Wild Rice-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This recipe is a little time consuming but very yummy!  The stuffing could be made ahead of time.  I made it for a birthday dinner and it went well with the Brandied Carrots recipe on my blog. 

This recipe is for 6 chicken breast halves, which will make good planned-overs, but you can scale it back for 2-4 breasts.

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Stuffing:
1 large onion, minced
2 ribs celery, minced
2 medium carrots, minced
3 c. cooked wild rice
10 mushrooms, chopped (optional)
1/4 c. roasted sunflower seeds (optional)
4 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. sage
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
additional salt and pepper

Gravy:
1 can Cream of Something soup
1 can milk or water
1/4 c. dry sherry or vermouth

Pat the breasts dry with paper towels. Preheat the oven to 350.

In a skillet, cook the onions, celery, and carrots in 2 Tbsp. butter until the onions are translucent and begin to brown. If you are using mushrooms, add them and cook them until tender. Add the seasonings and cook 1 minute. Stir in the wild rice and sunflower seeds (if using) until it is well combined with the other ingredients. Check the seasonings and then allow the stuffing to cool enough to handle.

Use a thin, sharp knife to cut a pocket inside the chicken breast, with the entry hole at the top of the breast. Take care not to cut a pocket in your hand. Alternatively, you can butterfly the breast and wrap it around the stuffing.

Stuff the breasts. If you wind up making some extra holes, it's OK--just stuff them as best you can. Sprinkle the breasts with salt and pepper.

In a frying pan or a stove-top safe roasting pan, heat the remaining butter to medium-high. Fry each breast briefly, doing your best to keep the guts inside (it will still taste good). Place the breasts in the roasting pan and surround them with any remaining stuffing.

Mix the cream soup with the milk and sherry (this is easiest if you heat it in the microwave). Pour it over the breasts and wiggle them around a bit so that the soup mixture coats the bottom of the pan. Place in the oven, uncovered, and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the breasts reach 155 in the center. Remove from the oven and allow them to rest 5 minutes. Serve with gravy spooned over, green veggies and cranberry sauce.