Baked Chicken Roll-Ups with Light Mushroom Cream Sauce

So Dan has abandoned me for the snowy slopes of Tahoe this weekend. Yeah. Weather’s finally getting really awesome in Virginia and the guy voluntarily leaves all this warmth and sunshine for a place buried under six feet of snow. [Shakes head]

Dan’s idea of fun may be rolling around in a big pile of snow, but me…all I want to do today is roll around in a big pile of these baked chicken rolls and rub the mushroom cream sauce all over myself. Strange and creepy? Maybe. Super amazingly delicious? Uh huh.

The greatest thing about this recipe is that it looks super decadent but is actually relatively light and healthy. Lets break it down: two boneless, skinless chicken breasts are sliced in half, pounded thin, wrapped around a ton of sauteed spinach mixed with low fat ricotta cheese, and baked until everything is tender and juicy. Then that gets draped in a tongue tickling-ly delicious sauce made with a just handful of chopped mushrooms, garlic, and a smidge of cream. Folks, that’s what we call mmm-licious and nutrious.

Baked Chicken Roll-Ups with Light Mushroom Cream Sauce
** 1 serving (2 roll-ups) = 281 calories; 36g protein; 10.8g carbs; 11.6g fat.

Ingredients: (Recipe serves 2).
(Chicken)
–  2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used Perdue’s individually wrapped 4-5 oz Italian-style breasts)
– 1/2 cup low fat ricotta
– 4-5 cups raw baby spinach
– 1 tsp salt

(Mushroom Cream Sauce)
– 1 cup portobello mushrooms, chopped
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1/4 cup light cream
– 1 tsp grated Parmesan

Steps:
(1) Preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease an 8×8 baking pan.
(2) Slice chicken breasts in half, length-wise. Pound each piece until thin and pliable. Set aside.
(3) Spray a large pan with a layer of cooking spray, then saute spinach on medium-high until leaves are wilted, about 1 minute.
(4) Transfer cooked spinach to a small bowl and mix with ricotta cheese. Stir well.
(5) Spoon spinach/ricotta filling equally onto one end of each piece of chicken.
(6) Roll chicken so that filling is securely encased.
** I suggest starting from the side of the chicken with the filling and rolling from there. Rolls should be short/fat, not long/thin.
(7) Place chicken roll-up seam-side down in greased pan.
(8) Bake for 18-20 minutes.
(9) About 3 minutes before chicken is done, start making your cream sauce. Saute chopped mushrooms in a large pan on medium heat. Sprinkle with salt so that the shrooms start to sweat. Cook until mushrooms have shrunken in size and are soft.
(10) Add cream and stir. Bring to a simmer, then stir in Parmesan.
(11) Once sauce has reached your preferred level of thickness, spoon it generously over your chicken roll-ups.
** Don’t forget to pull your chicken out of the oven!
(12) Enjoy with a side salad.