Stuffed Chicken Divan

It is hard to believe that five years ago today I lost my Mom.  Sometimes it seems like I just saw her - probably because I think of about a million times a day.

So, today, in honor of my mother, I'm making Chicken Divan, one of my favorite things that my mom used to make for me.  Except, I had to change it up a little because of our diet plan.  We've been counting calories using My Fitness Pal.  If you are interested in something like this, it is totally free.  And there is a free downloadable mobile app.  It lets you track everything you've eaten and your exercise and helps you determine how many calories you should consume each day based on your weight loss goals.

All that said, this is a lower calorie chicken divan dish that I found on Food Network - 1 serving is 347 calories.  Just be careful because the serving size is half a breast - but these were huge and definitely filled both of us up.  And, as my husband said as we were eating dinner, "This sauce is the sh*t."  The highest compliment from him for sure.

Stuffed Chicken Divan with a Sherry Dijon Sauce

You can find the original recipe here.  I changed several things up and I'm happy with my result.

What you'll need:
cooking spray
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
4 chicken breast halves
2 teaspoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of fresh chopped thyme
1 cup low fat evaporated milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1 teaspoon dijon mustard

What you'll do:
Boil salted water and add broccoli.  I chopped mine up extra small to help make it easier to stuff in the chicken.

While the broccoli is cooking (only about 5 minutes), grate the Gruyere and put that along with the chopped garlic in a bowl.  Drain the broccoli and then add cold water to chill.  Drain again and then add the broccoli into the bowl with the cheese and garlic.  Toss well.

Cut each chicken breast down the thick part of the chicken to make a place to put the stuffing.  Stuff each chicken generously with the broccoli mixture.  I'm not the world's best stuffer so I had to use toothpicks to hold it together.  (This is a fine solution but make sure you warn people before they eat the chicken to be on the lookout for the toothpicks). 

Chop the thyme.  Season the outside of the stuffed breasts generously with salt and pepper. 

Add olive oil to the pan and heat up.  Add the chicken breasts and sprinkle with thyme.  Cook chicken almost through making sure to brown each side well. 

Spray cooking oil in a baking dish while the chicken is cooking and preheat the broiler.

Once the chicken is finished, place it in the baking dish.  To the same pan that you cooked the chicken, add the evaporated milk, the parmesan cheese, the mustard and the chicken broth.  In a separate bowl, whisk the sherry and cornstarch.  Whisk the sherry mixture into the broth, etc.  Once thickened - after about two minutes - top each breast with two tablespoons of the sauce.  Place chicken under the broiler for about 5 minutes.  Remove from the broiler and cut breasts in half.  Spoon a little of the remaining sauce on each plate.

We had ours with honey glazed carrots.  I didn't use a recipe for this but I just boiled some baby carrots and then drained.  I added about half a tablespoon of butter, a drizzle of honey and salt and pepper.  Let the butter and the honey glaze the carrots and serve.  Delish!