Stuffed Chicken with Lemon Gravy and Basmati Rice

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cups raw baby spinach, cleaned and dried
1/4 c walnut pieces
1/2 c crumbled feta
whole nutmeg, 5-6 grates against a rasp - (or 1/8 teaspoons of ground nutmeg. if you must!)
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 cup of sodium free chicken stock
4 Tablespoons olive oil, separated
1 Tablespoon of canola oil
3/4 cups basmati rice
1 1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put the spinach in a bowl - with no water - and microwave for 90 seconds;  set aside to cool.


Wash and try the boneless chicken and cut a pocket in each one.

When spinach is cooled, squeeze all of the water out of it.  Finely chop it on your cutting board and place it back in the (dried) bowl.  Add the feta, walnut, and nutmeg and mix well.  Stuff each pocket until almost overflowing and use toothpicks to close, if required.

Heat the pan on medium-high burner.  When hot, add 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil and 1 Tablespoon of the canola oil.  *wait until the pan is hot to add the oil, to keep it from smoking - and the canola has a higher smoke point, which will protect the olive oil.  Add the chicken, brown on both sides, and put in the oven.

 Heat a medium saucepan on medium-high heat, add the remaining Tablespoon of olive oil and add the basmati rice.  Toast it until it smells a bit toasty and is slightly browned.  Add the water and simmer on low heat for 13 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.

While the rice is resting, take the chicken out of the oven (use oven mitts!  :-)) and put it on a plate to rest.  Put the frying pan on a burner and add the flour.  Cook it for about 8 minutes and add the chicken stock.  Squeeze in the lemon juice and stir in the zest - simmer until the rice is ready.

Slice the chicken breasts on the rice, and drizzle with the lemon gravy.  Serve with a green vegetable for color.