Spinach Chicken Rollatini

I made this last night when we had friends over for dinner and I was even impressed with how easy yet yummy this recipe was. It is kind of a combination of the skinnytaste spinach lasagna rolls and my own chicken parmesan (which I am just now realizing has yet to make its blog debut- so that must change in the near future). This recipe is originally from here, but I did tweak it just a bit (shocking I know).

Spinach Chicken Rollatini
4 chicken breasts sliced in half and pounded thin (so you end up with eight- yay math!)
1 cup Italian seasoned Panko breading
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1pkg frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry of any liquid
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
olive oil non-stick spray
2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
handful of fresh chopped basil (optional)

Directions
1. Wash and dry chicken breasts. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

2. Combine breadcrumbs and 4 tbsp grated parm in one bowl and whisk one egg in another.

3. Combine about a half a cup of mozzarella with remaining grated parm, spinach (make sure you squeeze it dry), ricotta cheese and one egg. I also threw in the fresh chopped basil, because I have it growing like crazy out back. I also added a few shakes of garlic powder in the mix. Blend everything together until well mixed (I used a whisk, but you could use a hand mixer on a low setting if you don't want as intense of an arm workout).

4. Lay chicken breasts down on a working surface and spread approx 2 tbsp of spinach-cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one and keep seam side down.

5. Dip chicken rolls in egg 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 olive oil.

5. Bake 25 minutes. I ended up covering it with aluminum foil after about 10 minutes, because they were browning rather quickly.

6. Remove foil, top with about a spoonful of sauce then mozzarella cheese.

7. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 5 more minutes. Serve with additional sauce on the side and grated parm.

Enjoy!