Recipe of the Week - Almond-Stuffed Chicken

OK. First the good news, We got the house!!! I am so excited. We should hopefully get the keys and everything sometime next week so we can begin cleaning and painting and getting it ready to move-in! My wonderful MIL and GIL are coming around the 19th and 20th to help clean and paint and decorate. If you've ever seen my MIL's house you know why I asked for her help! She can watch any home decorating show and recreate what they've done and she has an excellent eye for decorating! I cannot wait.

Now to the real reason of this post. I have decided (thanks in big part to Leslie Montandon) to post a recipe every week. I have had a couple of requests for this one so here you go...

Almond-Stuffed Chicken (it is delicious!)
1/3 cup light garlic-and-herb spreadable cheese (this is with the specialty cheeses at United but I have been using the garlic and herb cooking cream by philly and it's even better!!!)
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped, and divided
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
11/2 teaspoons butter

1. Combine the spreadable cheese, 3 tablespoons almonds, and 2 tablespoons parsley in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Cut a horizontal slit through the thickest portion of each breast half to form a pocket. Stuff 1 1/2 tablespoons almond mixture into each pocket; secure each pocket with a toothpick. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
3. Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; cover and let stand 2 minutes. Top chicken evenly with remaining 1 tablespoon almonds and remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed chicken breast half, about 1 teaspoon almonds, and about 1 teaspoon parsley).
Calories: 288; Fat: 12.7g; Protein: 37.5g; Carb: 3.9g; Fiber: 0.9g; Chol: 111mg; Iron 1.7mg; Sodium: 496mg; Calc: 109mg.

I will admit the recipe sounds intimidating but it's really easy and tastes wonderful! Good luck! Let me know what you think!!!