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In the Kitchen: Italian Chicken Parcels

by E.P. on January 14, 2010

My little sister and her (Canadian!) boyfriend came to town last weekend to spend some time with the boy and me, as well as go to a hockey game and explore the city.

When we weren’t out eating obscene amounts of pizza, accidentally shooting red wine onto the kitchen ceiling (I still don’t know how this happened) or shopping at one of our biggest outlet malls, we spent some downtime at our house cooking, laughing and playing games. (Namely Apples to Apples. Which is one of the best games of all time.)

Last Sunday, the boy and I were planning to make a simple chicken dish for our dinner after spending most of the weekend at restaurants. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that my sis and her boyfriend were staying one more night in town with us. And were planning to have dinner with us, since we’d already put the recipe down in our planner.

(Side note: We’ve been meal planning recently, and it is AMAZING. Seriously. I’ve tried to do this before, but it’s a lot harder for me to stick to it because, uh, I really like to eat whatever I’m craving. And I generally don’t crave whatever I have planned to eat. BUT my boy keeps a good schedule. And keeps me in line. Sometimes. So we’ve stuck to this meal planning stuff.)

So. Yeah.

We made this tasty chicken recipe, courtesy of a random baking book on super sale.

Italian Chicken Parcels
From Barnes and Noble: Greatest Ever Baking

1 T olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
9 oz. mozzarella cheese (we eyeballed this)
3 1/2 C sliced zucchini
4 large tomatoes
1 small bunch of fresh basil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut out four squares of foil, and brush the squares lightly with oil.

Slice zucchini and tomatoes. Divide zucchini and tomatoes between the four foil squares. Tear the basil and sprinkle it over the vegetables inside the parcel.

Cut into each chicken breast three times, careful not to cut through the meat completely and stuff the mozzarella between the slashes. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables.

It should look like this:

chicken1

Top the chicken and veggies with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Close up the parcels, stick them on a baking sheet and pop in the oven for about 30 minutes.

The unwrap the parcel (carefully!) and voila:

hicken2

And you’ve got a delicious and simple dinner. (Served with cheesy broccoli.)

Do you have a favorite Sunday night dinner?

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{ 74 comments }

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 6:34 pm

Ha. This may be one of the many reasons we're friends. I'm that way with leftovers…

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 6:34 pm

Haha awesome! Make it! This recipe is totally easy and delicious, too!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 6:35 pm

It's a lot easier to meal plan if you're all on the same schedule. (When I lived by myself, I tried to meal plan but perpetually failed.) Let me know how it goes!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 6:36 pm

It was totally tasty, and your favorite meal sounds amazing. Anything with yam/sweet potato fries is a winner in my book!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 6:37 pm

Haha. We've laughed about that a lot. I absolutely LOVE her boyfriend. And he laughs about certain things he does/says in our presence. I'm sure it would be the same way if we went up

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 6:38 pm

Ha. I have NO idea what it is about wine and this house, but it's bad news. Or maybe it's good news. (It always makes things interesting, if nothing else!)

And I think you're right. Any kind of fish would be delicious like this!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 6:38 pm

It is, it is! And I'm the same way. I feel like I always make chicken the same way, so it's nice to find a different recipe that's a gem. I hope you enjoy it if you do make it!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 6:39 pm

Both are true! And I hope you get to try this. It's totally easy, but delicious!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 6:39 pm

Haha. We've laughed about that a lot. I absolutely LOVE her boyfriend. And he laughs about certain things he does/says in our presence. I'm sure it would be the same way if we went up to his hometown.

Thanks! It really is delicious!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 6:40 pm

Oh no! That's not good! But I'm glad that the recipe looks good!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 6:57 pm

I think feta would be DELICIOUS with this recipe! Let me know how it goes if you make it!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 7:02 pm

I think that would be wonderful! Please let me know if you decide to use feta and how it turns out!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 7:07 pm

YAY to this entire comment! I heart Apples to Apples, and the dinner just made that evening even better!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 7:07 pm

YAY to this entire comment! I heart Apples to Apples, and the dinner just made that evening even better!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 7:08 pm

That's the truth! And it would be just as easy and delicious on the grill! Try it out!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 7:09 pm

Hooray! You're welcome! I'm glad to hear it turned out well!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 7:12 pm

Good! I'm so happy to hear it worked out well and was a success!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 7:14 pm

Thanks! Cheesy broccoli… you can't go wrong with it!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 7:16 pm

It really is good! And I can understand being freaked out by uncooked poultry. It used to be the same way for me, and I decided at some point to put mind over matter. While it still goobs me out sometimes, I can cook chicken now without cringing. ;)

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 7:17 pm

Thanks! Your two favorite Sunday night meals sound AMAZING right now! I might have to get your taco soup recipe because that's always nice for a chilly day!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 7:17 pm

Do it! I'm interested to hear what you think about it!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 7:18 pm

Heh, you and me both! He was a fantastic helper!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 7:20 pm

It really was delish! And your favorite Sunday night dinner sounds delicious, too! YUM!

E.P. January 25, 2010 at 7:21 pm

Completely and totally agreed!

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