Sharp Cheddar and Broccoli Stuffed Chicken

During one of our last days in Paris we assessed what we had seen and what we couldn't live without seeing and that brought us to Musée Picasso Paris.  I had never realized that there was an entire museum dedicated to Picasso, so I was beyond delighted when we decided to go there.  It was in the nice part of Paris and it felt like we were in a movie, sun shining and all.  Below is one of my favorite paintings we saw and of course I bought quite a few fun things in the gift shop before we left.  After Picasso we walked around until we found a fun little place to eat lunch, but during our walk we found this open air market with the most adorable mushroom display I've ever seen (pictured below, note the little skiing guys).  Our lunch was fabulous and I got steak tartare one last time so that I wouldn't forget how delicious it is in Paris.  That last evening we stayed in and made food, I made porcini ravioli with tomato/eggplant sauce topped with fresh tomatoes and goat cheese (pictured below).  I can't even begin to tell you how badly I want to go back to Europe and eat all this amazing food again...  Well in the meantime I'll just keep trying to cook up some wonderful food here at home in PDX.  I adapted this recipe and it is so simple and tasty.  Also I forgot to take a picture of this dish because I was so hungry so the picture credit goes to Center Cut Cook.

Serves 4

The Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast pounded thin
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1  cup chopped fresh broccoli
sea salt
ground black pepper
garlic powder
paprika
1/2  tbsp olive oil
toothpicks


The Process
1.  Preheat over to 350 degrees. If you're chicken breasts are not already thin, pound them with a mallet until thin. This makes the chicken easier to fold in half. Place them in a baking dish.

2.  Coat chicken with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.
Sprinkle sharp cheddar cheese evenly on top of the chicken breasts. Save a little bit to add to the top after you fold them.

3.  Sprinkle chopped broccoli evenly on top of the cheese. The smaller you chop your broccoli, the easier it stays on when you fold it.  Fold your chicken breasts in half and secure with 2-3 toothpicks each.  Brush the tops of the chicken breasts with olive oil.

4.  Cover baking dish with tin foil and place in the over. Cook for about 20 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.  Remove tin foil and sprinkle chicken with the remaining cheese.  Bake uncovered for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.