Italian Stuffed Chicken

my first CSA pick-up was this week and i could not have been more excited! my mom and i are sharing a half share but since she is out of town this week so i get the food to myself. i am also thinking maybe we might want to upgrade to a full share. i think we will be going through a half share to quickly.

anyway, our farm is one straw farm. if you are interested, find a csa near you here.

the way one straw farm does it is pretty cool. you just bring your reusable bag, give them your name and you can choose any 4 items (for a half share) or 8 items (for a whole share) you want. they had some many items that looked good this week but the strawberries were too good to pass up! since the season is so short, i picked up 2 pints of strawberries,

a bunch of shallots,

and some wonderful looking spinach.

i also picked up 4 locally made buttermilk wheat rolls from another stand (i wish i remembered the name).

tonight i decided to use some of the spinach in some italian stuffed chicken. it's super easy and customizable to whatever you have on hand. you could use any kind of cheese, baby spinach, arugula, prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.

just pound some chicken breast out so its fairly thin, sprinkle with salt and pepper,

layer some spinach leaves,

then some shredded cheese.

layer a little bit of marinara sauce on a pan,

then just roll the chicken up

secure it with toothpicks,

and top with a little more marinara sauce.

i also steamed some artichokes and made a little parmesan lemon butter for dipping.

the meal was perfection!

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Italian Stuffed Chicken
(serves 2)

2 chicken breasts, pounded thin
4 large spinach leaves
1/4 cup shredded cheese (i used an italian mix of parmesan, mozzerella, and provolone)
1 cup marinara sauce (look for some without added sugar)

preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

sprinkle thinly pounded chicken breasts with a little salt and pepper. layer 2 large spinach leaves on each chicken breast. sprinkle 1/8 cup of shredded cheese on top of each spinach layer, then roll up chicken tightly and secure with 3-4 tooth picks.

spoon 1/2 cup of marinara into foil lined pan and place rolled up chicken on top of the sauce. sprinkle both chicken rolls with a little salt and pepper and top with remaining 1/2 cup of marinara sauce. bake for 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked all the way through. remove from oven and be sure to remove all toothpicks from chicken rolls before serving.