Before we get to this delish prosciutto wrapped artichoke stuffed chicken breasts over lemon parsley orzo… I have to tell y’all something… I took my FitBit off on Sunday evening and haven’t put it back on since.
IT’S SO LIBERATING. As much as I loved that stupid little step counter, I found that it didn’t really promote fitness… At least for me, it promoted moving as much as you can while doing stupid stuff to get steps. I’m a really active person: I run 5-6 days a week, walk my dog twice each day plus I’m constantly running around my house doing household things/cooking/photography/playing with Montana. I’m literally always moving but my FitBit made me feel like I wasn’t doing enough (mainly because it doesn’t track running accurately which is extremely frustrating). SO I TOOK IT OFF. I do a lot and I’m tired of it making me feel bad. I might put it back on someday but who knows. Honestly, I think I’m too competitive for this step tracker shit haha. Though, now I really need a heart rate monitor + running watch. I’m thinking about getting one of these. In a perfect world I’d buy this or this or an Apple watch because I’m an Apple iSlut but they are all lots of moneyyyy. Thoughts?! I’d love your opinion.
Sorry, y’all came here for food not activity watches. Let’s talk about prosciutto wrapped artichoke stuffed chicken breasts over lemon parsley orzo!
This recipe happened because one day I was looking through my recipe index and realized I don’t have very many recipes where meat is the main component that aren’t tacos or burgers (lol). We LOVE tacos and burgers around here. So I decided to change it up! I think this happened because: A) I don’t eat a lot of red meat B) Tom isn’t the biggest fan of chicken – he says it’s boring C) red meat sometimes makes me ill. IDK but also, not pregnant.
I thought I could make chicken more fun by stuffing it! At first, I was going to stuff it with sun-dried tomatoes or roasted red bell peppers but… Tom reminded me that everyone has already done that. Sooo let’s bring out the artichoke hearts! They are tender and juicy with a smooth buttery taste. Yum yum yum. Stuffing the chicken brought it up a level but then I thought… “what if we stuff it and wrap it with prosciutto?!” BINGO. Flavor in the houseeeeeeeeeeeee.
Do you ever get confused between prosciutto, pancetta, and bacon?! Let me lay it down for you. All three are made from le pig. Bacon and pancetta = cured pork belly. However, bacon is cured and then smoked, where pancetta is just cured and not smoked. Easy enough right? Prosciutto is a whole other ballgame. It’s made from the hind leg of a pig (aka the ham). The outside of the ham is covered with salt (and maybe some spices) then it’s allowed to slowly air-dry. This process draws out moisture and concentrates the flavor. YESSS. Prosciutto is usually sliced very thin and eaten as is. Though in this recipe, we cook it wrapped around the chicken to bring out the aroma and merge flavors!
Okay so, even though our chicken is now flavor central, it needed something to sit on (lol). Enter: lemon parsley orzo! Honestly, I was going to put this chicken over quinoa but I was out… I’m actually really glad this happened though. The orzo adds some much needed carbs to this dish plus the lemon and parsley give it a punch of freshness! Ready for the recipe?! Okay go.
prosciutto wrapped artichoke stuffed chicken breasts over lemon parsley orzo
Ingredients
chicken
- olive oil or cooking spray
- 2 lbs chicken breast cut into 4 equal sized pieces
- 1 10 oz jar ready to eat/marinated artichoke hearts
- sea salt + freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 8 slices prosciutto
orzo
- 1 cup orzo plus water and sea salt for boiling
- 1/3 cup parsley finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- zest of one lemon
- juice of half a lemon
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- sea salt + freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Coat a baking dish with olive oil (or cooking spray).
- After you’ve prepped your four equal sized chicken breasts, carefully create a pocket in each breast using a sharp knife. Insert the knife at the thicker edge of the chicken breast then slowly slice into the meat creating a small pocket. Make sure to not slice through the meat. Once you have cut a couple of inches into the breast, remove the knife then expand the hole slightly using your fingers (this sounds so gross, I know).
- Stuff each breast with 2-3 artichoke hearts. Make sure to save the remaining marinade/juice from the artichoke jar, you will use these in step five. Once all the chicken breasts are stuffed, season them with a dash of sea salt and pepper plus one teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Wrap each chicken breast with two slices of prosciutto. You want the prosciutto to cover the opening to the artichoke stuffed pocket. If your prosciutto slices don’t fit all the way around the breast (mine didn’t), just start the second slice where the first one ended. It will all work out, promise.
- Arrange prosciutto wrapped chicken (preferably prosciutto seam side down), in the coated baking dish from step one. Pour the leftover artichoke marinade/juice into the baking dish. Bake at 400F for about 25-30 minutes then broil for an additional 5-8 minutes.
- While chicken is baking, cook your orzo according to the package instructions. Once cooked, remove from heat then drain. Place the cooked orzo in a medium-sized mixing boil then stir in chopped parsley, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, agave, and cayenne pepper until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside but keep warm.
- To plate, divide the lemon parsley orzo equally between four plates then top with one piece of prosciutto wrapped artichoke stuffed chicken breast. Drizzle a small spoonful of juice from the baking dish over the chicken then EAT.
After we ate these, I realized that stuffing each chicken breast with a tablespoon (or two) of goat cheese would make them even more fabulous. So if you eat cheese, feel free to try that as well and report back!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment or tag a photo #appetitesanonymous on instagram!! I’d love to see your chicken in action. Peace, friends!
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