Dinner for My King!

So yesterday was one of those days where I was inspired to cook. I knew it had to be chicken because we have been eating so much beef lately the mere thought of it had us running away. I knew I had a bunch of good stuff to work with but when I have so many ingredients at my disposal I get a little nervous. It's very easy to have too much of a good thing and sometimes simple really is better. Good thing I have my friend S.S. to bounce ideas off of. If she thought something sounded wack I know damn well she would tell me. My dinner for my king was (drum roll please)......

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Herbed Goat Cheese and Sun Dried Tomatoes over Pesto Risotto.



For the chicken

I butterflied and pounded two chicken breasts flat. Then in a small bowl I mixed a small roll of herbed goat cheese (I forget the brand but it's a common grocery store variety) with about 6 rough chopped, oil-packed, sun dried tomatoes. I divided the cheese mixture between the two chicken breasts and rolled the breasts up tightly, folding in the tops and bottoms to minimize leakage. Then I wrapped each bundle with 2-3 sheets of thinly sliced prosciutto and secured everything in place with toothpicks. I baked this in a preheated 350 degree oven. I did turn the oven up to 400 for the last 5 minutes of cook time. I cooked it for about a half hour (as long as it too to make the risotto).

For the Risotto

Let me say right off the bat that YES I CHEATED WITH MY RISOTTO! I don't care that it's not "true" risotto. It was freaking delicious.

I heated two cans of chicken broth in a small sauce pan. In a second pan I sauteed 1 cup of arborio rice in butter until the broth was well heated. (I would have added a little white wine but I didn't have any in the house). Once everything was nice and hot I added 1 ladle full of broth to the rice and stirred. I continued to stir and add broth by the ladle full as needed until the rice was just about done. Once the broth was all used up, I felt the rice still need a little more liquid and rather than open another can of broth that I wouldn't use up I added a little half and half instead as well as an ounce or two of cream cheese (cheating, I know). Once the cheese was all melted in I added a handful of grated Parmesan cheese and a generous couple of tablespoons of prepared pesto sauce and mixed it all in. By the time the rice was finished the chicken was too. I served this all with some nondescript green giant boxed veggies and dinner was served. Husband really enjoyed it, especially the rice, which was an accomplishment after my first risotto disaster, LOL!