This dish came together the other night when having my family over for dinner.  I needed to make something easy and hearty after a day of work.  I started by making a homemade red sauce with roasted red peppers to go over some whole wheat angel hair pasta.  While the red peppers were roasting in the oven I threw in a garlic bulb to roast, you never know when you will want roasted garlic.  I wasn’t exactly sure what to do with the chicken, but the breasts were really thick so I started by cutting slits through the center 3/4 of the way through.  Initially I did this planning to butterfly to cut down on cooking time.  Once I made the slit I decided to stuff them with herbs and garlic instead.  I cut a handful of herbs from my window garden and mixed them with the roasted garlic and cracked black pepper to make the stuffing.  Dabbed with butter on top, it baked perfectly staying moist and full of flavor.

I recreated this dish a few days later, to use up the remaining sauce.  This time I served it with spaghetti squash and topped with garlic sauteed mushrooms.  So good and so easy!  You can use any herbs you have on hand, I happened to use a different combination each time I’ve made this.

Ingredients: 

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2-4 cloves of roasted garlic
handful of fresh herbs, chopped (I used thyme, parsley, and chives)
1 tsp black pepper, more for serving
2-4 pads of butter
2 cups of fresh sliced mushrooms
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Directions: 

1. Start by roasting your garlic:  cut the top few centimeters off the cloves leaving skin intact.  Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then loosely wrap in foil.  Place in oven at 400 F for 45 minutes.  This works well if you are roasting red peppers for sauce or spaghetti squash for serving.  Otherwise I try to roast garlic a few times a week so I have some on hand for use during the week.

2. Cut through the chicken longways nearly the entire way through, keeping it as one piece to stuff.

3. Mix together your chopped fresh herbs, minced roasted garlic, and black pepper in a small dish.  Rub this mixture generously in the center of the chicken, then line the breasts in a small baking dish.

4. Rub any remaining herb mixture on top of the chicken and dab with butter, be generous.

5. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through.

6. For serving I sauteed the mushrooms with 2 cloves of minced fresh garlic, 1-2 pads of butter, and red pepper flakes on medium/low for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!