Bacon and Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Rule # 2: When in doubt, stuff it with bacon....  yes, this is a general rule that I live by and if it didn't taste so good, I might have to change the rule. But for now, we'll roll with it.  This recipe was inspired and adapted from PaleOMG.com - Simple Bacon and Spinach Stuffed Chicken.  I made a couple of adjustments to the recipe --- mostly because I don't read directions really well. 

Simple Bacon and Spinach Stuffed Chicken

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  35 mins

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients

• 2 LARGE chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise and pounded flat
• 5 strips of bacon (+ 20 cut in half for covering at the end)
• 4-5 cups fresh spinach
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions for perfection:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut the chicken length-wise in half, think about it as though you're going to make two thinner breasts out of the 1 super thick one. Then placed plastic wrap on top of the chicken and pounded it until it was flat. 
3. Then place a large skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Add the five strips of bacon and cook on both sides until crispy, then place bacon on a paper towel to soak up the excess fat. When cooled, dice up the bacon.
5. Pour out the excess fat from the bacon, leaving behind about 3 tablespoons in the pan.
6. While the pan is still over medium-high, toss in the garlic cloves
7. Add the spinach and a dash or two of salt and pepper.
8. Cover and let steam until spinach has begun to wilt. When the spinach has wilted, remove the pan from heat and add in diced bacon. Mix with spinach until well combined.
9. Place mixture into the middle of your flattened chicken, fold chicken over to make a little “pocket” and use a half strip of bacon to keep it closed (and moist) while cooking.
10. Place stuffed chicken breasts back into the pan used to cook bacon and spinach put in oven to bake for 20-25 minutes or until there is no longer pink in the chicken. The time will range depending on how thin you pound the chicken. It may take a bit longer.
11. While the chicken is baking, make a side dish to go along.  Julie from Paleomg.com suggests brussel sprouts, which she has a TON of great recipes for, but i didn't have any.  So I made sweet potatoes, rinsed and cooked in tinfoil, right along side of the chicken.  I actually threw them in as the oven was preheating, to give them a bit of a head start. If you do this, be sure to use SMALL ones, because they cook faster.
12. Enjoy!  seriously.