My Mama's Chicken Rollin' Skills

Tooling around the kitchen is decidedly more difficult on crutches... the lack of hand availability really thwarts most kitchen efforts. Luckily I will be off of them by the end of the weekend, but for now I am dependent for everything from getting rides to getting dinner.

I am so blessed that my beautiful mother could take a week and a half and travel across the country to take care of me. Thankfully the recovery from surgery was a million times easier than my last knee, but it was still great to have her here to take care of me. She also whipped up some food for my freezer for an easy meal  when I don't have much time. She didn't want me taking her picture, but she brought out each stage of the process to where I was sitting on the couch so I could take pictures for this post. This Chicken Rollatini with Spinach alla Parmigiana recipe is from Skinnytaste.com which is a great resource for really great, really healthy meals if you are in the market. Some of the directions are very specific because it is originally a weight watchers recipe, don't be afraid to improvise a little bit.  



Chicken Rollatini with Spinach alla Parmigiana

Ingredients:

• 8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each
• 1/2 cup whole wheat Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 6 tablespoons egg whites or egg beaters (about three egg whites)
• 5 oz frozen spinach, squeezed dry of any liquid
• 6 tbsp part skim ricotta cheese
• 6 oz part skim mozzarella, shredded or finely chopped (We used pre-shredded, about 3/4 cups)
• olive oil non-stick spray
• 1 cup pomodoro sauce or your favorite marinara sauce 
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray. 

Wash and dry cutlets, pound them flat season with salt and pepper. 
Combine breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese in one bowl and 1/4 cup egg beaters or egg whites in another.

Combine 1.5 oz of shredded mozzarella cheese with remaining grated cheese, spinach (make sure you squeeze it dry), 2 tbsp egg beaters, and ricotta cheese.

Lay chicken cutlets down on a working surface and spread 2 tbsp of spinach-cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one and keep seam side down.

Dip chicken in egg mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down in a baking dish (no toothpicks needed). When finished, lightly spray with olive oil.






(My mom froze them here in small disposable tins--this way I can heat up 4-6 at a time, I'll have dinner for the night, and extras for a friend or leftovers for the next night)


 Bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven, top with sauce then cheese.

Bake until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 3 more minutes. Serve with additional sauce on the side and grated cheese.