Bacon Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This is an easy recipe to make, and it is one that we serve often.  Tender juicy breast of chicken stuffed with bacon, cream cheese, onion and garlic.  Your family will love this dish.

Ingredients

4 to 6 pieces bacon
1 onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pepper, chopped (sweet bells, or a chili pepper)
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 c. pepper jack or cheddar cheese, shredded
salt
pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 c. bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° Line a baking pan with parchment paper, or lightly spray the pan. Or you can use the cast iron skillet that you fry the bacon in.

On a heavy cast iron skillet, cook bacon until crisp.  Remove the bacon onto a paper towel to absorb excess grease, and then crumble the bacon into a bowl when it is cool enough to handle.  Do not drain the skillet of the bacon grease.

In the skillet that you cooked the bacon in, add the diced onion, garlic, and bell pepper.  Sauté the vegetables until they are softened. This takes about 6 minutes. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and add it to the bacon. Allow the mixture to cool

Stir in the cream cheese, shredded cheese and salt and pepper to taste. 

In each chicken breast, cut a slit or pocket in each one. Make a horizontal slit along the thin, long side. Do not cut all the way through on any of the ends but the one you started with.  You are just making a pocket in each one to hold the cream cheese mixture. 

Stuff a fourth of the cream cheese mixture in each of the pockets.  Press edges of the chicken together to seal.  You can also insert a toothpick to help with this. 

Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. You can also sprinkle some garlic powder, onion powder and or creole seasoning over the chicken as well for a more flavorful chicken.

In a shallow bowl, pour in the melted butter. 

In another shallow bowl, add the bread crumbs. 

Dip the chicken into the melted butter, coating both sides. Allow the excess to drip off before dipping the chicken breasts into the bread crumbs, coating both sides. 

Place the chicken in the prepared pan, or in the skillet that you fried the bacon and vegetables in.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 165° on a meat thermometer.