Spicy Stuffed Southwestern Chicken Breasts

Okay, don't ask why the picture is "greenish!"  It was taken with hubby's cell phone and when I worked with it in Adobe, it looked much better!  and it tasted better than it looks here with the slight green tinge.  Ugh!  

Having a chicken breast in the fridge, some great Mexican cheddar cheese, and some ripe tomatoes, I figured how could you go wrong... 

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Spicy Stuffed Southwestern Chicken Breasts

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Approximate 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2-1 teaspoon paprika

salt and pepper to taste

2 strips bacon

Stuffing:

1/2 cup chopped onion

3-4 Tablespoons chopped parsley

1/3 cup shredded cheddar pepper cheese (we got ours from Costco)

Olive oil

Toppings:

1/2 cup shredded cheddar pepper cheese

1/2 large tomato, chopped

2 Tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions:

1:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2:  Fry bacon until crisp, reserving drippings in pan.  Set bacon aside to cool.  Crumble.

3:  Coat a small skillet with olive oil and sauté chopped onion until tender and translucent. Set aside to cool.

4  Shred cheese for stuffing ingredients and mix with chopped parsley and cooled chopped cooked onion.

5:  Cut a pocket into chicken breasts.  Fill each breast with stuffing ingredients.  Secure pockets with picks. 

6:  Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Mix flour and paprika.  Dredge chicken breasts in flour mixture, being careful to keep stuffing ingredients intact. 

7: Brown chicken breasts in bacon grease until browned. 

8:  Transfer chicken to a oven-proof baking dish and bake in a 400 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes or until cooked through. 

9:  Once the chicken is done, immediately top with cheese and let melt.  Plate chicken and top each with chopped tomato, chopped parsley and crumbed bacon. 

Options:

If you can't find cheddar pepper cheese, use sharp cheddar and chopped green chilies.  If you have a gas grill, heat it up to 400 degrees and grill chicken in a closed grill until done.