Scenes from Our Weekend: Spinach and Cheddar Stuffed Chicken Breasts and Hasselbeck Potatoes

This weekend was gorgeous, simply gorgeous. With two client go-lives this week and a mountain of homework I feel like we didn’t see much of it, but we maximized our outdoor time when we could with lots of Clive time, a little garage and yard clean-up and some bbq!

I really overexposed this photo, but it was my favorite of the bunch…

We picked up some organic chicken, bacon, spinach, cheese and potatoes and whipped up some easy Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Hasselbeck potatoes. I’ve been dying to make these since I saw them on Joy the Baker and they are so simple!

Ingredients:

For the Chicken: Adapted from AllRecipes member JERSEYGIRL_CHELL
1 (10 ounce) package fresh spinach leaves, washed
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
3/4 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
1 pinch ground black pepper
8 slices bacon

For the Hasselbeck Potatoes:
4 (8 ounce) baking potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions:

For the Potatoes:
1. Wash Potatoes, then, using a sharp knife, make slices across the potato the short way about 1/8 to 1/4 inch apart, making sure to cut down to the lip of the spoon, not all the way through the potato. The slices should stay connected at the bottom, and the spoon helps keep the depth even.
2. Place each potato on a piece of foil (large enough to wrap the potato in), and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on the tops and then wrap in foil.
3. Grill for 45 minutes flipping once.

For the Chicken:
1. Place spinach in a large glass bowl, and heat in the microwave for 3 minutes, stirring every minute or so, or until wilted. Stir in Greek yogurt, pepperjack cheese, and garlic.
2. Lay the chicken breasts out on a clean surface and make a slice through the middle of each chicken breast. Spoon some of the spinach mixture onto each one. Then wrap each chicken breast with two slices of bacon. Secure with toothpicks, and wrap in foil.
3. Cook on the grill for 30 minutes flipping once. At the end of 30 minutes you can uncover from foil and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes to brown the bacon.

In retrospect, Neil wishes he would have browned the bacon a wee bit after cooking the chicken. It will really bring the flavor out of the salty bacon (we just forgot). Otherwise? Delicious! We sat outside and talked about our ideas for the yard this year, where we want to travel this summer (I have the summer off of school, more on that soon!) and overall just enjoyed some much needed fresh air. Everything feels more do-able on a nice day don’t you think?

How was your weekend?