Almond-Stuffed Chicken

The nutty, cheesy filling spices up chicken breasts and is a snap to make. Toast the almonds in a skillet before you cook the chicken and you'll have just one pan to clean. Serve with couscous and haricots verts.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/3  cup  light garlic-and-herbs spreadable cheese (such as Boursin light)
• 1/4  cup  slivered almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped, and divided
• 3  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley, divided
• 4  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  butter

Preparation

1. Combine spreadable cheese, 3 tablespoons almonds, and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each breast half to form a pocket. Stuff 1 1/2 tablespoons almond mixture into each pocket; secure each pocket with a wooden pick. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

3. Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; cover and let stand 2 minutes. Top chicken with remaining 1 tablespoon almonds and remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

288

Fat:

12.7g (sat 4.3g,mono 4.5g,poly 1.8g)

Protein:

37.5g

Carbohydrate:

3.9g

Fiber:

0.9g

Cholesterol:

111mg

Iron:

1.7mg

Sodium:

496mg

Calcium:

109mg