Roasted Red Pepper, Mozzarella and Basil Stuffed Chicken

If you know the real me then you know that I am not a major fan of cooking.  You would think that with all the Food Network shows I watch I would have a home cooked meal on the table every night, I’m just not that type of woman.  Well after getting bashed and teased about how I’m not a ‘normal’ girl because I don’t like cooking I finally decided to make my man a meal.  Now I’m no Betty Crocker but if you give me a recipe then I can sure as heck follow that recipe to a T and make a great meal.  I was craving chicken that night so I searched and searched and searched for an easy meal because I knew that Ry was gonna be home within the next hour.  I finally found the perfect chicken to try.  It’s a roasted red pepper, mozzarella and basil stuffed chicken.  The picture is what sold me on the recipe, so I put my little invisible chef hat on and headed to Publix.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time:  35 minutes
Total Time:  50 minutes

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced into 8 slices
1 12 oz jar of roasted red peppers sliced into 1 inch pieces (about two whole red peppers if you roast your own)
1 bunch of basil, whole leaves
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan
Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper for seasoning

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 9×12 casserole dish.  Butterfly chicken breasts by slicing into the long side of the breast, stopping just about 1/4 of an inch from the opposite side.  Lay chicken breast in casserole dish opened up.  Sprinkle the exposed insides of the chicken breast with 1/2 of the Italian seasoning and salt and pepper.  Stack the roasted red pepper, basil, and 1 slice of the mozzarella on the bottom side of the chicken.  Fold the top flap of the chicken over, tucking in the mozzarella, basil and roasted red pepper as necessary.  Sprinkle with the remaining Italian seasoning.  Bake chicken for 30-40 minutes (until chicken is no longer pink).  Pull chicken out of oven and turn the oven to a high broil.  Top chicken with remaining mozzarella slices and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Broil until cheese is browned and bubbly, about 5 minutes.

Now normally if I do attempt to cook Ry doesn’t normally like it (he is a VERY picky eater but won’t admit it), however, I will mark the day that I made this chicken because Ry actually admitted that he liked the chicken and would eat it again.  HALLELUJAH!  This is for all you ladies (or men) that get teased because they don’t cook, you CAN do it.  With Pinterest’s help, ANYTHING is possible.

xoxo, H