Jalapeno Popper Chicken

Blogger's Choice was the theme of this Taste of Home Cooking Recipe Swap, and it's my favorite theme. Each blogger is assigned another food/cooking blog, and you can choose to cook any recipe from that blog. I was given the blog The Cookaholic Wife which was a great blog to get - so many great recipes!

One that really caught my eye was this one for Jalapeno Popper Chicken. Jon and I both love spicy food and jalapenos, and I love making chicken - especially stuffed chicken - so this recipe was right up my alley. I made a few minor changes, one of which included double-dipping the chicken in flour and egg before putting it into the breading mixture. I do this when I make Jalapeno Poppers and the method gives it a great, thick, crunchy breading. I added some cumin to the mixture of spices in the breading, and I lightly seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper before stuffing. I kept the ribs in the jalapenos and used and entire jalapeno between our two chicken breasts... we love heat! Finally, I used a mix of panko and regular breadcrumbs instead of just panko.

The cheese I used was Cracker Barrel's Jalapeno Cheddar. It's very similar to our favorite cheese that we cannot find anywhere anymore - Yancey's Fancy Jalapeno Cheddar. It has SO much heat, much more than your standard pepperjack.

The verdict - LOVED it. It had great flavor and heat, and the breading was so crunchy and delicious. My adaptation of the recipe is below.

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 slices Jalapeno Cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper
• 1 jalapeno, minced (with or without seeds and ribs)
  
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c Panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 c regular breadcrumbs
• About 1/4 tsp each of Mexican oregano, chili powder, and cumin
• Cooking spray

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Cut a pocket into the chicken breasts and season lightly with salt and pepper
• Stuff the cheese and jalapenos into the pockets; close with a toothpick or two
  
• In three separate bowls - first bowl: flour. Second bowl: eggs beat with 1 tbsp water. Third bowl: breadcrumbs mixed with the oregano, cumin, and chili powder. Dip the chicken in flour, egg, then flour again, egg again, then breadcrumbs. Place in a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
  
• Bake on 350 for approximately 45 minutes or until the internal temperature has reached 180 degrees (I take them out around 170 and let them rest). Turn the broiler on for the last 2-3 minutes to get a nice, crispy coating.
  

I will definitely make this again. I served them with sauteed spinach and this Mexican Confetti Rice without the peas/corn. Perfect!