Spinach & Artichoke Stuffed Chicken

Adapted from Food Network's Giada De Larentiis

I had some goat cheese and a giant Costco-sized bag of spinach that I needed to use, so I was considering some meal options when I suddenly remembered eating at my friend Brittany's home for a progressive dinner last spring.  A progressive dinner is a meal where a group of our friends would take turns making appetizer, salad, main dish, and dessert once a month, progressing from house to house as the meal progressed.  That night it was Brittany's turn for the main dish and she made this dish except with pork instead of chicken. It was fantastic and I had always meant to make it again.  Since I didn't have any pork chops in the house, I decided to substitiute chicken for the pork.  Voila!  A fantastic dish that reminded me of one of my dear friends. 

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small can marinated artichoke hearts
• 1 (10 oz) bag of spinach
• ½ tsp salt, plus  more for seasoning
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• 1/3 cup (3 oz) goat cheese
• 1 oz reduced-fat cream cheese
• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 ½ cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp lemon pepper
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 Tbs Dijon mustard

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Warm the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the artichoke hearts, spinach, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Cook until combined, about 2 more minutes.
•   Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.  Add the goat cheese and the cream cheese to mixture.  Stir to combine and set aside.
• Use a meat tenderizer to pound the chicken to about a quarter inch thickness.  Layer 1/4^th of the goat cheese mixture on one half of each chicken breast.  Fold the chicken breast in half, so that the goat cheese mixture is now in the middle of each chicken breast.  Season the outside of the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. 
• Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  When the pan is hot, add the chicken.  Cook until slightly golden on each side.  Set chicken aside.
• In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon pepper, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard. Add the chicken broth mixture to the skillet over medium-high heat.  Scrape up brown bits from the bottom of the pan as the chicken broth simmers.  Reduce the broth by half to make a light sauce, about 8 minutes.
• Spoon some sauce into a baking pan, just to cover the bottom of the dish.  Place the chicken in the pan.  Drizzle a little more sauce onto each piece of chicken.  Bake chicken for about 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. 
• Spoon some extra sauce onto the chicken before serving. 

Notes:  Consider adding mushrooms and sundried tomatoes to goat cheese mixture.  Consider using feta if don't have goat cheese.