Chicken rollatini with zucchini and mozzarella

This recipe was a fabulous Pinterest find from skinnytaste.com: chicken stuffed with zucchini and cheese, then dipped in lemon juice/olive oil and Italian flavored bread crumbs to form a delicious crust! I had leftover mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce from our turkey dinner last Sunday AND I had zucchini in the fridge about to go bad, so it was an easy decision to try them together.

Mine were not as beautiful as those on the original site, but perhaps if I had left them in the over just a bit longer, the outside would have darkened up a bit. This was also my first attempt to pound and flatten chicken breasts into something rollable. I put them in a heavy duty plastic bag and pounded away with my hammer, but there must be another way that yields a thinner, more even chicken fillet. Please give me your tips if you have any experience in this.

I loved the taste. I loved the zucchini and cheese filling all on its own! My kids gave mixed reviews. Picky 9 year old said they were too salty (?!), 6 year old said the chicken part was good (but not the zucchini), and 2 year old gobbled them up. I might try making chicken fingers with this recipe and just leave out the rolling and the filling with zucchini and cheese. Slightly faster and possibly more appealing to the kids.

Please visit skinnytaste.com for nutritional information and weight watchers points.

My version (almost exactly the same as Gina's original):

INGREDIENTS:


1 tsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/2 cups (1 medium) zucchini, shredded

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp fresh parmesan cheese

3 oz part skim shredded mozzarella

salt and pepper to taste

8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, with added oregano, basil, and parsley

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and fresh pepper

cooking spray



DIRECTIONS:

Wash and dry cutlets, season with salt and pepper.  Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Saute garlic one minute, or until golden. Add zucchini, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and saute about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool. When cool, add mozzarella cheese and mix to combine.

Lay chicken cutlets down on a working surface and spread 3 tbsp of zucchini-cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one and keep seam side down.

Combine breadcrumbs and grated cheese in one bowl; in a second bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper in another bowl.

Dip chicken in lemon-oil mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down in a baking dish (no toothpicks needed). Repeat with the remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spray with cooking spray.

Bake 25 - 30 minutes. Serve immediately.