Friday, July 20, 2012

Zucchini Stuffed Chicken Roll-Ups

I am always looking for great "freezer meals" and this one is definitely a keeper!  It is really easy, healthy and has a great flavor!  I pinned  this on my pinterest board months ago after finding it on skinnytaste.com  and finally decided to try it, adapting it a bit to what I had in the pantry!

Zucchini Stuffed Chicken Roll-Ups
4 Servings

Ingredients:

  • 4 Cloves of Garlic-chopped
  • 3/4 cup zucchini, shredded (I used the "larger" side of my cheese grater)
  • 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 2 large chicken breasts sliced in half (to make 4 "thin" pieces of chicken)
  • 3/4 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 4 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • non stick cooking spray
Method:
  1. Preheat Oven to 450 & spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. In a large skillet heat 1 tsp oil over medium-high heat.  Once heated add chopped garlic.  Saute until golden brown.  Add zucchini, shredded Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper.   Cook for about 4 minutes and then set aside to cool.  Once cool, add mozzarella cheese and mix well.
  3. Lay Chicken out on work surface and evenly distribute zucchini filling amongst them.  (Make sure you will be able to roll chicken up without filling coming out).  Roll each piece of chicken around zucchini mixture and set seam side down.
  4. Mix Panko Breadcrumbs, Basil, Oregano and Garlic Powder in a shallow & wide bowl.  In another bowl mix lemon juice, olive oil and pepper.
  5. Dredge Stuffed Chicken through the lemon/olive oil mixture and then put in breadcrumb mixture coating all sides evenly.  Place chicken in prepared baking dish, seam side down.  Repeat with remaining chicken.
  6. Lightly spray chicken with cooking spray and bake in oven for 30 minutes.

*For those freezer cookers out there (like me!) I tripled this recipe when I made it, to make (3) meals.  Once you have coated the chicken with the breadcrumbs- place in freezer on a baking sheet for 1-2 hours so it gets semi-frozen.  Place chicken in freezer bags or vacuum pack with your FoodSaver system.  Don't forget to label the bags with the cooking directions:  Spray with Cooking Spray, 450 degrees 30 minutes. 
Remove from freezer the day before you plan on baking it so it thaws out. =)

I forgot to take a pic so go to the link above at skinnytaste to see what they are supposed to look like!

Enjoy!