I LOVE jalapeno cheddar poppers. You know – those breaded and fried little chunks of jalapeno-y, cheesy, goodness? I mean, I think I got them every single time I went to Sonic back in high school. If I’m being honest, I still get them at Sonic on rare occasion… (Although I try to avoid them because I’m pretty sure they’re about 5million calories.) So when I spotted this recipe on Pintrest for Jalapeno Popper Chicken, it was a must make on my list.
Fair warning… it’s delicious, the hubs raved; it is also less then healthy. This will definitely be made again, but I’ll be doing what I can to lighten it up a bit: using fat-free cream cheese (I only use reduced fat) and reduced fat cheese (the hubs did the grocery shopping this week and couldn’t find the reduced fat cheese…). You could probably even make it without breading (which I seriously considered) but the breading is really tasty and helped keep the filling in, so I’m not sure I suggest it.
In other news – the hubs and I may have decided we needed to make jalapeno popper mac and cheese in the near future. When we like something, we really like something!
Jalapeno Popper Chicken
2 chicken breast
Dash black pepper
2 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/3 – 1/2 c shredded cheddar
3 jalapenos, seeded and minced
1 egg
2 Tbs skim milk
1 c Italian bread crumbs
Pre-heat oven to 375⁰. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a sharp paring knife, carefully cut a pocket into your chicken – I lay mine flat on a cutting board and lay one hand on-top of the chicken breast. Cut along one side, keeping the ends intact. Season with black pepper.
In a small bowl stir together the cream cheese, cheddar, and jalapenos. Gently press half the filling into each chicken breast (I sealed the filling in there with a toothpick).
In a shallow bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Pour bread crumbs onto a plate.
Dip chicken breast into the egg wash and then coat with bread crumbs, return to the egg wash and then coat with bread crumbs a second time. Place on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat process with the second piece of chicken.
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
2 servings: 1 Serving – (estimated) 583 Calories, 23.3 g Fat, 44.1 Carbs, 2.8 g Fiber, 46.7 g Protein
A Garlic Goddess 