This is one of my signature and absolute favorite recipes that I know will always be a winner in my house. I always feel so fancy whenever I talk food with my mom or sister, like when I say "I'm making bacon-and-cheese stuffed bacon-wrapped chicken breast for dinner" and they start exclaiming, "Oh Nikki, you're such an amazing cook, you HAVE to cook for me soon, that sounds so complicated and time consuming and delicious!"
That's really no joke though, my mom literally said those exact words to me, just a few days ago.
That's really no joke though, my mom literally said those exact words to me, just a few days ago.
Seriously though, these bacon-wrapped bacon-cheese stuffed chicken breasts are so NOT complicated and not very time consuming. I would say give yourself about 40 minutes TOTAL, in 20 minute increments. 20-ish to prep your bacon and pre-stuff your boobs, then the 20-ish minutes of cooking time.
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This recipe is seriously SO delicious, and mostly simple enough for even a beginner to make it. Here's how I do it, and the basic ingredients:
INGREDIENTS:
Chicken Breast
3 Slices of Bacon (at least) - Some for wrapping, some for stuffing (1 or 1/2 usually is good enough for stuffing for me, 1 or 2 pieces for wrapping)
Cheese of your preference (I've used Mozzarella, Swiss, and Pepper Jack with great results)
Garlic Powder + Onion Powder
Badia Complete Seasoning (I can't offer a good sub for the complete seasoning, cuz it's so good, but feel free to explore other seasonings!)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Start to cook your bacon. Remove 2 pieces, or however many you plan to wrap your chicken with, when they're about halfway done. Fully cook your remaining bacon that will be stuffed to fullness.
2. While your bacon is cooking, preheat your oven to about 400-degrees (your chicken breast preference. I flop from 375 to 425, obsessively checking them with a meat thermometer). Take your chicken breasts and find a nice side for cutting. Make a slit in the side, wiggling your LITTLE knife back and forth along the edge until you've made a pocket. Please don't cut all the way through, you just want to make it look kinda like a pita pocket. Sprinkle the outside with garlic powder and onion powder, then sprinkle a healthy amount of complete seasoning on both sides as well.
3. When your to-be-stuffed bacon is finished cooking, let it cool a bit, then chop that sucker up. If you're like me, you can chop up some onions and saute them up in some of the left over bacon grease. SO GOOD!!! Take the cheese that you have chosen and either chop it into bits (if it's pre-sliced) or shred it up, then stuff it into your chicken pocket along with the chopped bacon, and onions if you chose to make those, too. Spinach is also a yummy add-in!!
4. Holding your chicken pocket closed, wrap the bacon so that it covers the opening at least once. I suggest using 2 or more toothpicks to hold the pocket closed so that your yummy cheese doesn't melt out. Place them in a baking pan or on a baking sheet, the side with the majority of the bacon facing up.
5. Cook those bad boys for about 20 minutes, which is coincidentally the same amount of time that it takes to roast some zucchini or broccoli, and also corn on the cob. It's also around the same amount of time that it takes to cook up some white rice, which Mr. Kitchen pretty much requires as a side dish for the chicken. I like to start off cooking covered, usually with foil but I've since gotten an awesome new baking dish that has a lid. I'm also very fickle with the covering, I remove and re-add it often.
Use a meat thermometer. It'll help you figure out when the chicken is fully done, if you don't want to constantly cut into it like I do (apparently that's not really nice). If your bacon is cooking too quickly, try covering with foil, trust me.
Considering that I first made this recipe on a whim, kind of "creating" it myself as I didn't research the hell out of it, and it's been a win with the picky Mr. Kitchen since day one, please just try it out. Also, please give me a few days and I'll post about my AWESOME experience with brining chicken breast, which I kinda do constantly now. Here's another delicious pic to hopefully win you over on my juicy stuffed wrapped chicken:
