"Oooh, Limey!" and How Not to Stuff a Chicken Breast

We were whipping up a new dish last night and Keagan said, "You're gonna take pictures of this and post it on your blog, right?" It just wouldn't be a blog without a recipe now and then, would it? I didn't decide if I would post it or not until we started eating. After a couple of bites- it was a no-brainer! Delicious.

This is a very easy recipe to make if you've got the time. It's even easier if you've got a husband who likes cooking and helps you get it all together!

Comments received during supper:

"Oooh, limey!"

"Whoa. That was the best bite of chicken I've ever had. Ever."

"There's so many flavors mingling here."

Sound enticing? If your tastebuds are tingling, keep on reading.

Pesto Ricotta Chicken (with Tomato Vinaigrette)

**It sounds so fancy, but it's easy!

adapted a tiny bit from this cookbook

You will need:
4 chicken breasts (the plumper the better)
4 oz. ricotta cheese
1 Tbsp. pesto sauce (we used about 3...we like more pesto)
Olive oil
Pepper

Tomato Vinaigrette:
1/4 c. olive oil
1 bunch fresh chives (we used dried, to taste)
1 lb tomatoes (peel, seed, dice, or use a can of diced tomatoes)
Finely grated rind of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

1.Mix the ricotta and pesto in a small bowl
2. Cut a slit down the middle of each chicken breast to make a pocket. Fill w/ ricotta mixture and reshape the chicken back together
3. Brush each chicken breast w/ olive oil and season w/ pepper
4. Bake or grill until chicken is done all the way through. (we used our large George Foreman)
In the meantime...
5. Combine olive oil and fresh chives in a food processor and blend until smooth (if using dry chives, skip this step)
6. Combine tomatoes, olive oil, and chives.
7. Finely grate the rind of 1 lime. Add to mixture. (i love grating citrus. this smells incredible)
8. Add juice of 1 lime.
9. Mix all ingredients together and add salt and pepper to taste.
10. Once chicken is done, spoon tomato vinaigrette on top...and enjoy!

**We used dried chives and canned tomatoes, because there wasn't anything fresh at our store. It was good, but would be way better fresh.

Things that went well

• As I mentioned before...this was super easy to make and takes a relatively little amount of time to assemble
• It was a nice mix of flavors
• The chicken was very moist

Things we would have changed

• As much as we've experimented w/ stuffing chicken breasts, we can't seem to do it quite right. We lost almost all of the cheese as it grilled. We've tried cutting vertically and making a pocket, cutting horizontally and sealing w/ egg, etc., and holding it shut with toothpicks. Does anyone have any tips??
• I would use a little less lime juice next time- it was a bit sour for my taste.
• The vinaigrette recipe could probably be halved...we didn't use nearly enough of it.

Overall- we're keeping this recipe! It'd be so good on a spring or summer day and served with a side salad!

How do you stuff your chicken?