Spinach Ricotta Chicken Breasts With Barley Risotto

A friend of mine recommended and shared this chicken dish on Facebook. I love recipes from friends!
I added my own touches and adapted the original recipe from Tasty. The chicken was fabulous, but the big hit was the barley risotto. My kids loved it! I had a half a container of grape tomatoes that needed to be used, so I roasted them to add some color to the dish. It all came together in beautiful harmony. I will definitely make this again!

Ingredients:
Chicken:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 5 ounce container  fresh spinach
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
5 chicken breast
1/2 cup white cheddar cheese ( I used a mix of cheddar, parm and mozzarella!)
Paprika, hot or regular
Salt and pepper, to taste

Barley risotto:
5 servings barley
Chicken stock
1/2 red onion, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Chopped parsley, optional
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:
 I put the chicken breasts together a few hours before dinner time and  kept them refrigerated until I was ready to bake them.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Cook spinach until slightly wilted 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook a minute more. Season ricotta with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a little pepper. Add to spinach and stir together. Set aside. Rinse and dry chicken breasts. Cut slits across the chicken breast about 2 inches apart (5-6 slits) about 3/4 of the way through. To make sure you don't cut all the way through the chicken, place chopsticks, or pencil or something similar as a guide, see below:

Stuff spinach ricotta mixture into the slits. Season chicken breasts with salt and freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle with the cheese and paprika. Bake on center rack of oven for 25-30 minutes.

For Barley risotto:
In a medium pot set over medium heat, saute onions until translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add barley and stir about 1 minute. Add chicken stock (instead of water) according to packaging directions. Cook about 45 minutes (see package directions). When barley is cooked remove from heat and add butter and parmesan. Stir in the parsley if using. Season to taste

Roasted tomatoes:
Whole grape tomatoes
Oil

Add tomatoes to a small baking dish. Sprinkle with a little olive oil. Bake with chicken about 20 minutes.

Serves 5