Emily's Crispy Stuffed Chicken

Don't you love it when you go to a friends house for dinner and go home with a new recipe to try! Well recently we went to a dinner party and got lots of new recipes.  The main course was this crispy chicken breast that was stuffed with yummy goodness!  I asked Emily to share the recipe so here it is...

CREAM CHEESE-PESTO-STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS
Filling of your choice, (see below)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (1-1 1/4 pounds total)
1 egg white
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

CREAM CHEESE-PESTO FILLING:
2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese, (Neufchatel)
1 tablespoon basil pesto, (store-bought or homemade)
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
Combine cream cheese, pesto and pepper in a small bowl with a fork.

Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up each breast and place one-fourth of the filling in the center.

Close the breast over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and filling.

Lightly beat egg white with a fork in a medium bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow glass dish. Hold each chicken breast half together and dip in the egg white, then dredge in the breadcrumbs. (Discard leftovers.)

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts; cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes.

Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center or until an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F, about 20 minutes.

I of course used Gluten Free bread crumbs for this, but when at Emily's house for dinner she made me a special piece of chicken with Gluten Free break crumbs as well....so sweet!...and delicious!!  I have to say this was one of my favorite things at the dinner, but with this group there was a lots of other wonderful food to eat!

So if you have a new recipe that you want to try out or an old recipe that you want to share...invite some friends over!