Chicken Breast Stuffed With Spinach Blue Cheese And Bacon Recipe 45

Steps:

• In a large bowl, using a rubber spatula, mix the butter, blue cheese, bacon, and chives together until combined. Dollop half of the compound butter along the long edge of a 12-inch piece of parchment or waxed paper. Roll into a log, twisting opposite ways on both ends of the paper to create a tightly wrapped log of butter. Refrigerate or freeze for another use.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Using your fingers, carefully loosen the skin from chicken breasts. Stuff about 1/4 of the remaining blue cheese butter under the skin of each breast; smoothing the skin to evenly distribute the butter over the surface of the breast meat.
• Put the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and rub any remaining butter over the skin. Season each breast with just a pinch of freshly ground black pepper.
• Roast the chicken breasts, skin sides up, in the center of the oven until skin is crisped and chicken is cooked through, about 35 to 40 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should register 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the meat. Remove from the oven to a serving platter. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
• Cook's Note: This recipe makes 2 logs of compound butter; unused butter can be used to top grilled meats, burgers, or baked or mashed potatoes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Whisk egg in shallow bowl. Dip and coat chicken breasts in the egg.
• Heat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Brown chicken, flipping to ensure both sides are cooked, 5 to 7 minutes total.
• Meanwhile, combine spinach, bacon, tomatoes, Cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, mayonnaise, and garlic in a medium bowl.
• Remove chicken from the pan. Slice into the meatiest, thickest side of each breast carefully in a butterfly-cut, creating a "pocket" for the stuffing. Stuff liberally with spinach mixture.
• Place stuffed chicken into a baking dish, with stuffing mixture at the top. If pieces cannot stand on their own, lean against each other or the side of the baking dish to ensure stuffing remains inside chicken. Sprinkle each with salt and pepper. Cover the dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink in the center and juices run clear, about 40 minutes.