Pan-Fried Stuffed Chicken With Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Basil

Tonight I made Pan-Fried Chicken with Prosciutto, Mozzarella, and Basil, once again, off of Melissa's blog. (She really has some great recipes!) Instead of making pasta as a side dish, we decided to try spaghetti squash, since Troy had mentioned it the other day, and we all wanted to try it. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com that I altered only a tiny bit.

Pan-Fried Stuffed Chicken With Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Basil

(my changes are in red)

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 small slices of prosciutto or smoked ham (I used prosciutto)
2 ounces of fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 4 slices (I used shredded mozzarella)
8 basil leaves, plus 1/4 cup thinly sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth (I ran out, so I used white wine)
2 tablespoons honey mustard (I skipped this...not a fan of mustard and chicken anymore)
1 garlic clove, minced

Directions

Heat oven to 350°.

Cut each chicken breast in half crosswise to make 4 portions. (I didn't do this, but after feeling terribly fat, now I think I should have.) Cut a slit into the sides of each portion. Insert a slice of prosciutto, a slice of cheese and 2 whole basil leaves into each slit. Secure well with a toothpick. (I forgot to add the cheese!!! I had to stuff it into the hot breasts in the skillet.)

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until hot; add the chicken. Reduce heat to medium; cook, turning once, until chicken is browned, about 3 minutes per side.

Transfer chicken to a baking pan.
Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 15-18 minutes. (I didn't do this...my squash was in the oven and was almost done, so I just cooked the chicken entirely in the skillet and added wine and garlic to it while it cooked.)

Transfer to a platter.

Meanwhile, heat the broth, mustard and garlic to a boil in the same skillet over high heat; cook until slightly thickened, 5 minutes. Stir in sliced basil; pour over chicken. (I totally didn't even see that you were supposed to add basil to the sauce. We had plenty inside the chicken though.)
...and, on the side...

Spaghetti Squash with Pine Nuts, Sage, and Romano

again, my changes are in red

INGREDIENTS:

1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (I thought I had these, but turns out I didn't - so I skipped them!) 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (I used Parmesan)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage 2 teaspoons butter, melted salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	Place the squash, cut side down, in a large baking dish.
3.	Bake the squash in the preheated oven for 50 minutes.
4.	Scrape flesh of squash from the rind using a fork and place in a bowl. Add the pine nuts, cheese, sage, butter, salt, and pepper; toss to combine. Serve immediately.

I served the meal with a salad created by Troy (full of all sorts of veggies...broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc.) and cheesy garlic bread.

Isn't it so cool how it comes right out of the rind all spaghetti-ish? :)
Overall rating: Mike and Troy loved the spaghetti squash. For me, it was just okay. I'd like to try it another way.
The chicken was good, but not extraordinary. I make stuffed chicken breasts all the time, so this wasn't anything special. I'll keep it in mind, but I'm not planning to bookmark the recipe.