Lightly pounded chicken breast, seasoned and spread with apple chard bacon jam, roasted tomato and gruyere spread, an asparagus spear and mozzarella cheese. Rolled and coated in crispy bread crumbs.Pan fried and finished in the oven.

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I had alot of spreads leftovers from making trays. So i figured i’d put them to use in some hot dishes for the week. When I first tried the bacon jam the other day my inital thought was ” This would be great stuffed into something”. I figured it wouldnt take much to really make a impact so I decided to save a bit. You can go alot of ways with it since its really just bacon, apples and swiss chard. I decided I wanted to stuff it with some cheese. The roasted asparagus gruyere went so well with it on a platter I figured why not? I decided to add in the leftover asparagus I had sitting around and a generous serving of cheese. This chicken was a hit. I cant wait to make it again next time I make bacon jam! Check out my tips and tricks below for the best asparagus and cheese stuffed chicken. Try this recipe out and let me know what you think.

TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE BEST ASPARAGUS AND CHEESE STUFFED CHICKEN

dont cook your asparagus: since you’re not adding a ton of asparagus inside the chicken, you dont have to worry about a ton of moisture. cooking your asparagus ahead of time will only result in over cooked asparasgus. your asparagus should be fully cooked inside of the chicken so that its tender but it still has some bit. try not to be alarmed if your asparagus is raw in the middle but check to make sure it was cooked all the way through.

take your time: the most important and time consuming part of this dish is the cut. you want to make sure you cut your chicken all the way through. while avoiding snagging or cutting it. you don’t want to help any of the filling escape. to do that you want to trim up your chicken. any hanging bit and fat need to be trimmed. that way you’ll have a better visual on where to cut and which part is thickest.

season the inside: don’t expect the filling to be enough flavor. the great part of splitting a chicken is giving it more area to season. so don’t forget to season the inside before you even start adding ingredients

don’t overstuff: it might be tempting to pack the chicken full of the bacon and cheese. who knows, we’ve all overstuffed chicken and sometimes it explodes sometimes it doesn’t. its really about how well it was cut, dredged and floured. but don’t even do it. its not worth it if the chicken pops open. or if the tongs puncture the chicken on the flip turn. the popped filling usually burns the cooking oil and makes it impossible to use in the pan sauce.

hot grease: just like when you seal a taquito without a toothpick. you want to have the chicken place towards the seam to seal it up. that way it will act as an instant barrier to the filling and keep it a little more secure as you flip the chicken to cook on all sides.

let the coating sit: i prefer for my coating on any of my fried items to sit. that way the egg and the corn starch and flour have the time to develop a tact that catches the moisture from the inside. also everything has time to dry out a little. so when i drop it into the hot oil it gets really crispy.

SIMILAR INGREDIENTS TO:

1. CAJUN CHICKEN QUARTERS W/ DIRTY RICE
2. CLASSIC RIBEYE W/ SHITAKE AND CARMALIZED ONION BUTTER
3. DIRTY RICE STUFFED ONIONS

ENJOY THIS RECIPE WITH:

1. LEMON SUNFLOWER DRESSING
2. LIMONCELLO ROASTED ROMA TOMATOES
3. TOMATO AND BRIE TARTLETS

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 Chicken Breast, split and lightly pounded
• 2c Mozzarella Cheese
• 5 Large Asparagus Spears
• 1c Apple Chard Bacon Jam
• 1c Roasted Asparagus and Heirloom Cheese Log
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2c Flour + 1/4c Corn Starch
• 2 Eggs-+ 2 Tb Milk
• 2c Bread Crumbs +1c Flour
• Garlic Powder
• 2Tb Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 1Tb Italian Herb Seasoning

PAN GRAVY

• 4Tb Flour
• 1 TB Butter
• 1-2c Vegetable Stock
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 Bay Leaf
• Canola Oil, for cooking

DIRECTIONS:

• PREP CHICKEN: Prep the chicken bite slitting it down the middle. Lightly pound and season the inside.
• FILL: Once all the chicken is prepped. smear a generous tablespoon of bacon jam across the inside of the chicken. Followed by the cheese spread. Shredded mozzarella cheese and a single asparagus spear.
• ROLL: Roll chicken and season generously with salt and pepper.
• DREDGE: Set up your three part breading station. First the flour and cornstarch together in one container. Then the eggs and milk whisked together. The next compartment will have the breadcrumbs, cheese, and season generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
• HEAT: Heat a shallow pan. Add enough cooking oil to coat half of the chicken. Once the oil is at 375F place two to three rolled chickens in the pan. Make sure you don’t cause too much of a wave placing the chicken in the pan.
• COOK: Cook on both sides for about 4 minutes till they get nice and golden brown. Place on a lined baking sheet and cook at 400 for 15 minutes to finish in the oven.
• MAKE PAN GRAVY: To make a pan gravy. Remove the majority of the oil from the pan. Leave only about a tablespoon or two. Add in flour and start to cook. Cook for 5 minutes till the flour flavor is gone and the color deepens. Add in vegetable stock and start to whisk till it thickens. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes and season generously with salt and pepper. Finish wil butter and serve!