Spinach-Stuffed Chicken and Mushroom Bake

Spinach-stuffed Chicken with
Mushroom Sauce and Stuffing
Served on Plain Rice

Something I made up. Typically if I wanted a chicken casserole, I dice chicken breast and mix with cream of chicken, cubes of Velveeta cheese and a bag of chopped broccoli. But I had no cream of mushroom. And I had other extra items in my fridge that were waiting to be used, or else they just might expire.
So...what did I have?....hmmmm....think....think....

I had chicken.
I had extra feta cheese and Colby cheese (from making supersoft ensaymada recently).
I had extra baby spinach (leftover when I served it as salad accompaniment to butter-fried scallops).
I had 1 can of mushroom sauce. (I had no cream of chicken.)
I had 1 8-oz tub of sour cream in the fridge. (I originally planned to use this two weeks ago on beef stroganoff but somehow I cooked something else then.)

I knew I loved the combi of feta cheese and spinach on pizza.
I knew mushroom sauce and sour cream go well together (like in beef stroganoff or in chicken and mushroom bake).

So I thought I'd combine the two ideas, and top with stuffing. The process is quite laborious...but that's what happens in my kitchen when I want to use up ingredients that might otherwise expire.

And that's how recipes are created!

The greatest reward? It was another hit with my family!

Ingredients:
chicken filets (I used a big breast butterflied and cut in two pieces, plus two thighs deboned and butterflied)
1 stuffing package (plus 1-1/2 water and 4 tbsp butter to prepare)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
8-oz sour cream
4-oz grated colby cheese
2-oz crumbled feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Photos	Procedure
	Prepare the stuffing according to package directions. Set aside. Chop the spinach (about 2 cups raw) and cheeses in the food processor. I used 2 ounces of feta cheese and 4 ounces grated colby cheese.
	Make sure that they are mixed well and spinach is finely chopped.
	Mix together 1 can of condensed mushroom soup with 8-oz sour cream. Layer this on a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
	Pre-heat the oven to 400ºF. Place a thick layer of spinach on the chicken filet. I used both chicken breast and deboned thigh for this purpose.
	Roll tightly.
	Secure with toothpicks. Place on the baking pan on top of the mushroom-sour cream mixture.
	Distribute the pieces well.
	Coat the chicken pieces with the mushroom-sour cream mixture. This will help give them more flavor.
	Top with the prepared stuffing. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour or until chicken is done. The stuffing should get toasted. If it starts to burn, cover loosely with foil until chicken is done.
	Take it out and let rest afor at least 5 minutes before serving.
	Warn everyone about the toothpicks! Enjoy as is or serve with plain rice.