Delicious Dish: Bacon and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Let me be the first to admit that I've never been a great cook. However, in order to assure my future mother-in-law that her little boy won't starve to death, I decided to teach myself how to cook. Now, I'm still not the best, but I'm slowly learning my way around the kitchen and adding more and more recipes to my repertoire. Here's one of my latest adventures - bacon and goat cheese stuffed chicken. You had my attention at bacon...you sealed the deal with goat cheese. This recipe is from the January/February 2011 issue of Cooking Light.

Bacon and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken (serves 4)

• 2 tablespoons green onions, diced
• 3 ounces goat cheese
• 1 slice bacon, cooked & crumbled
• 4 (6-oz) skinless, boneless, chicken breast halves
• salt & black pepper
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine onions, cheese, and bacon in a small bowl. Cut a 1-inch-wide slit into the thick end of each chicken breast, and carefully cut down to center of chicken to form a pocket. Divide cheese mixture evenly among pockets. Secure with wooden picks. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil. Add chicken to pan; saute 4 minutes. Turn chicken over and place skillet in oven and bake for 12 minutes; let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Thoughts: This 5-ingredient dish was super easy to make and went over very well with my hungry, Midwestern boy. I paired it with horseradish, mashed potatoes and broccoli. We didn't have an oven proof skillet, so while I preheated the oven, I popped an aluminum foil pan in there. When I was finished searing the chicken on one side, I pulled the pan out, flipped the chicken into it, and poured the contents of the skillet over the top. We had to add about 7 minutes of cook time onto what the recipe says. I'll be enjoying the leftovers tonight! Can't wait to make this again soon.