Almond-Stuffed Chicken

Almond-Stuffed Chicken with Salted Green Beans & Couscous

I must admit two things: One, I stole this from Cooking Light and its awesome because you can make it in under 30 mins, and two, I did not know how to solve the problem of not knowing weather the chicken was done on the inside. The cheesy goodness makes it hard for the chicken to warm on the inside and due to the fact that my lovely boyfriend doesn't quite get the fact that ecen though I said, "cut the chicken in half," does not actually mean cut the entire chicken in half but merely enough to stuff it (honest mistake), I ended up just baking both sides and stuffing the cheesy goodness in after cooking it in the pan. If you find a better way, please feel free to comment. All in all, I thought it was awesome, creamy, but still tasty, which says a lot from an anti-creamy person.

Ingredients:
1/3C light garlic-and-herbs spreadable cheese (I swear, it exists. You can also use Boursin)
1/4C slivered almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 handful of fresh basil, chopped
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. butter
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 Tblsp. parmesan (optional)

Ingredients for sides:
box of Mediterranean couscous
1/2 lb. green beans, cut ends
salt to taste

Directions:
Toast Almonds in skillet without oil. Combine spreadable cheese,
3/4 of the almonds, basil in a small bowl. Set aside.

Cut horizontal slit in chicken to form a pocket. DO NOT cut all the way through. He who shall not be named in this blog ("HWSNBNITB," I will only use this when he does something less than stellar), took my directions a bit too literally and thus we ended up having to sew chicken breast halves back together with toothpicks, not the prettiest end to the chicken. I'm not sure how to cook the chicken all the way through with the cheese in the middle so you might want to broil the chicken on low for a few mins before placing it in the skillet, but that's really for the next set. Stuff chicken pocket with the cheese mixture. Salt, Pepper, and paprika both sides of the chicken.

Heat butter (or oil for a healthier option) in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken to pan. Again, not sure how to solve the issue of cooking the chicken thoroughly on both sides enough to cook the middle because of the cheese mixture inside. If you solve this issue, leave a comment on the post. I ended up separating the halved until cooked then stuffing the mixture back in before taking it off the heat, but not the prettiest outcome.

Cook couscous according to the package and set aside.

Boil salted water, then cook green beans for 2-3 mins. Once chicken is done, throw the green beans in the hot skillet with some salt and toss in the pan. This keeps them crispy.

Place chicken on plate covering with parmasean if you wish. Then place couscous and green beans on the plate, covering everything with remaining almond slices and basil to decorate.