Italian Stuffed Chicken Breast and Spaghetti

So I'm really digging this style recipe. I'm finding that stuffing chicken is a great way to add a twist to common dish, and it also makes it extremely moist. Biting into this chicken was such a surprise because there is so much flavor and the meat is so tender.

Overview:

This dish is definitely for the meat lover in you. Not only does it have chicken, but the chicken is actually stuffed with Italian sausage and bacon. The combination tastes wonderful, but isn't for the veggie lovers. It pairs nicely with some simple pasta (I chose the traditional spaghetti).

Recipe:

6 split chicken breasts
1/2 lb. Italian sausage meat
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
4 strips hickory or maple flavored bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/8 teaspoon each onion and garlic powder

1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese

3 tablespoons of Italian breadcrumbssalt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

For this recipe, I strayed away from the directions just a bit. I first took the chicken breast and cut them butterfly style so that they opened up nicely. After that, I took out the Italian sausage and removed the casing. I browned the sausage with chopped bacon and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Once this was finished I laid the combo inside the chicken. I then wrapped the chicken around the meat. A great way to keep things all tied together is to take wooden toothpicks and stick them around the opening of the chicken.

I set the oven to pre-heat at 400 degrees. While it was warming, I put the chicken in the same pan that I browned the sausage. I only did this for about 5 minutes to allow the chicken to get a nice brown look on the skin.

Once the oven was heated, I put the chicken on a greased baking sheet along with some cherry tomatoes (optional). I also sliced some mozzarella cheese to lay across the top of the chicken along with some pre-packaged Italian breadcrumbs. I kept the chicken in the oven for 18 minutes.

While the chicken was baking, I started on the pasta. I simply boiled some spaghetti noodles in some salted water, and then used my favorite sauce (Paul Newman's Roasted Pepper Marinara). 

Once the chicken was finished I topped it off with some of the sauce and put it back in the oven for 2-3 minutes.

This dish was a hit with the family. I really enjoy doing some fun things with chicken so it doesn't get boring. Hope you enjoy :)