Spinach & Walnut Chicken Roulades with Pan Gravy

Roulade... that sounds fancy doesn't it. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I have never tried to roll anything inside meat before. It sounded delicious and it looked beautiful, but it seemed too intimidating.
I am now educated.
Had I known how easy this really was I would have been rolling meaty things long ago. It starts with violently beating an innocent piece of meat, and turns into something delicious... how can that be bad?! I know it sounds wrong, but I think this process will be my new mental coping mechanism for dealing with difficult people. Just imagine turning that mean spirited neighbor into a beautiful roulade. I feel better already!

This month I joined up with my friend and fellow blogger from Three and a Half Stones To Go to prove that holiday fare doesn't need to be filled with fat. Skinnygiving was a huge success!!


We limited our event to 4 dishes to prevent obnoxious amounts of leftovers. She created an amazing Brown Rice Stuffing with chicken sausage and apples and wow...it was so good. She also made a Crustless Fat Free Pumpkin Pie which I remade for a group tonight and they DEVOURED it. The bowl was literally scraped clean.

I tackled the green bean casserole and a dish to rival any turkey.
Spinach & Walnut Chicken Roulades with Pan Gravy
4 chicken breasts
1 package spinach
1 tbs garlic
1 tsp oil
Crumbled blue cheese
Walnuts
Toothpicks
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Place chicken in plastic wrap and use a rolling pin or saute pan to pound the chicken nice and flat. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
In a saute pan add the oil and garlic, add spinach in handfuls and allow to wilt.
Then you start the fun assembly.
Divide your spinach into 4 segments. Each flattened breast gets one quarter of the spinach, some blue cheese and walnuts. This next part seemed intimidating before, but it's so simple. All you need to do is start rolling one end and secure with a toothpick.

Add the rolls to a heated pan (that you sprayed with olive oil) and allow them to get nice and golden on all sides. Cover and let cook an additional 5-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked thoroughly. Remove from pan and add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and be sure to scrape the pan so your gravy will include all the delicious flavor left from the chicken.
In a cup whisk the cornstarch with cold water. Slowly add this mixture into the boiling stock. Whisk constantly until thick. Serve chicken topped with gravy.

The other dish I tackled that evening was a skinny green bean casserole. It was delicious and I promise to share it soon. For now I'll be dreaming of excuses to make these dishes again.

Have you made a roulade before?