pesto cheesy chicken rolls

one of my favorite things to do with chicken is stuffing it! i've expanded beyond the typical chicken cordon bleu and have stuffed chicken with everything from roasted peppers to various cheeses and veggies. pictured above is one of my favorites - pesto cheesy chicken rolls. it consists of exactly what its named after - pesto basil sauce and cheese (did i mention that i loveloveloveloveee cheese?!) i didn't have mozarella on hand so i used slices of swiss cheese and dipped the chicken in egg and breadcrumbs to give it a golden crisp color. i use plain breadcrumbs and just spice it up with other seasonings, depending on my mood. for this particular dish, i mixed in italian seasoning, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.

another thing i do with the chicken is cut the breasts in half, lengthwise, and split it open to resemble a butterfly, leaving the sides attached. once i place my stuffing toppings, i roll it up and then stick my toothpicks in. i used to just fold the chicken breasts in half because i didn't have a mallet to pound it thin enough to create the perfect roll so this technique has worked out perfectly for me.

the side dish is parmesean orzo again. as you can see, i topped it with fresh avocado slices. it's one of the perks of having a boyfriend who works for the california avocado commission :)

hope you enjoy it as much as we did, xoxo

p.s. sorry for the crummy picture.. once the sun goes down, we have to rely on the horrible fixtures for our lighting. eck