Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

1.  Preheat oven to 300°F. In a small bowl stir together olives, goat cheese, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste until combined well. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.

2.  To form a pocket in chicken for filling:
Put a chicken breast half on a cutting board and, beginning in middle of 1 side of breast half, horizontally insert a sharp thin knife three fourths of the way through center, moving knife in a fanning motion to create a pocket. Form pocket in remaining breast half in same manner.

3.  Divide filling between pockets and spread evenly with a finger. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. In a small heavy ovenproof skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown chicken, about 2 minutes. Turn chicken over and brown about 2 minutes more.

4.  Transfer skillet to middle of oven and bake chicken until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Serves 2.

Enjoy!

Olive and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast from bellechevre

You may have noticed that Lara and I are not big proponents of cheese in general, although we do enjoy it immensely.  There are many reasons to limit cow’s milk and the cheese made from it, including it’s high caloric load and propensity towards inflammation,  gut irritation and allergies.  That said, it’s important to always listen to your body.  We are all unique individuals and some of us just tolerate dairy better than others.  If you find yourself in the “not so great” category, one alternative is goat’s milk (cheese, yogurt, etc.).

• Goat cheese has a shorter fat molecule that seems to be easier to digest.
• It does not have the same caesin protein that cow’s milk has.
• Good source of calcium
• 80 calories and 6g. of fat per ounce (1oz. is a serving)
• Good protein source (5g. in 1oz.)
• Good source of B vitamins
• Contains moderate levels of probiotics too!

Try goat cheese on the spinaci pizza or spinach salad at Brick Pizzeria, Downtown New Bedford or Fairhaven!