Pizza Chicken Roll-Ups

Pizza Chicken Roll-Ups

Where I got the recipe:  Taste of Home.com

Tools you'll need:  9"x13" baking dish, hammer, rubber band, toothpicks, plastic wrap, cooking spray, aluminum foil.

Ingredients:  6 boneless,

                     skinless, chicken

                     breast halves

                    sliced pepperoni

                     8 oz. sliced or shredded 

                     mozzarella cheese 

                    1 can (15oz) pizza sauce

When we made it:  Sunday

I know it's been awhile since I've written, but I had a busy December.  There were the holidays, of couse, plus I got engaged to my girlfriend Tracey.  We've been doing a lot of cooking, to say the least, and I've widened my horizons via Tracey's input and preferences.  In addition to all that, we'll soon be working with a new kitchen in the house we bought.  Once we get settled in, I hope we can share with you how much we enjoy cooking together.  We have different work schedules, so she may not help every time.  I'll be sure to give her credit when she does.  In the meantime, here's something we tried recently:

The first thing you want to do is flatten your breasts.  There are many ways to do this, such as with the bottom of a cup or a sports bra, but I prefer using a hammer covered with plastic wrap, fastened with a rubber band.  The key is to hit hard enough to flatten, but not hard enough to tear through the chicken.  I tore through the first one I did, but Tracey has just the right touch when she's got a hammer in her hand.  Beat 'em 'til they're about a quarter inch thick.

Lightly grease or spray your cooking dish.  As you finish each breast, just put it right in there.

Lay a row of pepperoni along the widest end of each breast, overlapping them.  I think we used about six or seven per breast.  The original recipe said to use just three, but that didn't seem like enough.

Cover the pepperoni with some of the cheese, and roll it up tightly.  Use a couple toothpicks to secure it.  Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees f.

With the breasts now secured and in the baking dish, spoon or pour the pizza sauce over the chicken breasts.  Cover the dish tightly with the foil, and bake for 40 minutes.  Use a timer!

While you're waiting, you could consider what you'd like to have with them.  We had baked potatoes with butter, bacon bits and shredded cheese.

When your timer dings, remove the dish from the oven and remove the foil from the dish.  Add more of the cheese on top of each of the breasts, and bake uncovered for another five minutes.

Tracey and I agreed that this dish turned out tender and tasty, with a real nice balance of flavor.