Asparagus & Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

As I’ve mentioned before, Skinny Taste is one of my favorite websites to visit when I’m in need of a healthy recipe that is low in calories.  I just happened to be browsing the site when I came across this recipe for spinach & feta stuffed chicken breasts.  As much as I like spinach, I like asparagus more and since I already had the latter in my fridge, I decided to replace the recipe with that instead.  Of course, you can by all means go with the original recipe but if you’re like me and enjoy the bitter taste of asparagus, then use this recipe.  I also replaced a few other items.  My take on this fantastic recipe is below.

• Ingredients:
• cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bundles asparagus, woody ends cut off
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon low fat dill spread (Whole Foods makes a great one)
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/3 cup Tofutti dairy free ricotta cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 thin skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 cup homemade breadcrumbs (I will post my recipe for this shortly)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a large baking sheet with spray.
2. Heat the oil in a medium saute’ pan.  Add onion powder and garlic and saute’ for about 1 minute.  Add asparagus, parsley, dill, kosher salt, and black pepper.  Cook for another moment or until heated through.  
3. Remove from heat and mix in feta and ricotta cheese.
4. Season chicken lightly with kosher salt and black pepper.
5. Place 1/4 cup of asparagus mixture in the center of the chicken and roll.  Lay each piece of chicken seam side down until all of the chicken is rolled.
6. Whisk the egg and water together in a small bowl with a pinch of salt.  Place the breadcrumbs in a separate bowl.
7. Dip the chicken rolls into the egg wash, then into the breadcrumbs, and place seam side down on the baking sheet.  Repeat with all of the chicken then lightly spray the top of the chicken with cooking spray.  Bake 35-40 minutes or until cooked through.  

These came out delicious.  I truly think the use of homemade breadcrumbs, rather than store bought, was a great replacement.  These are extremely filling and if you follow Skinny Taste’s recipe, one of these is only 169 calories!  Healthy?  Yes.  Easy to make?  Yes, as long as you follow instructions.  Enjoy.  Oh, and try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting.