Cheese-Stuffed Chicken

Another YUM Recipe!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
For the stuffing:
4 tbs chopped fresh basil, divided
2 tbs nonfat cream cheese, softened
2 tbs grated Romano cheese (or Parmesan)
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp anchovy paste (I eliminated this one)
1/8 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray baking dish with vegetable cooking spray. Set aside. To prepare stuffing: in small bow, combine 3 tbs basil, cream cheese, Romano cheese, lemon juice, garlic, anchovy paste (if using), and pepper. Mix well.
Using a sharp knife, cut a deep horizontal pocket in each chicken breast. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly into each pocket. Secure openings with toothpicks.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook, turning once, until browned, about 5 minutes.
Transfer chicken to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and basil. Cover baking dish with foil. Bake chicken until cooked through and no longer pink, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter. Serve immediately.

When we made this the first time, all the sauce ended up coming out of the pockets, so it ended up being more like a sauce....I think that was just fine. If you don't want to "stuff" your chicken...don't! Just make the stuffing ingredients as a sauce, and bake as directed. (I would probably cook it more like 30 minutes at 400 if you are going to do it that way).