Chicken Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Garlic

I've heard about the magic of goat cheese, but had always been afraid to try it for myself. For our one year anniversary, my husband treated me to one his favorite places: Texas de Brazil. He loves it for the endless cuts of steak they bring as long as you'll eat, but he never told me about the amazing salad bar. It was filled with pestos, cheeses, meats, vegetables, and all manner of amazing antipasta choices. One option was goat cheese with roasted peppers. I figured if I didn't like it, I could leave it on my plate. Turns out goat cheese is amazing!

I was sad to discover it cost $1 per oz at my grocery store, but since I rarely buy anything not on sale, I went for it.

I didn't alter this one at all, it's straight from Cooking Light. James even liked it! I served it over whole wheat spaghetti and with a green salad.

Ingredients:

4 ounces goat cheese, softened

3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil, divided

1 tablespoon minced garlic

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (25.5-ounce) jar fat-free Italian herb pasta sauce

3 whole garlic cloves

3 cups hot cooked fettuccine (about 6 ounces uncooked pasta)

Preparation

Combine goat cheese, 2 tablespoons basil, and minced garlic; set aside.Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound each half to a 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Divide the cheese mixture evenly among breast halves. Roll up jelly-roll fashion. Tuck in sides; secure each roll with wooden picks.
Heat the pasta sauce and whole garlic cloves in a large skillet over medium heat; add chicken. Cover and cook 25 minutes or until chicken is done. Serve over pasta. Garnish with 1 tablespoon basil.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken roll, 3/4 cup pasta, and 1/2 cup sauce)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 503(15% from fat); FAT 8.3g (sat 4.7g,mono 1.9g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 57.2g; CHOLESTEROL 112mg; CALCIUM 137mg; SODIUM 785mg; FIBER 5.5g; IRON 3.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 48.1g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2003