Jalapeno Popper Chicken

I've posted a couple different recipes for stuffed chicken, and it continues to be one of my favorite ways to cook chicken. This chicken was fantastic. I came up with it after my husband's many southwestern inspired dishes in Hawaii led me to realize how well oregano works in Mexican/southwestern dishes. The most important part of this dish was using really high quality pepper-jack cheese (I used Sonoma-Jack) and using panko bread crumbs to give the chicken that crunch that you would expect from a popper. I could see adding some crumbled cooked bacon to the stuffing on this, but I kept it simple here.



Jalapeno Popper Chicken (my original creation)
2 6 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 oz pepper-jack style cheese, sliced into sticks
1 jalapeno, seeds & ribs removed, julienned
1 tsp ancho chili powder (or plain chili powder)
1/4 tsp oregano (I used dried, but ground would work better)
1 egg, scrambled in shallow dish
1/2 cup panko style bread crumbs
cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut a pocket into each chicken breast by carefully inserting knife into the middle of the thin side of the breast and cutting gently until a good sized pocket is formed (do not cut through to the other side). Stuff about half of the jalapeno & cheese into each chicken breast. Pull chicken back into shape, sealing with toothpicks if required. Sprinkle each side of each breast with oregano and chili powder. Dip each side of each breast in the egg and then in the panko. Place in shallow baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. Spray tops of the chicken breasts lightly with cooking spray or oil and continue to bake for 5-10 minutes more or until bread crumbs start to turn golden brown.