Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Hawaiian Stuffed Chicken Breasts - Dairy & Gluten Free

I feel like I have been in a rut food wise.  Do you ever feel like that??

Yes, everything is still gluten free and dairy free or at least cow's milk dairy free and delicious.  But, it is winter here and the foods I have been making are hearty stick to your ribs comforting fare, and while everything tastes really good, nothing is satisfy either myself or my husband.  We are craving something different and unexpected.  I took a package of boneless skinless chicken breasts out of the freezer, but then struggled most of the day with an idea of what to actually make for our dinner.  Nothing I thought of sounded like something that I wanted to eat at that moment...  Have you ever had that problem?  Literally hundreds if not thousands of ideas floating around in your brain for recipes and nothing matches your mood!?  I stared into the depths of my pantry and refrigerator and was just baffled.  Finally, I decided to just wing it and loosely interpret what I decided I was really craving.  Hawaiian Pizza.  The juxtaposition of sweet pineapple with salty ham just sounded insanely good to me!!  So, I butterflied out those chicken breasts and stuffed them with pineapple, ham, goat's milk cheddar, and scallions then baked them smothered with BBQ sauce.  Oh wow!!  The flavors are like an explosion in your mouth.  So so good! 

While I used a goat's milk cheddar in my version, feel free to use a dairy free cheddar or even mozzarella if you need a truly dairy free version of these Hawaiian Stuffed Chicken Breasts. 


Hawaiian Stuffed Chicken Breasts

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
garlic salt
black pepper
6 thin slices honey ham
2 oz goat's milk cheddar or dairy free cheese of your choice
2 scallions
4 tbs crushed pineapple, well drained
4 tbs BBQ sauce

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Butterfly your chicken breasts and lightly pound out to an even thickness (I didn't do a very good job of this as you can see).
Sprinkle both sides of the breast with garlic salt and pepper.
Place what was the skin side of the breast facing your board.
Cover with 3 pieces of ham in an even layer.
Add 1 oz of the cheese over the center of the breast.
Add 1 of the scallions, cut to fit on top of the cheese.
Add 2 tbs of the pineapple.
Fold one third of the chicken breast towards the center taking care to disturb the filling as little as possible.
Then fold the other side towards the first side taking care to fully enclose the fillings.
If necessary use skewers to secure.
Lay seam side down on a baking sheet.
Cover with 2 tbs of the BBQ sauce.
Repeat with second breast.
Bake at 375 F for 45 minutes to an hour or until the chicken is cooked through.
Allow to rest at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

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