Chicken Parmesan Bundles

Last weekend my parents and younger brother came to visit my husband and I for a few days. We tried to show them a lot of Nashville and ended up fitting a lot into just a few short days. To end the fabulous weekend, I made a special dinner for them on Sunday afternoon before they left to catch their flight back home. I wanted to do something simple that everybody would like, but that was also a little more special than the traditional pasta dish and this was the end result. These bundles take a little bit more time and effort than a regular weekday dinner, but they are absolutely delicious and extremely impressive. The hardest part is pounding the chicken breasts flat, but if you have a meat mallet (or an aluminum spaghetti-o's can in my case), it goes by very quickly and without too much effort. Try to find thinner chicken breasts to begin with and it will cut down the preparation time significantly. Next time you're looking for an upgrade to spaghetti or if you have guests over for dinner, try making these! They are an easy-pleaser and are also very inexpensive to feed a crowd. (Picture and recipe adapted from Kraft Foods)

Ingredients

• 5-6 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4-inch. thickness


• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened


• 1 cup frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained


• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese


• 1/2 cup cottage cheese or ricotta cheese


• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese


• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs


• 1 jar spaghetti sauce, heated

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the cream cheese, spinach, mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese in a medium bowl. Spoon onto chicken breasts. Roll up chicken tightly, securing with toothpicks if needed. In a separate small bowl, mix together the parmesan cheese and bread crumbs and roll each chicken bundle in the mixture until coated. Place in sprayed 9x13 pan and bake, uncovered for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Serve chicken topped with spaghetti sauce and some fresh mozzarella.

*If desired, serve over a bed of warm pasta.