Great Grandma's Baked Chicken

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
8 ounces (about 3/4 cup) soft goat cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small bowl, combine the goat cheese, rosemary and lemon peel; set aside. Using a small sharp knife, cut into the side of each chicken breast half to create a pocket. Stuff each chicken breast with about 1 1/2 tablespoons goat cheese mixture and secure with a toothpick.

In a shallow bowl, whisk the eggs and set aside. Place the bread crumbs in another shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add half the melted butter to the bread crumbs and combine. Keep the remaining butter warm for basting.

Cover a baking sheet with foil. Dip each stuffed chicken breast in the egg and then in the bread crumbs to coat; set on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until cooked through, about 45 minutes, drizzling with the remaining butter every 15 minutes.

Comments:
I skipped the whole butter thing and it turned out a wee bit dry. I just thought that it called for a whole lotta butter and that didn't seem like a good idea to me. The result wasn't fantastic, but it was still edible. I'll have to think of an alternate method if we have this again.

On a side note, look at those beautiful beans. We've been able to get all kinds of wonderful produce at our local farm stand this summer: strawberries, corn, melons, blueberries, peaches, beans, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, peppers. We're so lucky to have so many local choices for fresh fruits and veggies.

Soon we'll be seeing pumpkins and squash and then it'll be winter. Boo. Now I'm depressed.