Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Bundles

We actually had this last week but I am just getting around to posting it here. This was a recipe I saw and thought it sounded good. However, I didn't have all the ingredients to make the dish so I changed it to fit what I did have.

It was actually really good. It turned out to be more Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Bundles than Chicken Parmesan Bundles. It is one I would make again for sure. Next time I think I would play with the spices more though because although it was good, the filling was a little bland. I served it with mashed potatoes that I made and also broccoli.

So, below I will post the original recipe. I'll note the changes I made here. First of all, I didn't have any spaghetti sauce so I skipped that part all together. I also didn't have any parmesan cheese. I thought I did when I planned to make it but then when I started looking, I didn't have any! I know that is one of the main ingredients but I thought I would just try it without and see how it did since I was already in the middle of the recipe at that point. Then instead of Ritz crackers I used the Late July version (just a little healthier but same taste). I did not have frozen spinach so I used a little fresh spinach and just wilted it down. So overall it was very similar but I think not having the spaghetti sauce or the parmesan cheese changed the taste a lot of course. I'd like to try it the original way at some point, too.

Chicken Parmesan Bundles

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Parmesan-Bundles/Detail.aspx

By: Philadelphia®

"Chicken breasts are rolled around a spinach and cheese filling, adorned with a crumb coating, then baked and topped with pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese."

Prep Time:

35 Min Ready In:

1 Hr 5 Min

Servings (Help)

Original Recipe Yield 6 servings

Ingredients

4 ounces PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained

1 1/4 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided

6 tablespoons KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

6 small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness

1 egg

10 RITZ Crackers, crushed

1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, heated

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix cream cheese, spinach, 1 cup mozzarella and 3 Tbsp. Parmesan until well blended; spread onto chicken breasts. Starting at one short end of each breast, roll up chicken tightly. Secure with wooden toothpicks, if desired. Set aside.

Beat egg in shallow dish. Mix remaining Parmesan and cracker crumbs in separate shallow dish. Dip chicken bundles in egg, then roll in crumb mixture. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 30 min. or until chicken is done (165 degrees F). Remove and discard toothpicks, if using. Serve topped with spaghetti sauce and remaining mozzarella.

Footnotes

Make Ahead: Assemble chicken bundles and place in baking dish as directed; cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours. When ready to serve, uncover and bake at 375 degrees F for 35 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Special Extra: Stir chopped fresh basil and/or sliced black olives into spaghetti sauce before heating.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 347 | Total Fat: 17.6g | Cholesterol: 129mg