Artichoke-Stuffed Chicken Breasts (Recipe from Weber Big Book of Grilling)

Another GORGEOUS Saturday for an epic lunch made on the grill.  When I woke up this morning I decided that I felt like having chicken for lunch, so I made myself some coffee and flipped to the poultry section of the Weber Big Book of Grilling.  Normally I would do something with a spicy dry rub or barbecue of some kind - but I thought I'd mix it up today with a stuffed chicken breast recipe, and the Artichoke-Stuffed recipe sounded too delicious not to try.

After getting most of the ingredients at my local grocery store I made my weekly pilgrimage to my own personal Mecca - Von Hanson's.  Having frequented several locations around the twin cities, Van Hanson's consistently has excellent quality in both the meats that they sell and service.  I purchased two full chicken breasts figuring I could just halve and butterfly them myself, and also a stuffed pepper to make as an appetizer.

I wrapped the pepper in foil and used indirect heat - keeping the temp around 375 degrees for 45 minutes to cook the pepper through - this gave me plenty of time to get started on the stuffing for the chicken breasts.  After dicing and sautéing the artichoke hearts in olive oil, red pepper flakes and thyme, I added the goat cheese and minced sun-dried tomatoes and was ready to stuff the chicken breasts.

Using toothpicks to hold the butterflied breasts together - I tossed them on the grill and after roughly 12 minutes per side they were ready to eat.  Delicious.  A little pasta salad and wine made this one of the best lunches I've had to date.  

As you can see - they turned out very well - I strongly recommend trying them yourself...  Here's the recipe:


For the Stuffing:

• 2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
• 1/4 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 7oz Artichoke Hearts (1 jar)
• 2 Teaspoons Minced Garlic
• 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 3oz Goat Cheese (crumbled)
• 3 Tablespoons Minced Sun-Dried Tomatoes
• 4 Half Chicken Breasts

Directions:

Sauté the artichoke hearts with the olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme, salt, and pepper in a medium sauce pan.  After cooking for 3-4 minutes remove from heat and add the goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.  Stir it well together and then divide into 4 equal portions and place each portion inside one of the chicken breasts.  Use toothpicks to close the chicken breasts, then brush the outside of the chicken with a little extra olive oil (to prevent sticking on your grill).  Grill until the chicken is cooked through and you're ready to eat!  Enjoy.