Pesto and Cream Cheese-Stuffed Chicken

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you may have noticed that if I'm cooking a meat item, chances are it will be chicken. 

But sometimes I get a little bored with the stuff.  

And when I do, that means it's time to stuff it. 

The chicken, that is.  

(Although when the receptionist at the dermatology office looked at my driver's license photo yesterday and gave me a smile that smacked of faux pity and remarked that it's a good thing my license will expire soon so I can get a new photo...that we "all have bad photos sometimes", I really wanted to tell her to "stuff it".) 

(But bad manners aside, it is a terrible photo.  What else can come from exposure to such a stressful environment?  After you wait approximately 250 years in the hard little plastic chair at the Department of Motor Vehicles with your kids and are then backed up to a cinder block wall to have a photo snapped? With the merciless lady behind the computer camera, promptly extinguishing any hope for a redo (......"Next!"....)?  Knowing you're going to be stuck with it for five years?  The pressure, the presssssurrrrrre!)

Here I am at the DMV in 2009 with my hungry baby crying in the background and my two-year-old screeching at my knees:

There's my best fake smile.  For Heaven's sake, my eyes aren't even looking in the same direction!  The left one is about to pop out in frustration.  I'm like a Pekinese that way.  

This situation makes me wonder, what's your worst driver's license photo story?  (And no, this is not my worst pic by far.)  Don't worry - there won't be any meanness here...only empathetic head nods and cyber hugs of bad-license-photo consolation.)

Anyway, back to the "stuff it, lady" recipe. 

(If you're having trouble staying afloat on my stream of consciousness, I am making Pesto and Cream Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts.)

Here's a photo, just to visually clear things up:

You'll want to mix together the cream cheese and pesto,

slice open the side of the chicken breast (make a pocket)...

stuff it with the pesto/cheese mixture, "bread" it, saute it,

and then bake it.  

Pesto and Cream Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (approx. 1 pound total weight)
1 egg
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Pesto and Cream Cheese Filling
4 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons basil pesto
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or spray with cooking spray).  

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and the pesto.  Add pepper to taste.  Set aside.

Using a very sharp knife, cut a horizontal slit along the edge of each chicken breast, nearly through to the other side.  Fill each "pocket" with one-fourth of the cream cheese mixture.  Press the edges of each breast together firmly to "seal" the pocket. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  

Using a fork, lightly beat the egg in a bowl.  Place the breadcrumbs on a plate.  Hold each chicken breast together and dip it in the egg, then coat it with the breadcrumbs.  

Add "breaded" chicken breasts to hot skillet; increase heat to medium-high.  Saute until browned on each side, about 3-4 minutes.  Transfer to baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes.  (Test one breast to ensure center is no longer pink.)

Here's the printable recipe. 

Recipe slightly adapted from here.

Linking up at: