Jalapeño Popper Chicken

This recipe has quickly become one of our favorite ways to prepare chicken. We eat a lot of chicken, so we are always looking for new recipes. Today, we knew we were going to be working out in the yard all day and preparing our garden, so we decided to prep dinner in the morning, before we went out and exhausted all of our energy and then resorted to ordering pizza.(*ahem* like we did yesterday) Having said that, it is a great dish to prepare ahead of time to just pop in the oven 30-45 minutes before dinner!

First, preheat the oven to 375°, chop up some fresh jalapeños and mix them with a block of softened cream cheese

I used 3 decent sized jalapeños, removing the seeds!(you can also sprinkle some shredded cheddar or cheddar jack in with this step for a little extra oomph)

 Pound 4 boneless-skinless chicken breasts to equal thickness so they cook evenly, they don't have to be thin, just pretty uniform in size after you are done.

 Divide your jalapeño mixture into quarters and spread 1/4 on each chicken breast

 Top each chicken breast with some shredded cheddar jack cheese

 Bake at 375° for 25-30 min.(or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160ish-times vary on thickness of chicken) remove from oven and top with crumbled bacon and bake for 5 more minutes!
(We had already cooked a big breakfast with bacon so we just saved a few pieces to crumble!) Check to make sure it's reached the proper temperature with an instant read meat thermometer, you want it to reach 165° by the time it's done!)

Jalapeño Popper Chicken

Ingredients:

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (pounded to even thickness)

1 8oz block of cream cheese (softened)

2-3 jalapeños (seeds removed, diced small)

1 to 1.5 Cups Shredded Cheddar Jack(or mild cheddar) Cheese

Bacon crumbles (Optional, but so worth it! We usually just chop up some leftover bacon)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° f

-Mix diced jalapeños and cream cheese in a medium size bowl

-Place 4 chicken breasts in baking dish

-Top each chicken breast with 1/4 of the Jalapeño Cream Cheese mixture, this should use up all of the mixture when you are done.

-Cover each chicken breast with shredded cheddar jack cheese

-Place in oven for 45 minutes or until chicken reaches 165 internal temp. (I set my timer for 25 min. And check the temp because the size of the chicken breasts can vary each shopping trip!)

*If you would like to top it with bacon, remove chicken from oven 3-5 minutes before cooking is complete and add bacon crumbles, then return to oven for remaining cook time.

Delicious served over rice or with a side of potatoes or veggies!