This is a skinny version of chicken grillers I used to get all the time at HyVee, they are called Cowboy grillers (maybe Cowgirl grillers?) and I would get them pre-made, throw them on the grill and love them to pieces. Then I got the nutrition info and wanted to shoot myself...I thought chicken was healthy?? Tricky poultry got me that time...
So I decided I would make a similar version myself with less of a calorie bomb on my waistline. You only need a few ingrediants:
Jalopeno cream cheese stuffed chicken breasts:
1 package turkey bacon (This stuff is the bee's knees, but you have to get the right kind...has to be Oscar Meyer, no Jennie-O, its horrid! Ive even been able to switch the guys BLT's to turkey bacon with no complaints in the summer!)
4-6 chicken breasts
1 container fat free cream cheese
1-2 fresh jalopenos
toothpicks
Quantities depend on how many people you are serving. For a regular sized chicken breast I will use two pieces of turkey bacon, and one container of cream cheese will get you plenty of filling for 4-6 full size breasts depending on how liberal you are with it. If you're down with the burn, use two minced jalopenos.....if you're a wuss with heat, use one (it really isn't that hot with just one jalopeno).
These are pretty simple. Use a fork to mix the diced jalopenos and cream cheese in a bowl like this:
Mix well so you dont get all the jalops in one bite! When I did this, I used smaller pieces of chicken since I was using what was leftover from another recipe. I only used one piece of bacon for each since they were so tiny. Lay your bacon out, put the chicken on top of it and pound it out with a meat hammer to flatten it (holds more cheese this way, giddyup!) out on the table like so:
Go back to the cream cheese mixture and spread it liberally, or if you're not a creamy cheesy person then apply conservatively and don't ever come to eat at my house!
Now for the rolling. This gets sort of messy because the cheese squirts out the side, your fingers are chickeny and cheesy, and its just an all around mess on the counter (dont worry, its worth it). Start at one end, tuck in, and roll up. Secure with 2 toothpicks so it doesn't fall apart on the grill and you're good to go. I made these the night before and stored them in the fridge since I knew I had my long run the next day and wouldn't want to fudge around with making food when I was ready to start chewing on my arm from being so hungry. Here are a couple all ready to go:
Throw them on the grill when you're ready but know that they don't take long, and be sure to KEEP YOUR EYE ON THEM. Funny story: I had a bunch of friends out for dinner last Spring, made a metric crap ton of these things, threw them on the grill and went inside to finish with the other food. Came back out, flipped them and texted the guys to come in from the shop, food would be ready in 5 minutes. They thought I had started the house on fire and came running up the deck. The cheese gets so hot it will start leaking into the grill and the flames just engulfed the chicken, burnt it to a crisp. The girls said Casey's pizza was good that night but I was disappointed in no one getting to try my creation. Lesson learned...watch these little bad boys, they will go up quick! Finished product:
This is on our regular rotation in the summer but sometimes I get a hankering for them when I dont want to go out and wipe the snow off the grill...so I have done them in the oven. Just use the all powerful Pam so it doesnt stick and bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes or so (you'll be able to tell when the chicken is done by color). Everything is better on the grill but the oven works just fine if you're in a bind!
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