Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken

I’ve got a 4 inch binder filled to the brim with recipes I’ve collected from magazines (I actually just cleaned it out, then promptly filled it back up with new magazine clippings that hadn’t made it to their “home” yet) and a kitchen cabinet full of cookbooks. I’ve decided it’s time to focus on trying out the recipes I’ve already got.  That’s tough to do with all of these super-delicious sounding recipes popping up daily in my Google Reader.  In fact, last week I scrapped a dinner I’d already planned just so I cook Cassie’s fabulous sounding Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken.  Honestly?  It was probably the best meal I’ve cooked all month, folks.  No lie.  It was super!  Cassie was genius enough to add bacon to the filling.  You can’t really go wrong with adding bacon to anything, right?  I served the chicken with green beans cooked with bacon grease, and they were delicious as well.  My filling ran out a little, but it still tasted fabulous.  And as a bonus, I got to use the first jalapenos from my garden!

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken

Source: Cassie Craves, adapted from Allrecipes
Ingredients:

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 4 strips of bacon, diced
• 4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Stir together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, and jalapenos in a small bowl. Cut a pocket horizontally through the thickest side of each chicken breast, and fill with 1/4 of the cheese mixture. Secure with toothpicks. Roll the chicken breasts in bread crumbs to coat. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook chicken breasts until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 8 minutes per side. If your chicken breasts are thick they can be finished in a 350-degree oven.