Chicken Parmesan Rollatini

Foodnetwork.com has become one of my favorite places to find new recipes! Specifically Giada De Laurentiis, her recipes have consistently been healthy and savory- my favorite combo. 

This week I was craving some Italian style-food. I was doing my routine Google search for new healthy recipes, and the Food Network's website has a whole page dedicated to "Healthy Every Week". I found this recipe off of their "healthy chicken recipes" link.

Anywhooo, the Chicken Parmesan Rollatini was delicious! I would give it four out of four forks! It was very simple, between Frank and I, it took us about 15-20 minutes to prep and get the chicken in the oven, and about 10-15 minutes for the chicken to cook (*we used the smaller chicken tenderloins). So in total we were eating dinner in about 35 minutes, which is a BIG plus on a work night.  

The only thing I will change the next time I make this, is make addition sauce, about 1.5 times. The sauce is really tasty- and when I'm reheating left overs its nice to have a little extra sauce to spread around. The recipe makes a hearty 4 servings, enough for Frank and I to have dinner and lunch the next day!

The recipe is on the healthier side with only 355 calories, not including the polenta. Make sure you're accurately measuring the cheeses, because that is the main contributor to the fat content and calories. To cut down the sodium I would also recommend using fresh tomatoes instead of canned "fire-roasted tomatoes". All in all a great recipe, and tasty enough to make for your friends and family!! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!

Side Note:

I served the chicken parmesan rollatini with a side spinach salad with chopped onion, kalamata olives, coarse ground pepper and lightly drizzled with extra virgin olive oil (see picture below). Spinach is considered a "super food", and I try to incorporate it into my daily meals. When I can't sneak it into the smoothie in the morning I often put it on sandwiches, have a side salad with lunch, eat it with quinoa as a pre-workout snack, or include it with dinner. 


Spinach has a laundry list of positive health benefits including:

• High in protein – One cup spinach = 12% DV protein.
• High Vitamin A- Vitamin A is needed by the retina of the eye in the form of a specific metabolite, the light-absorbing molecule retinal, that is necessary for both low-light (scotopic vision) and color vision.
• High Vitamin K – Vitamin K is a group of structurally similar, fat-soluble vitamins that are needed for the post translational modification of certain proteins required for blood coagulation and in metabolic pathways in bone and other tissue.
• Great source of folate/folic acid, particularly important for pregnant or nursing women
• Over 25% DV of magnesium, iron, potassium, Vitamin C and manganese
• Decent source of fiber
• Carotenoids and flavonoids responsible for much listed below

How spinach improves your health:

• Protects against heart disease
• Anti-diabetes
• Regulates blood pressure
• Important for development of unborn babies
• Protects against age-related memory loss
• Eye health: prevents cataracts, macular degeneration (age-related blindness)
• Cancer-fighting
• Anti-inflammatory
• Strong bones/anti-osteoporosis
• Good for skin health (eczema, acne, psoriasis) and even preventing skin cancer from the sun
• Natural diuretic and laxative (fights constipation)
• Reduce frequency of migraine attacks

Read more at http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/07/20/food-for-thought-spinach-the-ultimate-super-foods-health-benefits/#fiwCYB6AmvyYmuMV.99

 

  Chicken Parmesan Rollatini

Source: Foodnetwork.com
Basic Polenta Recipe Source: Foodnetwork.com
Servings: 4

Per serving: Calories 355; Fat 14 g (Saturated 7 g); Cholesterol 105 mg; Sodium 848 mg; Carbohydrate 15 g; Fiber 2 g; Protein 44 g 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced *I LOVE garlic so I used 3 cloves instead.
• 1 14.5-ounce can crushed San Marzano or fire-roasted tomatoes 
• 5 or 6 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces *If you don't have any fresh basil you can substitute 1/2 the amount of dried basil.
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 thin (1/8-inch-thick) chicken cutlets (4 ounces each) *I didn't have any chicken cutlets so I used 8-frozen chicken tenderloins (defrost before wrapping).
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley *Dried parsley works as well, use 1/8 cup if you use dried.
• 6 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs *I used whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg white
• Cooking spray
• Instant polenta, for serving (optional) *See my favorite basic polenta recipe below

Directions:

1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Cook the broth, garlic, tomatoes and basil in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm. 
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper; place smooth-side down on a work surface. Sprinkle with the parsley and mozzarella. Starting at the short end, roll up to enclose the filling. Secure with a toothpick. 
3. Mix the parmesan and breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Put the egg white in another dish and beat until foamy. 
4. Mist a cast-iron skillet with cooking spray. Dip the chicken rolls in the egg white, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place in the skillet, seam-side down. Sprinkle with any remaining breadcrumbs and mist with cooking spray. Bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Serve with the tomato sauce, and polenta, if desired. 

Basic Polenta Recipe:

Serving: 6

Ingredients

• 6 cups water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 cups yellow cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

1. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a heavy large saucepan. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the butter, and stir until melted.