Crumbed Stuffed Chicken Breasts

What a complicated title! I was going to call it "Sundried Tomato Pesto and Bacon Stuffed Crumbed Chicken Breasts" but that seemed overkill. Anyway, now that Blogger is allowing photos to be uploaded again, I shall post. This one is a variation (aren't they all?) on a simple recipe that's relatively healthy and really low-stress to cook. It spends most of its time in the oven, which is not a problem for me. First off, preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius for a fan-forced oven.

Then, I took about 100 grams of diced bacon and browned it a little bit in my trusty non-stick frying pan. There's probably no need to do this because it will be cooked in the oven, but I'm like my mother - paranoid about salmonella and food poisoning, so everything we cook is well cooked. While the bacon is cooking, grab one chicken breast per person. Don't worry if they look a little small - you're going to stuff them and crumb them and they will be huge by the end of it! Our chicken breasts were about 200 grams each. Remove the fat (white bits) from the chicken and clean it up so there's no icky bits. Remember, we want this to be as healthy as possible. Then, grab a knife and cut a long slash down the side of the fattest part of the breast, to create a pocket, where the stuffing will go. I even took a pretty picture to show you in case my description is confusing. Note though to use a good sharp knife. The knife I used was pretty blunt so I was sawing away at the breast. Note to self - get new knives. I made the pockets quite big because there's quite a bit of bacon to go into two chicken breasts. I also think it's nice to have the stuffing going all the way down the breast, as you can see in the picture. Make it a big pocket for extra flavour. None of this jam-it-into-a-tiny-hole thing.

Next I made the stuffing. This of course depends on how many people you are serving, but if you do the rule of 1 teaspoon of sundried tomato pesto (you can buy it from any supermarket. Expensive but yum!) and 1 teaspoon of garlic per chicken breast, you won't go wrong. So I put 2 teaspoons of sundried tomato pesto, 2 teaspoons of diced garlic (I bought this in a jar already diced. It's so much easier than trying to cut up garlic because my garlic press doesn't work), about 2 teaspoons of mixed herbs and then the diced bacon. Don't worry if the diced bacon isn't quite cooked because, as I said earlier, it's going to go in the oven. Now, you can add cheese at this point, but I don't like cheese so we left that out. Oh and don't forget some pepper. Mix all of that together, then you are ready to stuff the breasts.

Use a teaspoon and your fingers to spoon the stuffing into the chicken. Really pack it in there, it's messy but fun. Then, try to close it as best you can by pulling the breast together to seal the pocket, and using toothpicks to secure it closed. It doesn't matter if it's not perfect because you are going to crumb it now. I got two bowls out and filled one with breadcrumbs. I used garlic breadcrumbs already packed, but you can make your own if you are more adventurous in the kitchen. Something like stale bread and garlic powder and herbs or something. I don't know. I cheated, okay. Then two eggs into a bowl and whisked briefly to blend. Next, dip the chicken breast into the egg, then roll it into the breadcrumbs. Make sure it's all coated. Some people like to double-dip (you just repeat the process) because apparently it makes it crispier. I don't know, I only did it once. Remember to keep a track of how many toothpicks you used because I forgot and we had to pick them out, haha. It's hard to get them out because when the breast cooks it closes and clings onto the toothpicks and it's hard to pull them out. Oh well.

Place the chicken breasts in a heavy oven-proof pan with a little bit of spray oil on the bottom to stop it sticking. Make sure they aren't touching. Some people like to add some chicken stock to the pan, but I didn't. Because I didn't have any chicken stock. And I think it goes soggy and I hate soggy things. Put the breasts in the oven for about 30-35 minutes. I like to turn them over for the last 10 minutes because sometimes the bottoms go a bit soggy due to the oil. Turning them over means it has time to crisp up. It's hard to tell when they are cooked because if you put a knife in, pink juices will run out which tells you it's not cooked - but remember there is sundried tomato pesto in there, which will also run out as pink juice. So just trust me on the timing, okay?

About 10 minutes before the chicken breasts are done, put some corn in the microwave in a microwave-safe container filled with water and zap them on high for 10 minutes. When there's four minutes to go, add a bowl of frozen vegetables. That way, everything will be done at the same time, so it will all be steaming hot! Alternatively you can serve this meal with mashed potatoes, that would be nice, but potatoes are currently on our no-go list. Plus I didn't have any potatoes in the pantry.

And whola - finished product. It was a success! Don't forget to try to pull out the toothpicks - or at least warn your family/friends that there are toothpicks in there, so they don't crunch their way through them. Although ... that would be entertaining .... ouchy but entertaining....


Here's a shot of the filling. It's a bit dark because we were watching TV (HOUSE rocks!) but I hope you can see it a little bit. Just squint your eyes and use your imagination. Hehe.