So in the past I have been pretty convinced that I'm not too great of a cook.  There are a few staple meals that I can make (read: Ramen, spaghetti and bruschetta),but that's about all I was confident with.

Then I moved in with 5 other girls who have never lived on their own before/cooked for themselves.  And they all think that I can cook!
So between that and the Rat Pack music that I was listening to, I was feeling pretty confident in my domestic skills...which lead me to mix a few Pinterest recipes and come up with my own! And I was so proud of it that I took pictures and decided to post it here :)


Pesto-stuffed Breaded Chicken:

Ingredients
3 large chicken breasts
1/3 cup pesto (homemade or store bought)
1/4 cup cream cheese
Breadcrumbs
Flour
1 beaten egg

(I didn't really measure anything.  I just eyeballed what looked like enough pesto and cream cheese to cover the breasts once I flattened them out, and enough flour and breadcrumbs to cover the breast once I rolled it back up.  My mom always cooked without measuring, and she's one of the best cooks I know.  So I'm not a "measuring" kind of girl :)
Prep:
1) Put the cream cheese and pesto in a microwave safe bowl and zap it for about 20 seconds; just long enough so that you can blend the two together.  Once it's done, use a whisk to mix them together really well.  This is going to be the "stuffing".

2) Crack the egg into a bowl and beat it; put it into a container that will fit the chicken breast once it has been rolled back up (a 9x13 works well... I used a tupperware, as you can see :).
3) I didn't have breadcrumbs, but I did have plain croutons.  So I stuck them in a ziplock and used my soup can to crush them.  I put them in a tupperware with the flour and mixed them together with a fork.  It just helps make the breading crispier :)

4) Spray a 9x13 pan with spray shortening and set it aside.
5) Heat the oven to 375* F

The Process:
1) One at a time, put the breasts into a ziplock bag and pound them until they are pretty darn flat.  They shouldn't break at all, and you shouldn't beat all the way through the meat....but the flatter they are the better they cook.

Also, in terms of a "hammer" to flatten with:  I don't have a meat tenderizer.  I don't have a rolling pin.  But I do have cans of Campbell's soup-to-go, which worked just BEAUTIFULLY to flatten that breast.  So use whatever you have handy.



I didn't pound them out all at the same time... I went through the whole "pound, stuff and bread" process for one piece before starting a new one.

2) After one chicken breast is sufficiently flattened, scoop some of the pesto-cream cheese stuff onto it.  Spread it out so that it is even and completely covers the meat.  You shouldn't see any chicken peaking through.
3) Roll the breast up so that its about the same size as it was pre-soup can.  Some of the pesto mix might spill out; wipe it up and throw it back in with the mix...use it on the next piece of meat :)
4) Roll the breast in the beaten egg mixture.  Then roll the meat in the flour/breadcrumb mix and lay it gently in the pan.