Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Bar food.  First thing that comes to mind?  Other than "pairs well with beer."  Chances are wings are on the list.  Maybe potato skins.  How about jalapeno poppers?  Oozing with creamy cheese, a little crunch and a good bit of heat, too.  Did I mention the beer?  Cold and refreshing in an icy mug.....mmmm!

Well, that is certainly not a recipe for a well-rounded meal and I cannot, in good conscious, recommend such a meal.  What would people say?  Ha!!

So instead, how about if we take some of the elements and put a dinner-y twist on them!?  Introducing Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken.

I came across this recipe (no, not during a "Pinning While Hungry" bender, thank you very much!) a few weeks ago and decided to give it a go.  I will say that I used fat free cream cheese and subbed in Panko breadcrumbs.  One was a noticeable difference, the other not so much (hint: it was the bread crumbs!).

This meal was easy to prepare, and, paired with veggies and a salad, it was a far cry from the grease-lined basket o' junk at the bar!  I will also say that if we make this again, we may lighten up on the amount of cheese; there was a good bit left over and we had some big pieces of chicken to stuff.  I mixed the left over cheese with a little ranch and hot sauce to use as a dipping sauce, but we decided we really didn't need it.

The chicken was moist with flavorful and just the right amount of heat.  Hot sauce be damned!

What You'll Need:2 boneless chicken breasts
6oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup Monterrey Jack cheese
1/3 cup jalapeno peppers, diced
1 cup flour
2 eggs, whisked
2 cups plain bread crumbs
olive oil
salt and pepper
kitchen twine or toothpicks

What You'll Do:Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Make a slit in the middle of each chicken breast, not going all the way through, but making a pocket into which you'll stuff the cheesy goodness.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, Monterrey Jack and jalapenos until well combined.

Using your hands, stuff the cheese mix into the pocket in each piece of chicken.  You don't want it to be overly full, but don't scrimp!

Now, either tie or secure the chicken breasts closed with the toothpicks; whatever you've got!

Get your breading station together; each of the the three elements in its own bowl.  Dredge each chicken breast in the flour first, then the egg, then the bread crumbs.

Put those puppies in a screaming hot pan with a little drizzle of olive oil.  3-5 minutes per side should do the trick.  Then, it's into the oven they go to finish off.  20-25 minutes and about 5 minutes of resting before you tear into them.  The chicken is meant to rest.  Oh, fine, you can too!

I suppose that if you want to go for the bar vibe, you could crack open a beer, charge yourself way too much for it and stand in line for a while at the ladies room.  Or not.  Either way, enjoy  your dinner!