Spice up Your Valentine's Day - Jalapeno and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Creamy Tomatillo Sauce

Very unsexy weekend for me as we're barreling towards a deadline at work. So I'll keep it brief and leave you with a sexy little dish to keep in mind for Monday. Or tonight. Or tomorrow. After all, is there really a way to make Mondays romantic? Not sure...

But Monday is also the day I'll announce the $55 giveaway- so enter if you haven't already on the post a couple down and good luck!

PS - to make this an easy and fast dinner, make the tomatillo sauce ahead of time and refrigerate (up to 2 days before) then just reheat gently over the stove before serving.

Jalapeno and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Creamy Tomatillo Sauce

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets, preferably on the thicker side so you can stuff them
1 large jalapeno, seeded and deveined and cut in half length wise
4 (1/8 inch thick) slices of Parmesan cheese, from a wedge, about 1x2 inches each
White pepper and kosher salt, for seasoning
Ground coriander, for seasoning
Garlic powder, for seasoning
Olive oil

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375.

Make a slit length-wise in the thickest part of your cutlets, not all the way through but leaving a good 1/4 inch before the other side. Sprinkle the inside with a good shake of white pepper, coriander, and garlic powder, then stuff each cutlet with the sliced jalapeno your slices of parmesan cheese. Transfer the cutlets to a greased, rimmed baking sheet and season the outside of the cutlets with salt and pepper, and a little more coriander and garlic powder if desired. Drizzle a little olive oil over the filling and the top of the cutlets and bake for 22-25 minutes until cooked through. Let rest for 8 minutes before slicing on the diagonal. Serve with tomatillo sauce.

Tomatillo Cream Sauce

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
salt and pepper, for seasoning
1 (28 oz) can tomatillos, well drained
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth
1/2 cup sour cream
2 heaping tablespoons chopped cilantro or flat leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:
Add the olive oil or butter to a medium heavy bottomed dutch oven and put over medium heat. Let heat through for 1-2 minutes until warm and add the chopped onions. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for 5-6 minutes until softened. Add in the tomatillos and cook them in the onions, stirring occasionally for 12-15 minutes until the 1 or 2 of the tomatillos 'bursts' releasing its seeds into the pan OR until some of the onions begin to brown and stick to the bottom of the pan. You don't want them to start burning but some good browned bits are lovely. Add in the coriander, garlic powder, and white wine or vermouth and bring to a boil over high heat. Use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture, being sure to scrape up any sticky or browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let boil away stirring occasionally until the majority of the wine has evaporated and the mixture is beginning to thicken - about 8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let cool for about 10 minutes before adding to your blender to puree. Blend until the tomatillos and onions are all broken down, then add the sour cream, herbs and salt and blend again.

Taste to see if you need more salt or pepper, make any adjustments, blend again and serve. Sauce can made ahead and stored up to 3 days in the fridge in a tightly sealed container. Either serve cold if using for dip or reheat as a sauce over a low flame on the stove.