Spring Chicken Roll-Ups with Lemon Dijon Pan Sauce

Wow, it feels like it's been a LONG time since I've blogged. I usually try to do this on a nightly basis (if the meal is blog-worthy), but I've been so busy... but wait no longer! This meal was recommended by Baby Loves Shortnin' Bread's blog. It's a great dish for the summer- you won't need to heat up your oven or stand over your grill. It was easy to prepare, and I paired this dish with some leftover Homemade Mashed Potatoes. The green vegetables rolled inside the chicken looked elegant and sophisticated, and the pan sauce was very good, and added a nice punch from the lemon zest. A great weeknight meal.

Ingredients
2 (6-ounce) pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used 4 breasts)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 thin slices provolone cheese
4 thin slices prosciutto cotto
12 thin spears asparagus, trimmed of tough stems and blanched in salted water 2 minutes, drained
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
1/4 cup chopped, flat-leaf parsley, a handful

1. Arrange the 4 cutlets on work surface. Season cutlets with salt and pepper on the side facing up. (I took boneless, skinless chicken breasts, placed them in a Ziploc bag, and pounded them thin.)

2. Cover each piece of chicken with 1 slice cheese and 1 slice ham.
3. Starting on 1 side of the breast, place a small bundle of 3 asparagus spears. Wrap and roll the chicken around the asparagus. Wash hands.

4. Heat about 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, a turn of the pan, in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
5. When hot, using tongs, add the chicken roll-ups to skillet with seam side down.
6. Season the roll-ups with salt and pepper.
7. Cover the pan loosely with tin foil and cook 4 to 5 minutes, turn roll-ups over and cook and other 4 to 5 minutes.

8. Remove cooked roll ups to a serving plate.
9. Add 2 Tbsp of butter and 2 Tbsp flour.
10. Stir in the chicken stock and Dijon mustard, scraping up any drippings from the bottom of the pan, and simmer 1 minute.

11. Remove from the heat, add the lemon zest, lemon juice and parsley and spoon over chicken.

Yield: 4 chicken breasts
Source: Rachael Ray