Cooking Corner: Try stuffed chicken marsala

Helen Taylor Smith

Cooking Corner

As our weather will be cooling down soon, it’s time to be thinking about main meals that are satisfying. Boneless and skinless chicken breast halves stuffed with a very simple filling, then sautéed with mushrooms and Marsala wine yield a most delicious entrée.

Fred Meyer’s natural food section and Trader Joe’s have aseptic packaged fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth without artificial additives, as well as Marsala wine and sun dried tomatoes.

A green vegetable of choice and baked or mashed potatoes would complement this dish nicely. Any leftovers reheat quite well in the microwave.

Freeze extra stuffed breasts individually in an airtight container to have for another meal.

Note: To avoid bacteria problems, discard any used paper towels and wax paper, and wash your surface, mallet and hands thoroughly before your continue with this recipe. Also, discard the used flour, due to contamination from raw chicken.

Ingredients

6 boneless and skinless chicken breast halves — pounded

1 pound of mushrooms; wash, pat dry and slice thinly

1 cup dry Marsala wine

1 cup fat-free chicken broth

3/4 cup flour, for coating chicken breasts

1 tablespoon extra virgin, 100 percent, expeller-pressed olive oil

unsalted butter

Filling ingredients

1/2 cup natural sun dried tomatoes without any additives, finely processed (soak 10 minutes in hot water)

1 1/4 cups whole grain bread crumbs, finely processed — about 1 1/2 slices

2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup dry Marsala wine

Technique

Place two sheets of paper towels on a work surface and cover it with wax paper.

Wash, pat dry and pound each chicken breast one-half to one-quarter inch thick and place on a clean plate. Set aside and see “note” above.

Wash, pat dry and slice mushrooms, and place them on a clean plate. Set aside.

Have Marsala wine and chicken broth measured and set aside.

Pour flour into a pie tin or plate. Set aside.

Cover dried tomatoes with hot water and soak for 10 minutes, then drain them before processing and place into a 1 quart mixing bowl.

Process the bread and add to the bowl with the Parmesan cheese, and mix them together. Add wine and stir it to be sure the mixture is well-blended.

Divide the mixture evenly for six servings, and put on half of each pounded breast. Fold them over gently and press them together.

Place each filled breast half into the flour and coat both sides before placing them onto the plate.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 15-inch ovenproof skillet (See “note” below) with vegetable oil, heat to medium hot and add the sliced mushrooms.

Saute until they’re lightly browned — about four minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Melt olive oil or butter in the skillet and add the stuffed and floured breasts. Brown each side for about three minutes.

Return cooked mushrooms to the pan and add the wine and fat-free both. Cook for two minutes and turn each breast over to cook the other side for two minutes.

Place the skillet or baking dish into your oven and cook for 15 minutes to be sure the chicken is cooked through and to reduce the liquid to a tantalizing sauce.

Serve immediately, or hold in oven at 170 degrees for no longer than one hour.

Note: You can use any skillet and, then transfer the chicken Marsala to an oven-proof baking dish.

Yield — six servings.

Cooking Corner columnist Helen Taylor Smith can be reached by e-mail at thecook@thehealthycook.com. This recipe is supplemental to and property of “Cooking Healthier with the Healthy Cook.” Permission is granted for personal use only. No commercial use permitted without explicit written contract with the author.