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One-Pan Italian Hasselback Chicken And Rice is a super simple recipe. It’s a tasty, naturally gluten-free dish that’s great for family and entertaining.

This post is sponsored by  S.O.S. Pads. Please note that, as always, any personal opinions reflected in this post are my own and have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.

I love cooking. As much as I enjoy entertaining, I do not enjoy the cleaning that comes with it. Take Thanksgiving dinner, for example. A typical dinner for me had all of the plates, cups, glasses and silverware you would expect. Almost all of that goes into the dishwasher. Then there’s 2 pots from vegetables, the roasting pan from the turkey, and the pressure cooker’s pot from the mashed potatoes. This year I also made a big lasagna, complete with stuck on cheese and sauce. All of those pots and pans have to be scrubbed by hand. I’ve always washed my pots and pans by hand. I watched my Grandma do it with ease, always tackling the mess with S.O.S Pads. I remember the suds that I’d see when using them, I always thought it was neat that the soap was already there. And it always worked. So when it came time for me to wash by hand, you can guess what immediately came to mind. That’s right. S.O.S. Pads.

A national online survey hosted by S.O.S found that ‘spending time with family and friends’ is the number one thing people enjoy about the holiday season. The second best thing, according to the survey’s respondents, is the food, so festive gatherings are a win-win! But gatherings don’t just happen. We all know there is always a lot of cooking and cleaning to be done. When it comes to the worst part of hosting a holiday meal, respondents ranked ‘cleaning up’ as number one (69.3%), shopping number two (17.8%) and finally cooking (12.9%).

The survey uncovered that the average household normally spends about 2-3 hours a week doing dishes, and that estimate goes way up during the holidays for more than 40% of respondents. When people tackle dishes varies. 22.8% of respondents do the dishes right away while the party is still happening, 60.4% tackle them after the last guest has gone home, and 16.8% wait until the next day.

No matter when you tackle the dishes, S.O.S Pads can get you out of the kitchen and back with your family as quickly as possible. With unmatched scrubbing power and the soap built right in, S.O.S Pads quickly cut through grease and baked-on food on even the toughest of dishes. Caramelized sugar, burnt-on cheese, dried-on baked goods and deep coffee stains are no match for S.O.S – even when left in the sink overnight. And if you’re like most of our respondents (61.4%) and this time of year is when you use your oven the most, S.O.S is also great for degreasing oven racks!

I am definitely one of the people that uses their oven the most during winter. I used my oven a couple of times this week, including once to make a new dish that I knew would likely need some scrubbing. That dish is One-Pan Italian Hasselback Chicken And Rice. This is a super simple recipe to make. Everything goes into one baking dish and that goes into the oven. It’s a tasty dish that is great for family as well as entertaining. Not only will you enjoy how easy it is to make this one-pan dish, you’ll also enjoy how easily it cleans up with S.O.S Pads. Here’s how I made it.

One-Pan Italian Hasselback Chicken And Rice

Equipment Needed

• 13×9 baking dish
• mixing bowl
• cheese grater
• cutting board

Ingredients

• 3-4 large chicken breasts (I used 3 large breasts that weighed 2.25 pounds total)
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese (You want a block, not the shredded type.)
• 2 smaller tomatoes (I used tomatoes on the vine.)
• 1x 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• Italian seasoning
• 2 cups white rice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 f.

Place a thin layer of crushed tomatoes into the bottom of the baking dish.

Place the rice and the rest of the crushed tomatoes into a mixing bowl and combine thoroughly.

Spread the rice mixture evenly across the bottom of the baking dish.

Use the knife to create equally spaced pockets, or slits, in each chicken breast. Do not cut all the way through the chicken. You don’t want the pockets too close together or too far apart, so you should look to have between 4-5 slits depending on the size of the breast.

Cut thin slices of mozzarella off of the block of cheese. You’ll want approximately half as many slices as there are slits in all of the chicken breasts. Cut each of the slices in half from side to side, making 2 short and wide slices out of each full slice.

Cut the tomatoes into thin slices. Cut each of the tomato slices in half.

Place a half slice of cheese and a half slice of tomato into each pocket that you cut in the chicken breasts.

Place the stuffed chicken breasts on top of the rice mixture.

Sprinkle Italian seasoning across the entire baking dish to taste. I used about 2 tbsp.

Take what’s left of the block of mozzarella cheese and use the cheese grater to shred it across the entire contents of the baking dish.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Serve immediately.

One-Pan Italian Hasselback Chicken And Rice

Print

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 f. Place a thin layer of crushed tomatoes into the bottom of the baking dish. Place the rice and the rest of the crushed tomatoes into a mixing bowl and combine thoroughly. Spread the rice mixture evenly across the bottom of the baking dish. Use the knife to create equally spaced pockets, or slits, in each chicken breast. Do not cut all the way through the chicken. You don't want the pockets too close together or too far apart, so you should look to have between 4-5 slits depending on the size of the breast. Cut thin slices of mozzarella off of the block of cheese. You'll want approximately half as many slices as there are slits in all of the chicken breasts. Cut each of the slices in half from side to side, making 2 short and wide slices out of each full slice. Cut the tomatoes into thin slices. Cut each of the tomato slices in half. Place a half slice of cheese and a half slice of tomato into each pocket that you cut in the chicken breasts. Place the stuffed chicken breasts on top of the rice mixture. Sprinkle Italian seasoning across the entire baking dish to taste. I used about 2 tbsp. Take what's left of the block of mozzarella cheese and use the cheese grater to shred it across the entire contents of the baking dish. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

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