Cindy's Savory Stuffed Chicken

This recipe came from a friend of mine. I made it for dinner a couple of weeks ago and my son who likes nothing raved over it. Damned kids.

It's a really easy dish and it's really pretty. Shame my picture doesn't do it justice, but it did have Wow! factor. You'll just have to take my word on that.

Cindy's Savory Stuffed Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

6 oz. cream cheese, softened just to room temp.

1 tbl. chopped fresh chives

8 pieces of good bacon (don't cheap out here - it's not just for seasoning)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse your breasts and pat them dry. Then rinse the chicken breasts and pat THEM dry. Ha! Okay, you can skip that first part.

Place a chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound with a rolling pin or skillet (don't use a meat tenderizer - we're not pulverizing) until the chicken is about 1/2" thick or so:

Repeat until you've finished all four pieces.

Cream the cream cheese and chives together in a small bowl, then spread the mixture evenly on the 'ugly side' of each breast. (Damn if there's not a dirty joke in there somewhere.) You should wind up with this:

Next fold the chicken breasts over (short side to short side), season very lightly with salt and pepper, then wrap one piece of bacon around the chicken lengthwise and wrap another piece around widthwise. I'm not sure that widthwise is a word, but y'all know what I mean. Be sure you wrap the bacon around the chicken so that the bacon ends will be on the bottom.

Place the chicken on a baking sheet and pop it into the oven.

Start testing for doneness at 45 minutes. If the bacon looks done and the chicken juices run clear, it's ready. A little of your cream cheese mixture will ooze out while it's cooking, but don't worry. There's still plenty in the middle.

I realize my plating leaves something to be desired, but hey - you can't have everything.