stuffed chicken breast...

[chefjae757]

hi everybody! i have a quick question im hoping i can get some good advice from someone or everyone. i am trying a new dish tonight for dinner....stuffed chicken breasts. stuffed with red and green peppers, onions, and a mexican cheese blend. i am wondering if i should marinate the chicken, and if i do, what should i use that would go good with the flavors of the stuffing? also, i am sauteeing the peppers and onions before stuffing the breasts. i am thinking of sauteeing the breasts, and if i do, what could i use for a good sauce using the fond? or would it be better to bake something like this? i am also preparing potatoes au gratin...they are boxed...and is there anything i could possibly add to them to go along with the flavor of the chicken? or would they be good just using the basic recipe on the box with no extras? please help me out!!!! thanks all!

 

[phatch]

My preferences might be different than you're looking for. I wouldn't use bell peppers or only bells. Get some mild heat in there at least with poblano or anaheims or something. I would roast the pepper and puree it. You'll probably need a starch binder with the cheese and puree. Bread crumbs, cooked rice, or something. I'd want some fat to keep the chicken breast moist, and some garlic and onion of course.

And I would skip potatoes au gratin, especially if they're boxed.   A mexican green or tomato rice dish. Even a form of chileaquiles could be good and more in line with the orgiinal au-gratin dish. Potatoes au gratin are easy, simple and much better prepared fresh if you want to stick with that.

 

[chefjae757]

yehhh thanks...my resources are a little limited, however. cooking at home is hard sometimes. i wasnt going to make the potatoes at first, but im only working with what i have in the cabinets right now, so that was the best thing i saw. thanks again! ill let you know what i end up doing and how it turned out!

 

[gunnar]

sounds ok, saute up the peppers and onions then set aside for a minute. While that is cooling using a small knife make a deep slit at the top of your chicken breast (raw) insert finger and make a good pocket for stuffing while trying to not tear apart the chicken breast. stuff with cheese FIRST! then add peppers to plug hole. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes cheese should have leaked through the peppers. to show off colors slice then arrange on the plate in a nice fan display. then sprinkle more cheese on top.  In the future, don't get a box o gratin potatoes. Get a bag of white long grain rice and some DICED (not whole or stewed or pureed) canned tomatoes (ok, stewed or whole would work rough chopped) and some diced green chiles and make spanish rice. serve guacamole, chips and salsa for an easy app and the veges are done. a budget I know.

 

[tuscan chef]

You can also saute but I would not call it saute. We would start browning in olive oil for 10 minutes on all sides, then remove the oil and add new oil (we are against making sauce with cooked oil), stock or wine, add herbbs including rosemarin, let it sit. wine, cover and let finish to cook but be careful not to boil, at the end .....milk to cream the sauce. This is one of our best preparation. We stuff with grapes and herbs.

 

[teamfat]

I think mushrooms would be a good addition to the pepper, onion and hopefully a bit of garlic.  Chicken breasts are very easy to overcook and dry out, a gentle poach in butter, oil and perhaps wine added in should work.  And make sure all the stuffing ingredients are fully cooked.  If you have to try and cook raw stuffing the chicken will certainly be way overdone.

mjb.

 

[chefjae757]

thanks everybody for you suggestions. gunnar....especially you...came right on time. it was first time making stuffed chicken breast so i wasnt exactly sure what to do. i tried out the way you suggested and it turned out great. i did end up using the box o gratin...but sauteed some extra peppers n onions and threw them in too. i also added some diced jalapeno to the mix for an extra kick. it turned out pretty good my girl was amazed hahaha so was my mom but it was a little to spicy for her. Tuscan chef...i think i will try it like that next time. thanks for your help...and teamfat...your right. mushrooms would have definitely added something good to it. aslo, gunnar, you are definitely right about the mexican rice. it would have certainly set the dish off right. i had rice, but no tomatoes left and no chiles. what can i say...it was just an experimental dish anyway, and i must say, i was a little impressed with it for my first time. i will definitely be experimenting with this one alot in the future. there's so much you can do with chicken its rediculous. thanks again to all of you for your suggestions!!