Chicken roll-ups are a fun way to eat your veggies.  I usually use a spinach and goat cheese filling, but I wanted to do something with some green beans I had in the fridge.  I prefer the skinny French green beans (haricots verts) versus traditional green beans when doing this recipe as they fit in the center of the chicken a little better.  When it comes to the chicken, most grocery stores carry thinly cut chicken breast pieces, or “cutlets.”  If your store does not, you can easily slice them yourself at home.  Depending on the thickness of the breast, I can generally get 2 or 3 slices.  You’ll want to pound them nice and flat, but don’t overdo it or you’ll end up with raggedy pieces of chicken full of holes.

French Green Bean Chicken Rollups

4 boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets (thin), pounded flat – try Perdue Fresh Cuts
4 ounces French green beans (fresh, uncooked)
4 teaspoon Dijon mustard (or spicy brown)
GF Chicken breading blend (see below)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Splash of cooking sherry
1 ½ cups chicken broth

Cover a cutting board with plastic wrap or parchment paper, position a piece of chicken in the center, then cover it with another piece of plastic wrap and using the flat side of a meat mallet (or the bottom of a heavy cup) pound the chicken cutlets flat one at a time.  Squeeze some Dijon (or spicy brown if you prefer) into a small dish and using a butter knife, spread the mustard over the surface of each piece of chicken.  *Putting the mustard into a separate bowl helps to prevent cross-contamination of your mustard.

Wrap the green beans in a sheet of paper towel and microwave for 2 minutes to partially cook them.  Alternatively, you can plunge them into some boiling water for a minute, then plunge them into an ice bath to stop the cooking.  You don’t want to overcook these, as they’ll continue cooking with the chicken.  Divide the green beans into four servings and place them cross-wise on the mustard coated side of the chicken.  Roll the chicken up, keeping the green beans inside, to form a small bundle.  Secure the chicken with 2 toothpicks or some kitchen twine.

Place the GF chicken coating in a shallow dish and gently coat all sides of the chicken.  Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat, and once it is good and hot, place the chicken rolls into the pan.  Allow them to cook until a nice, golden crust forms (about 3 minutes), then turn to cook another side.  Do this until all sides of the chicken rolls are browned; this takes about 10-12 minutes total.  Once the chicken is browned and nearly cooked all the way through, pour in a splash of cooking sherry (careful – the steam will be hot!), then add the chicken broth and allow to cook down until it reduces to about half the liquid (it will be thickened at this point).

Remove chicken rolls to a serving plate and top each with a drizzle of the sauce.  Serve with my Dairy Free Spinach Artichoke Mashed Potatoes, or rice.

GF chicken breading blend
I use this as the final coating when make my GF chicken tenders, and if I have leftovers, I put it on the freezer, then pull it out when I need some (like for the recipe above).  Make sure you label and date it before tossing it in your freezer so you know what it is and how long to keep it.  And be sure to only use it on food that will be cooked, since the leftovers will “contaminated” with raw chicken juices.

1 cup GF flour blend (I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1)
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon celery seeds