Panko Breaded Chicken Breast Stuffed With Cheddar Jack and Bacon

This crowd-pleaser, has a crunchy breading that goes great with the gooey, cheesy center.  Plus,  it has bacon in it,  you can't go wrong with bacon. 

You'll want to fry up a couple peices of bacon beforehand.  A general rule of thumb, when cooking bacon to stuff into something that will be cooked, is to make sure the bacon is slightly undercooked.  That way you won't have bacon that's overcooked, and no one wants that!  After the bacon is done,  cut into medium-sized squares. 

(This time around, I did my best to measure out my spices,  and I think it came out as it was supposed to)

One more thing,  before I list the official ingredients,  is why I chose Panko over regular breadcrumbs.  Panko is a much larger,  but light-weight crumb.  When baked,  panko has a very nice crunch, compared to regular breadcrumbs,  where you'd have to fry it,  to get that sort of texture. 

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
• 1/2 cup panko
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 egg
• Splash of milk
• 2 tsp herbs de provence
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/8 tsp celery salt
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• a sprinkle of: granulated garlic,  granulated onion, paprika, pepper
• salt
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/4 cup shredded monterey jack
• 4 peices of bacon,  cooked and chopped into medium cubes

I usually only make one chicken breast for my family,  due to the chicken we bought being pretty large. So,  I cut the one peice in half. I realize most people usually do at least two, so I adjusted the recipe to suit two whole peices. 

Trim the chicken as needed. Then,  using a sharp knife,  cut a slit on the side of the chicken,  being careful to stay in the middle. Use the tip of the knife to widen the slit until it's large enough to become a pocket. Try not to go too close to the edges on the inside,  or you'll poke holes through,  and the filling will leak out.

Mix up the cheeses with the bacon.  Stuff the mixture inside the chicken breast. Once filled,  use a few toothpicks to seal the chicken together. 

Preheat oven to 350°

Next, you will need to assemble your breading station. In one bowl, add the flour, with a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Mix well. In another bowl,  add the panko, herbs de provence, oregano, thyme,  celery salt, and a sprinkle each of paprika, garlic, onion, and pepper. Mix. In the last bowl, add the egg, and splash of milk,  beat together. 

Take the chicken, and dredge first in the flour, making sure everything is covered.  The egg wash is next, with the seasoned panko being last.

Place the chicken in a Pyrex baking dish,  sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake for about 45 minutes,  or until a thermometer reads 165° when stuck inside the chicken,  not through the filling.