Almond Crusted Stuffed Chicken Breast

So I did it...almost cried when I did, but I'm hoping this is the best purchase of my life...a VITAMIX!! If you don't know what a Vitamix is, get with it, its only the best ever high speed rocketship, I mean blender out there. You can put anything in this thing and it will blend it. All of my friends have gone crazy about it, so I thought I would get one...after I thought about it for 6 months. Why you ask? Google it, the price tag will shock you. 10 year warranty and a chance for me to get more vegetables and not even know it...worth it. So I thought I would dig in and make a few recipes and start experimenting. So far I haven't been disappointed (except when Sean decided he was going to make a smoothie and put chicken in it...GROSS, don't do this, he does strange things ;-)). Best one so far, banana, cocoa powder, 1 date, 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, handfull of spinach, two stalks of kale. Yup you heard me right, kale and spinach. The smoothie tasted like a banana chocolate smoothie. I inhaled it and forgot that I even had put vegetables in it. 

Ok enough with the Vitamix. I went to Sunflower market and they had chicken on sale (the range-free kind!) so I bought some more. I seem to buy a lot of chicken so I have to think of different ways of cooking it otherwise I get sick of it and don't even want to look at it anymore. I actually had some time for once to make a recipe instead of grilling or baking it real quick so I went on a google search and I found a winner (it has bacon in it, so I picked it)! This recipe definitely takes a little bit of time, buts it worth it and you can make the stuffing ahead of time if need be.

RECIPE: Almond Crusted Stuffed Chicken Breast

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 chicken breasts thinned to about 1/4 inch thick (I put each chicken piece a large ziplock and pounded the heck out of them with a mallet, great way to get rid of some agression :-)).
• 1 onion (yellow or white), chopped
• 1 cup chopped spinach
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled into smaller pieces
• Olive Oil/Coconut Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• coarsely ground almonds 
• Toothpicks (to hold the chicken together!)

I also added Mushrooms and Kale since I had them. Feel free to add or take out whatever you want. I feel like this recipe you can make lots of different varieties, but I would keep the bacon! Pre-heat the oven to 350 before you start. Start with heating up some coconut oil and sautéing the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent. Add your spinach, bacon bits, and anything else you want to. After it looks like the picture on the right that I stole from the website since I forgot to take a picture of this part, spread it on your chicken breasts. I used it all, you'll figure out how to close the chicken, don't be shy, get all that stuff in there! After you have done that roll up the chicken and secure with toothpicks or sting. I used a million toothpicks...ok that is a little dramatic, but you get the idea, you need a lot. 

After you have that little bundle all secured and looking awesome, brush some olive oil or coconut oil on it, seasoning with salt and pepper and then roll in the ground almonds. I just put a handful in my food processor and pulsed until I got it coarsely ground, don't let them get to almond flour! 

Bake the chicken for about 30-35 minutes. I just had a baking dish I used to put them in and it worked great. Make sure to check that the chicken is done and the almonds should have a brown color to them. Don't forget about the toothpicks and dig in!! 

I was pleasantly surprised how awesome this was. All of the stuffing inside complemented the chicken perfectly. The bacon gave it a little crunch, but went well with the onions and spinach and kale. The almonds on the outside are a perfect addition to the meal and you won't want to stop eating it! I served it with some Cauliflower Mash and a Kale Salad! SOO good, I will for sure make this again. Especially since I probably can do it quicker than I had. I always suggest chopping your veggies too whenever you have time since that is what takes the most time in this dish. 

If you are sick of chicken and need a new recipe, try this one out, its fantastic! Enjoy!