Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Sometimes a turkey — or even a whole chicken — is just too much for Thanksgiving dinner. This festive recipe would make a nice alternative entree. It’s even stuffed, albeit with cheese, apples and almonds rather than a bread-based concoction.

Sticking to the traditional menu on Thanksgiving? Keep this around for dinner parties or other occasions. It can be a summer dish, too, if you swamp peaches or nectarines for the apples.

The recipe is from cookbook author and tv personality Robin Miller, who created it for the Almond Board of California. She suggests serving the chicken with brown rice cooked in chicken broth and tossed with fresh parsley or with angel hair pasta tossed with olive oil and fresh parsley.

STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH APPLES, ALMONDS AND BLUE CHEESE
Yield: 4 servings

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 5 ounces each)
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese (any variety, including Gorgonzola)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 apple (preferably Mackintosh, Gala or Fuji), peeled, cored and diced
3 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons olive oil
4 teaspoons dried minced onion (from the spice aisle)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a shallow roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Using a sharp paring knife, slice a pocket into each chicken breast, as if halving a bagel, without completely cutting through the other side. Arrange chicken in prepared pan and set aside.

In medium bowl, combine blue cheese, almonds, apple and dill. Add a pinch each of salt and black pepper. Mix together with a fork until mixture is well blended and comes together. Divide mixture into four equal portions and spoon each portion into the pocket of the chicken. Brush olive oil all over the top of chicken and season the top with salt, black pepper and dried onion (1 teaspoon dried onion for each breast). Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until chicken is golden brown and cooked through.

Per serving: 490 calories; 25.5g fat; 8g saturated fat; 11g carbohydrate; 53g protein; 141mg cholesterol; 3g fiber; 217mg calcium; 867mg sodium; 624mg potassium.