Mozzarella chicken spinach roll-ups

Happy Valentine's Day! Yesterday, I received beautiful roses from my husband! He told me that the second part of my Valentine's gift was that he was going to cook dinner for me today.  Well, when he arrived home from work two hours early, carrying a box of tissues, I knew that his plan of cooking was probably no longer in place.  My poor husband was sick.  So, I decided that sickness or not, we were still going to have a special Valentine's day dinner! His plan was to make some sort of chicken breast, so it was all defrosted and ready to go.  I, however, am always left wondering what to do with chicken breast.  So, after searching some recently "pinned" recipes, I decided to give Chicken Rollatinis with Spinach a try! Though Hubby isn't a huge fan of spinach, he does enjoy chicken, marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese! If I can sneak in a little vegetables, that is a bonus! Plus, they make a great presentation when trying to set up a pretty plate! Here is my adaptation of this recipe, adapted from skinnytaste.com.  I hope you enjoy it!


Servings: 6
WW PPV: 7 

Ingredients: 
- 6 thin chicken breasts (I used 3 thick breasts, sliced in half)
- 1/2 cup fat free ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup egg whites, divided
- 8 tbs. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
- marinara sauce
- olive oil cooking spray

Start by pounding chicken breasts flat.  (If you've never done this, a tip is to stick a few in a zipped gallon ziplock bag, and pound with flat side of mallet until thin and even). 

Next, mix together ricotta cheese, spinach, all but 2 Tbs. parmesan cheese, 

2 Tbs. mozzarella cheese, and 2 Tbs. egg whites.

Spread the ricotta mixture across the center of each flattened chicken breast, leaving border along all edges.

Next, set up breading station by combing bread crumbs and remaining parmesan cheese

and pouring onto a large plate.  Pour egg whites into bowl.

Roll up each chicken breast from narrowest end, loosely.  Dip in egg whites, followed by bread crumb mixture covering all sides of chicken.  Place seam side down into greased 9x13 pan (no need to use toothpicks).  Spray tops with olive oil cooking spray.

Bake at 450* for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven.

Cover with 1-2 Tbs. marinara sauce, followed by 1-2 Tbs. shredded mozzarella cheese.  Replace in oven from 3-5 minutes, until sauce is heated and cheese is fully melted.

Remove from oven.  Serve immediately.  Enjoy!

As you can see in the picture, I served this with roasted rosemary potatoes, sea-salt green beans, and yes, good ole' stove top stuffing (the hubby's favorite side dish...).  Happy Valentine's day to each of you, and here's hoping that you were able to enjoy a yummy meal with your loved ones today!

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