Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken

In this day and age there is bacon everything: bacon vodka, bacon flavored mints, bacon salt, bacon chocolate, bacon maple bars, bacon scented soap, even band aids that look like bacon (which I find particularly gross. Why would you want to put what looks like raw pig meat on your open wound?). The bacon craze has taken over the world producing some of the most horrifying bacon concoctions out there. What ever happened to a simple side of crispy bacon next to some scrambled eggs and toast?

Now don't get me wrong. I often will save leftover bacon grease to use as a fat for sauteing onions and mushrooms in, or for other pan cooked dishes. But with all the bacon Frankensteins out there, I was honestly afraid to play around with this celebrated ingredient.

It wasn't until we recently bought some peppered bacon that I began toying around with the idea of using it other than as a side dish with breakfast. Normally when I hear about a bacon-wrapped something-or-other, I can't help but avoid it in fear that I will fall in love with its artery clogging goodness. (I once tried a bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeno that was dangerously delicious!) But since my husband and I have been under a lot of stress with house hunting and adjusting to parenthood, I figured we deserved a little comfort food. But could I pull off a bacon dish that wasn't a bacon-stein?

Well much to my excitement, and my husband's delight, the dinner turned out to be a great success! I even gave samples to my parents and the neighbors next door. Everyone raved about it! So here is it, my contribution to the bacon craze. There isn't much of a story to tell as to why I did stuffed chicken. Quite honestly, I did it simply because we had a lot of chicken, some leftover goat cheese, and because I had fresh Swiss chard at my disposal. I looked at the ingredients and the recipe practically wrote itself.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
6 tablespoons soft goat cheese
2 cups Swiss chard, shredded
8 strips of bacon
Paprika
Garlic salt
Pepper
8 grape tomatoes, halved
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Lightly drizzle olive oil in a oven-safe baking dish. Set aside.

Working with one chicken breast at a time, wrap the chicken breast in plastic wrap and beat with a wooden mallet until flat and tenderized. Flip the chicken breast over and repeat.

Once all the chicken breasts have been flattened and tenderized, sprinkle both sides of the breast with garlic salt and pepper. Season only one side (the inside of the breast) with paprika, using only about ½ teaspoon on each breast depending on the size of the chicken breast.

Break up the goat cheese and distribute as evenly as possible on the inside (the side with the paprika) of the breast. Then top the goat cheese with Swiss chard.

Grabbing one end of the breast, begin gently stretching and rolling the chicken breast onto itself to create a roll (the goat cheese and Swiss chard should now be rolled up inside the chicken breast). Pin the edges of the chicken breast together with wooden toothpicks so that the stuffed chicken will stay together.

Wrap the bacon strips in plastic wrap and, using a wooden mallet, pound the strips of bacon until they are flat. Then gently take the tenderized bacon strips and carefully wrap them around the stuffed chicken breasts. You may need to remove and then reinsert the toothpicks as you go, or you can try skewering the bacon onto the toothpicks that are already in place.

Once the stuffed chicken has been wrapped in bacon, place each breast into the lightly oiled baking dish. Toss the grape tomato halves into the dish over the chicken and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons more of olive oil. Sprinkle additional pepper over the chicken. Cover with a lid or tinfoil.

Bake for about 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked completely through. Remove the toothpicks and serve hot.