Hump day chicken

I was pretty happy with how this one turned out, because I made up the recipe and even though I overcooked it (forgot about that whole "resting phase" they always talk about on Top Chef), it was easy to prepare and packed a nutritional punch. I'm not by any stretch of the imagination an excellent cook (ask my husband - or don't - he's too nice and will lie!), but just about everything I cook needs to be healthy, organic whenever possible, and low-fat. Kale is delicious and sooo good for you! This recipe looks long, but really doesn't take very long at all to come together.

Stuffed chicken with roasted vegetables, kale and rosemary rice
Stuffed chicken:
2 chicken breasts
Fresh Basil
Reduced fat feta
Fage 0% greek yogurt
Orange juice
Fresh Rosemary
Salt & pepper
2 tomatoes
1 or 1/2 yellow onion
Olive oil
1 large clove of garlic

Preheat oven to 350.

Marinade: Beat chicken nice and senseless with a chicken whacker (that's what we call it around these parts) and place in a shallow dish. Pour OJ over the top, and smear a good heaping spoonful of greek yogurt all over the chicken. Add rosemary, salt, pepper. Let sit for about 30 minutes or cover and pop in the fridge. While you're waiting, prepare the kale and slice your tomatoes and onion. *OJ is my favorite marinade for most chicken dishes, except buttermilk fried chicken. You can add lots of different spices to change it up, and it's such an easy way to add juicy flavor. Plus I'm lazy and don't like to switch things up too often.

To prepare kale: Wash thoroughly, dry, tear from the stalks. Drizzle a capful of olive oil, plenty of salt and pepper and massage it in the bowl, working the oil into the leaves. Let sit until you're ready to cook it.

Stuffing & roasting the chicken: Place basil and feta, a little garlic, and a little S&P on one half of chicken. Fold over and secure with toothpicks. Your chicken might still be a little gooey from the yogurt - that's ok, that's what you want! Now it's all ready to come together in the pot. Place your prepared chicken in the dutch oven with the tomatoes and onion surrounding it. Drizzle a capful of olive oil over your vegetables, sprinkle some rosemary on top, and salt and pepper the whole shebang. Cover and put in the oven. It should look about like this:


Start checking your chicken around 25 minutes. I waited too long and while it looked perfectly tender and juicy when I first pulled it out of the oven, 10 minutes later the resting phase had rendered it a little dry. I think 30 minutes is about right for this, but again just check on it or better yet, keep a thermometer in...again, I'm a little too lazy for that. I think done is 165 degrees?

Kale: Let some olive oil, garlic, S&P come together over medium heat in a skillet for a few minutes. Add kale, and toss with tongs frequently. I might have added a little lemon juice to this, but I didn't have any on hand.

Rosemary rice: Easiest thing ever. I love Uncle Ben's whole grain 90 second microwaveable rice pouches. Put in a bowl with just a little water or chicken broth. Sprinkle fresh rosemary in and cover with clingwrap. Voila! I'm all about the shortcuts.