peanut butter is not an option. I already asked 😉
For the final recipe, I decided to go for something more traditional. Perhaps you’ve made a version before. The recipe below is adapted from this one (I will admit, Peter shed a tear or two when I decided to omit the bacon). The results were mouth-watering.
Pre-sliced.
A final word: In that moment when I scooped the last of the ricotta out of its enormous container, I felt more than a little proud of myself.
In fact, I call this recipe
“The Ricotta Master” Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Keywords: saute bake entree chicken
Ingredients (2-4 servings)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 3 cups fresh spinach, washed
- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1 cup low fat ricotta cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a baking dish (oil or Silpat).
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted. Add garlic; cook and stir about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and set aside.
Slice through the chicken breast horizontally to within 1/2 inch of one long edge, then open the meat like a book. Optional: Place each opened chicken breast in between two pieces of plastic wrap, and pound with a meat mallet to a thickness of 1/4 inch.
Stir the ricotta cheese, garlic powder, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste into the cooked spinach until blended. Evenly divide this mixture among the chicken breasts, then roll each into an oblong shape, like a burrito, tucking in the ends. Alternately, bring the two halves of each breast together (“close” the book). Place into the prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink and a thermometer inserted into the center registers at least 165 degrees F. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
With a little practice (or an overenthusiastic grocery shopping habit), you, too, can be a Ricotta Master 🙂
Have a great weekend, dear reader! See you Sunday!
Q: What should the next [Ingredient] Week be?
pumpkin!
Cookie dough!
. . . oh wait that’s not an ingredient.
umm, chocolate chips?
Haha yay for ricotta week and for that feeling of accomplishment! I’ve been trying to be better about finishing off cheeses that are growing old and moldy in my fridge, so I loved this!
How about pork butt week?
Yeah, you don’t get to contribute to this, husb.
Awww, so sad. Bye bye ricotta. NExt ingredient? That needs to be something fall-like, but not apples or pumpkin, maybe something more unique like….celery root! haha, I only say that because I don’t really understand what it is and it’s in a recipe I have to make!
no picture of the container?
That would have been nice, wouldn’t it? But no. This particular accomplishment will remain unphotographed forever.