I love to cook, but I get bored with the same ol' stuff. So, I like to branch out and try new things, even if I'm not exactly sure if I'll like it or not. But...how can you go wrong with chicken, right? :)
A few weeks ago, I experimented with a variation of fried wantons that were stuffed with spinach, ricotta cheese, and sweet sausage. I had a ton of the filling left over, so I froze the rest.
The other night, I just had a hankering for something different. I was tired of regular fried or baked chicken tenders, but I still wanted chicken, so, I got a littttttle bit creative.
I thawed out the spinach mix and preceded to make these:
Really all it is, are chicken fingers wrapped around balls of stuffing! It's so simple but soooo good! Here's the recipe, for anyone who is interested:
1 8oz pkg frozen spinach
1 cup ricotta cheese [room temp.]
1/3lb sausage [use whatever kind you like!]
1 lb chicken tenders
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes [optional, for a kick]
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
you can use any kind of pan for this. i chose a 9" round pan. pour the olive oil in the bottom of the pan, and make sure the bottom is coated well. preheat oven to 375.
prepare chicken tenders by seasoning with garlic powder, and salt/pepper to taste. lay one chicken tender out on a cutting board, seasoned side down. place a tsp of filling in the middle of the tender. pull the sides of the tender together, and use a tooth pick to hold it together. place in pan. repeat to all tenders. top each with a portion of your butter, and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.
bake for 10-15 mins. you may need to check after about 10 mins to see if they need to stay in there longer. it really just depends on the thickness of your tenders.
for filling:
cook the frozen spinach according to directions. brown the sausage, drain the fat. let both of these cool for 10-15 minutes before mixing. combine sausage, spinach, ricotta, red pepper flakes into a medium mixing bowl. add salt and pepper to taste.
