Ali's Kitchen: Chicken Breasts With Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomatoes

Well, howdy. We here at Yum Yum decided to follow in the footsteps of our 43rd President and take January off. It's important to follow the right example, you know. But now the White House is back to work, and so are we. Here's a simple, no-frills recipe that's easy to whip up on a week night, provided you have:

- chicken breasts
- (herbed) goat cheese (or ricotta)
- sundried tomatoes
- olive oil
- your favorite herbs, dried or fresh

I'll just bet you have some sundried tomatoes in your pantry somewhere, either dry-packed or oil-packed. And I know you have olive oil and dried herbs. And I'm just willing to bet that you have some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in your fridge somewhere. This recipe really rests on whether you have some sort of smashable, whippable cheese (which is not cream cheese, for goodness' sake). For the sake of argument, let's say you do. Alrighty then.

1. Rinse and dry your tomatoes (this may follow steeping in warm water if they're dry-packed), then chop coarsely.
2. Depending on how many tomatoes you decide to chop up, plunk a proportional amount of your cheese of choice into a medium bowl. Adjust the portions to your personal tastes; I used roughly 50% more sundried tomatoes than goat cheese.



3. Mix the tomatoes, cheese, a healthy drizzle of olive oil, and a healthier dusting of your herbs (mine was simply basil since I used herbed goat cheese) in the bowl, smooshing and wooshing about until it's somewhat mousse-like, and the entire mixture looks orangey with chunks of red - no pure white from the cheese should be left.

4. Slice your rinsed and dried chicken breasts down the middle (starting from the thicker side) to form a pocket. Fill with the tomato and cheese mixture. Top the chicken breasts with a nice, thick coating of freshly cracked pepper. Pop in the oven (which was preheated to 350, oops) and leave them for about 25 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken breasts).

5. Use your leftover tomato/cheese mixture for a yummy cracker spread for your afternoon snack the next day.

Le yum yum!