Feta and Bacon Stuffed Chicken

One things I love about the weekend is that I actually have time to cook a dinner that requires a little effort. Our lives are so busy during the week that I try to make things that take 30minutes or less, since I usually don't get home until 6:30ish. However, on Sundays - it's game on! I found this recipe on Pinterest (originally on Allrecipes.com -link HERE), and had been wanting to give it a try. It really wasn't that hard and it has a great presentation!

(Food photography is not a skill of mine)

 

This is essentially what it says online, but I tweeked it a little to make it a little less unhealthy:

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces (I used turkey bacon)
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (I used low-fat)
• 3 tablespoons sour cream (you can use the light version)
• 1/8 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 (4 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned but still soft. Reserve the bacon grease in the skillet, and cool the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Once cool, mix the bacon together with the feta cheese, 3 tablespoons of sour cream, oregano, and black pepper in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Lay a chicken breast flat onto your work surface. Use the tip of a sharp boning or paring knife to cut a 2-inch pocket in the chicken breast. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts. Spoon the bacon mixture into the pockets. Pour the flour, egg, and bread crumbs into separate, shallow dishes. Gently press the chicken breasts into the beaten egg, then press into bread crumbs.
3. Reheat the bacon grease over medium heat. Brown the chicken breasts on both sides in the hot fat, about 2 minutes per side. Place the breasts on a baking dish, and bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink and the filling is hot, 20 to 25 minutes.

*Notes*

So the hardest part for me was making the "pocket" in the chicken breast. You want to insert the knife on the "short" side of the chicken breast, making a deep pocket (as opposed to cutting into the other side and making a long, but shallow pocket).

Also, the stuffing of it - I gave up on the spoon and just did it by hand. It was just easier that way. The chicken breasts get pretty big after being stuffed, and you can just trim off any extra chicken at the end to make it look pretty.

Serve with a veggie and/or mashed potatoes and you've got yourself a restaurant quality meal!