Pan Fried Spinach & Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken

This pan-fried spinach & cream cheese stuffed chicken however, solves that problem First, just like the name says, you pan fry the chicken. Then you add the filling, cover the chicken and heat it through.

Simple, yes? And no bacon in sight!
You don’t need to cook the spinach cream cheese filling, you simply have to heat it up. That’s the brilliance of pan frying the butterflied chicken breasts instead of baking them in the oven wrapped in bacon. The filling doesn’t leak out ( as long as you are careful) and you can heat it up slowly and surely.

This Pan Fried Spinach Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken is one of the best skillet dinners I have made in a while!

INGREDIENTS
  • 4 chicken breasts
  • (1) 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
  • 1/2 cup cream cheese at room temp
  • 1/4 cup of Parmesan  cheese
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1-2 tbsp minced chives or green onions
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • salt to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
  1.  Place plastic wrap on top of each chicken breast and using a meat mallet, pound them slightly thinner. ( they will fry up faster if you do this step.)
  2. To butterfly your chicken breasts, lay them flat on sturdy surface. Place one hand on top to hold it in place and then slice 3/4 of the way through the chicken breast. Do not slice all the way through!
  3.  Heat up the olive oil in a large skillet.
  4. Fry the chicken breast in the frying pan on medium heat, approximately 7 minutes a side, until they start to get golden brown and crispy on the outside and reach a temperature of 165°F. You want the mto be cooked before you stuff them!
  5. Combine the spinach, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, chives and garlic in a bowl and microwave to take the chill off. Make sure it’s nice and warm. ( this is such an easy cheat! I was so excited!)
  6. Carefully spoon a quarter of cheese mixture into the middle of the cooked chicken breasts.
  7.  Turn the heat to low and put a lid on the frying pan. Heat for another 5-7 minutes, until the cream cheese mixture has heated through.
  8. Remove and plate. Enjoy!

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