I love Thanksgiving! Family, friends, turkey/stuffing/gravy-filled meals, and four days to fill with whatever I felt like doing. I went Black Friday shopping, but dodging salespeople & shopping bags got old pretty quick. I just wanted to be in my warm kitchen cooking yummy food!

The grocery store was pretty empty (whew!), so I quickly grabbed my ingredients… and some Stoli to get me thru a long evening in the kitchen. I’ve got nothing to do tomorrow! I kicked off my prep work at 4pm-ish to have the meal almost complete when Dre got done work. The components of the main dish took up most of my time: roasting grape tomatoes with garlic & fresh basil; sautéing mushrooms with minced onions & butter; and, gleefully pounding chicken breasts to a 1/4 inch thick. Every smokey, juicy morsel of the resulting Roasted Tomato, Mushroom, & Smoked Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breasts reminded me that  it’s always worthwhile.

Tomatoes with Garlic, Basil, & Olive Oil to be Roasted

Just Stuffed

Roasted Tomato, Mushroom & Smoked Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Roasted Tomato, Mushroom & Smoked Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Roasted Tomatoes

• Grape Tomatoes – (1-2) pints, halved
• Minced Garlic – (2) T or more
• Fresh Basil – a few chopped leaves
• Olive Oil – (3-4) T, to grease dish & coat tomatoes
• S&P

1. Coat baking dish with olive oil or line with non-stick sprayed foil.
2. Add all ingredients and toss with olive oil.
3. Cook 30-40 min in a 400 degree oven. Stir a few times until tomatoes are bubbling, but not burnt.
4. Make a big batch, leftovers are great on French bread and added to pasta sauce

Sautéed Mushrooms

• White Mushrooms or Creminis or Baby Bellas -(2-3) cups, cored and sliced
• White Onion – 1/2 med onion, chopped
• Butter – (2) T

1. Melt butter in a saucepan on Med. Add onion & cook about 2 min.
2. Add mushrooms and give them room to breath. Julia says so.
3. Stir and cook until tender.
4. Use leftovers on a quick pizza or in pasta sauce, red or alfredo.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

• Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast – (3-4) breasts – trimmed, sliced lengthwise, & pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
• Smoked Mozzarella or Gouda – 1 oz per breast
• Roasted Tomatoes
• Sautéed Mushrooms
• Chicken Stock – (1) cup or so
• S&P
• Stovetop to Oven Sauté Pan
• Long toothpicks or Bamboo picks

1. Pound filleted chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness between sheets of plastic wrap.
2. Add a few spoonsful of tomatoes & mushrooms onto half of each chicken breast.
3. Layer slices of smoked cheese.
4. Fold chicken breast in half and secure by sewing a toothpick or bamboo pic to secure. S&P each side of the breast.
5. Pan sear breast in olive oil on Med-High until golden brown, about 5 min on each side.
6. Add chicken stock to pan and bring to a boil.
7. Cover pan with lid or foil and tranfer to 375 degree oven.
8. Bake for 20 min, let cool for 5 min, and serve with pan jus.
9. Leftovers make one KILLER sandwich!