Day 3: Jalapeño Popper Smothered Chicken

 Tonight’s dinner is a bit outside my comfort zone…Just the amount of mayonnaise and cream cheese alone almost deterred me from trying it. But that’s the whole point of this cooking challenge I’m forcing myself to do! 

The Verdict: Tony LOVED it! He raved about it, which is VERY rare! :D I am still not sure exactly how I feel about this dish. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. I think I am hesitant to accept this many flavors being mixed together in a single bite. I like each of the flavors, but I don't want to deal with them all in every bite. I don't know... maybe I'm weird. Since Tony insists I make it again, I will give it another chance and I hope I'll have a more definite feeling about it.

What You’ll Need:

Chicken layer:

1 large Chicken Breast (I pounded mine flat so it was the same thickness throughout and this fed 2 people with some leftovers)

Seasoning for chicken (I used a small amount of cumin, onion powder, salt and pepper on the chicken before cooking it)

Jalapeño Popper Layer:

1 8oz pack of cream cheese, softened (The entire 8 oz. wasn’t necessary I could have probably gotten away with ½ this amount but didn’t want to deal with figuring out how much I’d have to cut the rest of the ingredients so I was fine with the leftover filling)

4 slices of bacon, diced

1/2 jalapeno, diced (I used a fresh jalapeño, I only wanted enough for the flavor and a little kick so it wasn’t spicy, use more jalapeño if you want the layer spicier)

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 cup shredded cheese (I used Stater Bros. Mexican Blend of Shredded cheese, but any cheese mixture with Cheddar would be fine)

1/4 cup Kraft grated Parmesan

 Topping:

Bread Crumbs (I used Panko Plain bread crumbs)

1/4 cup Kraft grated Parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly season chicken however you would like. I am a big fan of onion powder and cumin so that’s what I used as well as salt and pepper. Place seasoned chicken in a casserole dish lined with foil (less cleanup mess this way) and bake until juices run clear (25-35 minutes—mine took 30 minutes until done). Once cooked reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

2. While chicken is cooking, fry bacon until crispy. When crispy, remove bacon from pan and add diced onion. Sauté onion until tender then remove from heat. Add crumbled/diced bacon, mayonnaise, cream cheese, jalapeño, shredded cheese, and Parmesan cheese to pan and combine. Once completely blended together add this layer to the cooked chicken.

3. Once the jalapeño popper layer is evenly spread to cover the chicken sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Once the breadcrumbs lightly cover the previous layer add the prated Parmesan cheese. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes until the breadcrumbs are slightly more golden and the cheese has slightly started to melt on top.

4. Serve and enjoy. I made an interesting variation of a Mexican Cilantro Rice dish as a side, I’m not sure about it still, but Tony (the bf) really loved both the chicken and the rice. I didn’t hate either, but I’m not sure I really liked them either. Tony said he really would like me to make them again, so I will give them another shot at some point in the future.