fajita stuffed baked chicken

How To Make fajita stuffed baked chicken

• Step 1
  Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 9-inch baking dish; set aside.
• Step 2
  Heat the 2 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the peppers, onion, salt and pepper in the hot oil until soft and very slightly caramelized. Transfer the cooked veggies to a bowl.
• Step 3
  Add monterey jack and pepper jack cheeses to the cooked pepper mixture, stirring until the peppers and onions are evenly coated with cheese. Set aside.
• Step 4
  In a separate bowl, combine the the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder, and rub the spice blend over the chicken breasts.
• Step 5
  On a cutting board, make a horizontal slit in the middle of each of the chicken breasts almost all the way across (but do NOT cut them in half), to form a pocket in each breast. Fill each of the pockets with a heaping spoonful of the sautéed vegetable mixture. Press the edges of the chicken together to seal in the filling, secure closing with a toothpick to keep filling inside. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts and sautéed vegetables.
• Step 6
  Heat the 3 Tbsp oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown the stuffed chicken for 5 minutes each side. Place the browned chicken in the baking dish, and bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until cheese melts and the chicken is fully cooked. (Obviously, much thicker chicken breasts will take a little longer to cooked thoroughly.) TIP - if you have a lot of the cheesy pepper filling left, you can add it to the skillet while the stuffed breasts are baking, and cook for a few minutes or enough time to heat through. Then you can top the cooked breasts with the reheated pepper mixture.
• Step 7
  Remove toothpicks from each chicken breast. Garnish each stuffed chicken breasts with chopped cilantro (if desired), and serve with dollops of salsa, sour cream and guacamole on the side.
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