TastyTalkWithAmy: Southwest Stuffed Chicken (Moderate)

Southwest Stuffed Chicken with Green Rice. The green rice is made green by pureeing fresh spinach and cilantro together in the blender with some chicken broth and then pouring it over already cooked white rice to coat. A very big hit in my house!

Instead of Chicken Cordon Bleu, you have Southwest Stuffed Chicken, oozing with Monterrey jack cheese and green chilies, coated in bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese seasoned with chili powder, salt, and cumin. I want to say this recipe is easy to make but the challenging part comes from trying to flatten the chicken breasts but not to the point of making them fall apart but also flattened enough so that you can roll them up with the cheese and green chillies inside, that is the challenging part, once you get that done, the rest is easy.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Southwest-Stuffed-Chicken/Detail.aspx

Ingredients:
6 (4 ounce) boneless skinless chicken
breast halves
6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cut into
2-inch x 1/2-inch sticks
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chilies, drained
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 cup all-purpose flour(optional, I left it out, not needed at all)
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted ( to be honest I did not even bother with rolling it in melted butter, the chicken was moist enough to adhere to the bread crumb/Parmesan cheese mixture)

Directions:
1. Flatten chicken to /18-in. thickness. Place a cheese stick down the middle of each; top with chilies. Roll up and tuck in ends. Secure with a toothpick. In a shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, chili powder, salt and cumin. Coat chicken with flour, then dip in butter and roll in crumb mixture.(I left the flour out, it came out yummy without it.)
2. Place roll-ups, seam side down, in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 35 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Discard toothpicks.