Herb-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I have been buying more fresh herbs lately. Sometimes I feel like those fresh herbs are like a ticking time bomb in the fridge, and my goal is to use them before they die, shrivel to pieces, or rot. Desperate, due to wilting parsley and fresh thyme about to turn into dried thyme, a winning recipe was born.

Herb-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

2 chicken breasts (bone-in with skin)

2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced

1 garlic clove, pressed

salt and pepper

olive oil

1) Preheat oven to 350. Mix the parsley, thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add just enough olive oil to make a paste.

2) Rinse chicken and pat dry. Using your fingers gently pull skin away from the chicken breast and stuff half of the herb mixture in between the skin and the chicken. Stuff the other chicken breast with the other half of the herb mixture.

3) In an oven proof pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat (about 1 minute). Carefully add chicken skin side down in the pan. Continue cooking over medium-high heat chicken skin is golden brown. Flip chicken over cover pan with tin foil and place pan in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil and set aside. Baste chicken with some of the juices and cook for 15 to 2o more minutes or until temperature has reached 160 degrees F.

2 Notes:

• First, if you do not have an oven safe frying pan - transfer chicken to a casserole dish.

• Second, here is a short interesting article about the differing cooking temperatures of chicken.
  

4) Remove chicken from the oven, and tent under the foil for 5 minutes to let the chicken rest.