Creamy Bacon Hassleback Chicken

I got the idea for this from one of those Tasty video's that are always popping up on YouTube. They had a video for Hassleback Chicken Four Ways (which I actually can't find now, but look it up). I was absolutely intrigued and knew it was something I could lighten up to make an easy midweek dinner. 

Chicken breast is great, but it can be a little bland/boring on its own. Even adding a spice rub, while great every now and then, it will only take you so far. So I tend to mostly use chicken when I am adding it to some sort of 'dish', like a curry, pasta, stir fry etc. It is going to be a regular feature in my house from now on. 

The great thing about this is it is so versatile. The first time I made it I used spinach instead of the peppers and baby asparagus. You could leave out the bacon, add some chorizo, use any type of veg, add different spices and flavourings - the possibilities are endless. It is really easy to do and it does make a 'meat & 2 veg' dinner just that little more interesting. You also would never know this was a healthy dinner, I am sure you could find a variation that would suit the whole family. 

Servings: 2

SmartPoints per Serving: 5

SmartPoints on No Count: 2

Ingredients

2 Medium Chicken Breasts (160g)

50g Garlic & Herb Light Cream Cheese

1 clove garlic

3 Bacon Medallions

20g Low Fat Cheddar grated

Half a Yellow Pepper

6-8 Baby Asparagus

Salt & Pepper

Spray Oil

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Finely chop the garlic, asparagus & pepper and cut the bacon into small pieces. 

Heat some spray oil in a non stick pan and gently fry the bacon over a medium heat. Add the asparagus, pepper & garlic and fry until the vegetables are soft. Stir in the cream cheese and cheddar and mix well. You can add a splash of water if needed to loosen the mixture here, but you will need to stuff the chicken breast so you want it to be quite thick. Season to taste. Set this aside to cool slightly. 

Season your chicken breasts and then slice accross the top, being sure not to cut all the way through, creating a number of little openings along the top. Spoon the mixture into these openings, its ok if they overflow a little but you don't want them too packed. 

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and serve immediately.