EASY STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST WITH BASIL & CHEESE COOKED IN A HOMEMADE TOMATO SAUCE
Yield:
6
Ingredients
- 6 chicken cutlets, pounded thin and seasoned lightly with salt and pepper
- Toothpicks to secure the chicken
For the filling:
- 6 fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground pepper
For the tomato sauce:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes, pureed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion powder
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 cup water
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 5 fresh basil leaves, finely sliced
Instructions
- Here's another way to serve up some stuffed chicken. Did I mention that kids love this easy recipe?
- Lay the seasoned chicken cutlets on a baking sheet. Place on basil leaf in the center of each cutlet.
- Combine all of the filling ingredients together and taste the seasoning. Add salt & pepper if necessary.
- Place a tablespoonful of the filling over each basil leaf. Roll up the chicken and seal with 2 or 3 toothpicks so that the filling does not ooze out.
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the stuffed chicken and cook 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown all around.
- Place the chicken in a dish.
- Cook the chopped garlic for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Do not let it burn!!! Dark brown garlic is burned garlic! Burned garlic goes in the trash....
- Add the pureed tomatoes and all of the sauce ingredients leaving the sliced basil leaves out. They will be added at the very end.
- Bring the sauce to a boil and then simmer over very low heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken to the sauce and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Turn the chicken halfway through cooking.
- Taste the sauce and add more salt if necessary. If the sauce looks too thin, remove the cooked chicken cutlets and set in a serving dish. Cover the sauce in the pot and increase the heat to medium-high and cook for about 5 minutes until thickened. Then, pour the sauce over the chicken.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle the sliced basil leaves over the dish. Serve hot. Don't forget to remove the toothpicks!
- Enjoy 🙂
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