Easy Elegant Chicken

I am here to tell you a big secret.  Elegance can be faked.  Yes, I totally just said it, you aren't just hearing things (or reading things in this case).  You don't need to be a master chef to make a great meal, just have a few ingredients, and a little patience.  So if you want to wow someone for a dinner party or just flat out wow your kids (because lets face it, they get impressed by so many other things, I think it's your turn) try this meal out on them.  It is literally 4 ingredients, yes 4, with a few spices thrown in that I'm sure you have on hand.  And the best part is, this really truly cannot be messed up.  It is highly unlikely that your chicken will get too dry.  Possible, but really unlikely.  And you can never get enough of the filling, which is low fat cream cheese.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, cream cheese is ah-ma-zing.  Plus pairing it with something healthy like spinach makes it even better, and I bet your kids won't even be able to tell, they'll be too busy focusing on the fact that it is wrapped in yummy, smoky, bacon!  Anything wrapped in bacon is delicious.  A man told my husband once that even duck is tasty wrapped in bacon.  He said the best way to cook duck is to wrap it in bacon, put it on the grill, cook until it is finished, take the bacon off, throw the duck away, and eat the bacon.  My kind of guy!  But this meal is delicious enough that you won't want to throw away the chicken, I promise.

Easy Elegant Chicken
Printable Recipe

Yield: 4 chicken breasts
Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg (8 oz) light cream cheese, softened
1/2 pkg frozen spinach, thawed, and drained (you can add more or less depending on your taste)
1 pkg bacon
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350°.  Thaw and drain the spinach by placing it inside a kitchen towel or many paper towels and squeezing all the moisture out of it.  Mix with cream cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Set aside.
2.  Make a pocket in your chicken breasts by cutting in the middle horizontally almost to each end but not all the way through.  Almost like a pita pocket.
3.  Place stuffing in your chicken breasts and wrap with pieces of bacon.  You can either secure with toothpicks or make sure the seam of the bacon is on the bottom and that the chicken is wrapped very tightly.
4.  Bake in a preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until juices run clear.  Optional: Broil the chicken for the last 5 minutes to crisp up the bacon.