I bought way too much ricotta cheese for the Cherry and Cheese Tort we made for our medieval feast.  I had to do something with it.   Then I remembered my old stuffed chicken parm. recipe.  It wasn’t written anywhere, but I made it often when my first son was a baby so tried to remember what I used to do.  The Olive Garden had just introduced theirs and it was fabulous, but it was a big splurge to eat out at that time in our lives, financially and nutritionally, so I decided to come up with my own that would satisfactorily compensate.

I hadn’t made it in years.  In fact, one of my boys didn’t even remember having it, then sat rolling his eyes heavenward with every bite when I presented him with it at the dinner table.  It really is an oozing, splurgilicious dish.  The only problem was, I still had a small carton of ricotta left when I was finished making it.  Geesh!  I really hadn’t counted on being so far off track with our eating habits once the medieval feast ended.  Then there was Super Bowl, now here comes Valentines Day which is sure to be extra caloric, fatty, and carbohydrate ridden.

I’m feeling a little lost having bounced right off that wagon and landing in a big gooey mud puddle.  My salvation has been that I am addicted to green smoothies at the moment.  Give me kale or spinach, an apple and some green tea, a drop of honey and a blender and I will whip up a shake that looks like the duck weed scum that floated on the pond of my grandparent’s farm, then suck that puppy right down.

Ingredients:

6 chicken breast halves

All-purpose flour

Salt

2 eggs

3 T cream

3 to 4 cups dry bread crumbs ~ I made my own by grating hunks day old French bread in the food processor, spreading it out on a sheet pan, and drying in a 350 oven for 5 minute periods of time, stirring occasionally, until they were dry.

Tomato sauce

Grated mozzarella

Grated parmesan

Canola/Olive Oil mix ~ I just combined them in the pan that I was using for frying

Filling:

1 c. ricotta cheese

1 oz. parmesan cheese

2 oz. grated mozzarella cheese

1/4 c. parsley

Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

Cut a small slit into each chicken breast, then cut back into the meat to make a pocket.  Keep the initial slit small so the filling won’t ooze out too much during cooking.

Mix together the filling ingredients.  Stuff each breast with the filling.

Do not overfill so that it comes back out.

Beat together the eggs and cream.  Place the bread crumbs and flour in two shallow dishes.  Season each.

Heat oil in a pan between medium and high heat, and to about the depth of little over half the thickness of the chicken breasts.  I never take the temp. of my oil, just eyeball, so I have no idea what temp. I cooked these at.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Dredge the chicken breasts in flour, then the egg wash, then bread crumbs.

Fry just until golden on each side.

Remove to absorbent paper.

Lay the breasts in the bottom of a baking pan.

Cover each with sauce, then sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan.

Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.