Chicken Stuffed with Spinach and Wild Rice, Served with Balsamic-Glazed Asparagus

Had to whip up a quick Saturday-night dinner, so I worked with what we had in the house.

For the chicken, I used a quick array of seasonings, including kosher salt, crushed black pepper and left-over Emeril's  "essence" http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/emerils-essence-recipe/index.html


I threw the chicken on the Forman Grill, and while it cooked I combined fresh spinach, left-over Trader Joe's wild rice and some low-fat shredded mozarella cheese w/ salt and pepper in a bowl.  I then heated the mixture in the microwave until the spinach started to wilt (approx 1 minute total, stopping twice to stir ingredients).

When the chicken was close to being done (approx 6 minutes on the grill), I removed it, sliced open each breast and filled them with the rice/spinach/cheese mixture (I regret that I forgot about the sundried tomatoes we still had in the fridge...this recipe was good, but could have used more flavor).  I then placed the stuffed chicken breasts on a baking pan and put in the oven for approx. 5-7 minutes - with the oven set at 400 degrees.

While baking the chicken, I poured some olive oil and water into a large pan.  I added the asparagus, squirted some bottled lemon juice on top and then seasoned w/ salt, pepper, lemon pepper and a dash of oregano.  Asparagus cooks pretty fast (about 4 minutes on med/high heat).  As it neared being done, I threw in a little more olive oil, salt, pepper and about 2-3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar.

...slapped everything on a plate.  Poured two glasses of red wine.  Dinner was served!