Gluten Free Apple Stuffed Chicken

Chicken is a pretty big staple in my family's diet. I feel like I am on a never ending quest to find new and inventive ways to turn a plain chicken breast into something different yet delicious. I started playing around with the idea to do stuffed chicken breasts. I looked over several recipes but couldn't find something that looked easy and sounded good. I'm usually a pretty big recipe follower. However, for this one, I just took a few simple ingredients and roughly gauged the amounts. The results were surprisingly good. The chicken was moist, the apples were not mushy, and the other spices complimented everything else nicely. Be sure to check out the Gluten Free Homemaker for some other great gluten free meal ideas.

I have a small family. This recipe was just right for 3 medium sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Feel free to adjust for your family size.
Apple Stuffed Chicken:
Filling:
1 medium Granny Smith apple (coarsely chopped with the skin on)
2 cloves of garlic (pressed)
2 green onions (coarsely chopped)
1/2 tsp sage(dried or fresh)
1/2 tsp thyme (dried or fresh)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
Chicken:
3 medium boneless, skinless breasts sliced horizontally and pounded flat. 1/4 inch thick.
1 tsp olive oil
Heat oil in a medium or large skillet over medium high heat. Saute apples, garlic, green onions, lemon juice, sage, and thyme for about 1-2 minutes. Do not cook the apples until they are mushy.
Slice the chicken breast horizontally and fold open. Make sure you don't cut them all the way in half. Place the chicken in a large Ziploc bag. I used a rolling pin to pound the chicken to about a 1/4 inch thickness. If you pound them too thin, they will fall apart.
After you have sauteed the apple mix for 1-2 minutes, remove from the heat and pulse in a food processor 2-3 times. You want to break the apples down a bit but you don't want to create a paste. Spread 1/3 of the apple mix onto a chicken breast. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat with the 2 remaining chicken breasts.
Roll the chicken up lengthwise and tie it with kitchen string every few inches to hold the roll together. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Add 1 tsp of oil to a large oven proof skillet over medium heat. Place the chicken in the skillet. Brown the chicken on all sides, turning every few minutes. This should take about 10 minutes. After the chicken is thoroughly browned, place the skillet in the oven to finish cooking, about 10 minutes. Check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. Cook until the center reaches 165 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let the chicken rest on a cutting board for about 3-5 minutes before slicing.
Slice away. Make sure you cut the string off so you don't accidentally eat it. Serve with your favorite side dishes. Enjoy!!!