Lazy Baked Greek Chicken

I currently have a free subscription to Rachael Ray’s magazine, but I really like it, so much that I might actually pay for the next year of it. This is from her magazine, I don’t know which month because I tore the page out, but it was recent, perhaps January 2011?

Lazy Baked Greek Chicken
Rachael Ray (picture from here)

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped (I reduced this because my husband doesn’t love garlic)
One 10-ounce box organic chopped spinach, thawed (I used fresh and wilted it myself)
Salt and pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste (I used ground nutmeg because I didn’t have fresh, but now I do, because now I have a microplane!)
3 Tbsp butter
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 pieces skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/2 cup crumbled greek feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 425*F. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil, in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and two-thirds of the garlic and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool, then add the spinach and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Melt the butter in the same pan, turn off the heat and add the panko, oregano and garlic, toss.

Drizzle a baking dish with the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil. Split each chicken breast across but not through and open like a book (be careful, you can easily cut yourself doing this!). Stuff with the spinach and feta, letting the stuffing overflow at the edges. Place the chicken pieces in the baking dish and top with the breadcrumbs. Bake until the juices run clear, about 20 minutes (mine took 35).

Verdict: SO good! I loved this chicken. The crust was so crispy and delicious and flavorful. It presents well, and looks like a difficult dish to make, but it really isn’t too hard to make.
Husband’s take: My husband likes almost everything, which is one of the many things I love about him. He is finicky about garlic and onions though. So if I was to make this for him again, I would a) leave out the onions and b) reduce the garlic further than I already did. But if I was going to make it for just me, I would leave it just as it was!
Changes I would make: See above.
Difficulty: Moderate. Actually pretty easy. Looks more intimidating than it actually is.

Tagged as: baked, chicken, feta, spinach, stuffed chicken