Chicken can easily be dressed up for holiday

Whether it's cooking for your immediate family or staging a full-fledged dinner extravaganza for friends, we can all use a new entertaining entree for the holidays. When we put our heads together to brainstorm, we suddenly realized that our answer this year — surprisingly enough — would be chicken.

Chicken breasts are sometimes overlooked as being a bit ordinary. But in this age of stretched budgets, special diets, allergies and general food phobias, chicken can be dressed up to become a delightful option for all-purpose entertaining.

Today's recipe for Cranberry-Pineapple Stuffed Chicken Breasts is elegant and yet easy — ready for the oven with just 15 minutes of preparation thanks to a "stuffing" of spreadable cheese, store-bought cranberry relish and crushed pineapple. We were so thrilled with the sophisticated flavors that we're planning some extra parties just to show it off!

Menu suggestion: Cranberry-Pineapple Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Wild rice

Sauteed baby green beans (haricot verts)

Cranberry-Pineapple Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Start to finish: 15 minutes preparation, 40 minutes unattended baking

4 wedges (3/4 ounce each) light, spreadable Swiss cheese, such as Laughing Cow (see Cook's note)

1/4 cup cranberry relish (see Cook's note)

1/4 cup crushed pineapple, with juice (see Cook's note)

4 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves (about 6 ounces each), defrosted if frozen

1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

1/4 cup sliced almonds (see Cook's note)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Cook's note: For testing purposes, we used Harry and David cranberry relish. Any type of prepared cranberry relish or sauce can be used. A guideline: If you wouldn't eat the cheese mixture on a cracker, it won't taste good in the chicken.

Use pineapple packed in its own juice.

Low-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel) can also be used.

Use sliced, not slivered, almonds.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

In a small bowl, combine the cheese, cranberry relish and pineapple. Stir well, and set aside.